Look Under My HR Hood

Human Resource Department Auditing

The dashboard on your car just lit up like Clark Griswold’s house in National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation. You’ve been driving a car for years. Why don’t you just pop that hood and get at it? Probably because driving a car doesn’t equate to being skilled enough to repair one. That’s what mechanics are for. That’s also one of the reasons why you get your car inspected every year; to prevent small, hidden problems from becoming enormous issues that leave you stranded. 

Your HR department requires the same occasional inspection and audit to ensure the following problems aren’t lurking just under your hood:

• Employment Law Infractions (Compliance) – There are many laws with many idiosyncrasies. It’s hard for even the most seasoned HR heads to keep up while doing the day-to-day; not to mention all the new laws springing up. Your employee policies and practices are crucial. What you have in writing and how you say it matters. You have to be careful how you communicate and work with your employees.


• Dysfunctional Workplace (Employee Relations) – Workplace harmony is highly sought after but commonly elusive. When individuals are toxic they suck the joy out of the journey. Even if they aren’t quarrelers or team wreckers they are still truly unproductive and are a cancer that’s bound to spread. Performance management and work-life balance are part of this equation but it actually all begins with hiring.


• Inefficient Payroll Systems (Payroll Processing) – You don’t mind rewarding your people for their contributions and the value they bring to your customers. You probably do mind when that process, payroll, goes off the road. There are more ways to screw up payroll processing then there are to do it right. Calculating hours, paid time off, sick time, vacation time, direct deposit, benefit deductions (healthcare & 401K), garnishments, tax filing, maintenance reports, transferring funds for payroll and quality checks are a long short-list of stuff to keep on track. Many people inside and outside of your company are impacted when payroll gets screwed up.


• Trouble finding and keeping top talent (Employee Benefits) – Today, potential employees are interviewing you as much as you are them. Offering competitive and creative compensation packages (healthcare, retirement, life insurance, long-term disability, salary, tuition reimbursement, flexible spending plans, long-term care plans) isn’t just for the elite companies anymore. You need to be competitive but even more so you need to get creative if you want to attract and hold on to great people. Understanding individual motivators and generational nuances are part of this. Complying with regulations and keeping up on regulatory changes are also important but aren’t always easy to do.


• Lack of advancement opportunities (Professional Development) – Nobody likes a dead end. Part of keeping great people is providing opportunity for personal and professional growth and advancement. A professional development strategy helps your people realize their potential but it also serves as a giant sign to the world that you believe in your people and aren’t afraid to invest in them. It speaks directly to the culture and values of your company and is part of how you attract and retain the best people.


• Unacceptable Employee Behavior (Workplace Training) - This is part of what makes a dysfunctional workplace dysfunctional. There are people who either don’t know that certain behaviors are unacceptable at work or they just don’t care. It’s a culture killer. Either way, ignorance is no excuse. That goes for you, too. There are mandatory topics, legally, you must cover with employees to raise their awareness and provide a foundation for accountability. If someone is harassed or injured on your dime and it comes to light that you either didn’t train at all or the training you provided was insufficient you better be prepared for a long, bumpy road.

Your HR department carries a lot of responsibility. Equip it to succeed. For related articles and educational resources click on "Points of Interest." An inspection of your HR department is also available upon request. To contact us click here.