Human Resource Reviews- Are Critical Pieces Missing?
What is an HR Review? An HR Review is an objective look at critical aspects within the human resources function to determine areas that are going well and those that can be improved upon. These reviews are sometimes referred to as HR Audits.
Why is this useful? Reviews can be part of a comprehensive, proactive plan to catch issues that could result in legal liability before they become bigger, expensive, time consuming problems such as legal discrimination charges or investigations by government agencies. For example, a review of a company’s employee handbook could indicate that there is no documented internal process for reporting harassment. This oversight could lead to harassment charges being filed with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) vs. being resolved effectively internally. Other benefits of and HR Review include: identifying continuous improvement opportunities, highlighting training needs, improving efficiency and finding areas to reduce costs.
According to the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), “The cost of conducting an HR compliance audit will be far less than defending (let alone losing) even one lawsuit.”
What is typically audited? It is important at the outset to set the scope. All-encompassing HR reviews cover all aspects of the HR function which may be biting off more than you can chew. Another approach is to look at some of the areas that traditionally cause most of the issues. (The 80%-20% rule again!) These areas can vary depending on your company, industry, and other particulars, but typically include policies, procedures, hiring practices, employment record-keeping, required postings, former/ongoing complaints, performance management practices, disciplinary actions, and absenteeism practices.
When is a good time to conduct a review? A review can occur at any time, but an ideal opportunity is when: significant organizational change has occurred, growth of a business, reductions/layoffs, opening new facilities in another state or country, when it has been over (or well over) a year since the Employee Handbook has been updated, or you area running into potential hot button issues such as harassment, disciplinary actions, terminations, etc. Another good reason to conduct an HR review is that one has never been done and company leaders would like to have a better understanding of their HR systems–both strengths and areas for improvement.
How do I obtain more information? For more details, please email or call TJ & Associates at: Info@TJandassociates.com or 360-263-2676. We are happy to discuss the process in more detail and answer any questions you may have during a complimentary one hour consultation.
