November 30th, 2021 | Sterling

Is it time for a workplace audit?

By GV Prasad

What is a workplace audit?

A workplace audit is a method of reviewing various policies and procedures within human resources and other areas of an organisation. The audit provides an opportunity for senior staff to identify areas for improvement and acts as a regular check to ensure employers remain compliant with employment laws and regulations.

Key areas for a human resources audit

HR audits generally focus on a number of key areas.

1. Hiring and recruitment processes

Reviewing the organisation’s hiring processes is one of the first key steps.

This review provides organisations with an opportunity to look at the hiring and orientation processes in order to improve the experience for everyone involved.

The review can look at aspects like the roles you’re regularly hiring for, where you’re promoting roles, how you conduct interviews, components of your pre-employment screening and skills assessments, reinforce any testing and screening, and reconsider how best to present job offers to successful candidates.

This review should keep in mind that the hiring and recruitment processes are highly regulated by anti-discrimination and equal opportunity laws. This applies to job advertisements and all processes involved in recruitment, particularly questions asked during interviews.

The review should ensure that it takes into account any additional employee verification and compliance requirements, such as for those involved in financial sector roles, and obtain the proper verification and right to work information for all relevant employees.

2. Compensation

Another important review is on compensation. The review should cover current compensation for roles, ensuring compensation is competitive against other companies in the industry, and identifying other areas of opportunity, like reviewing the existing pay structures within the organisation.

This audit can determine whether employee salaries, bonuses and other benefits meet the labour standards in the nation and also ensure that employees who perform the same job receive equal pay.

3. Performance evaluation

A review of performance evaluation processes in an organisation can help to improve the experience of performance evaluation by employees and employers.

This review can identify various aspects of the process that need to be brought in line with labour regulations and anti-discrimination and privacy laws.

The audit should also uncover areas where the performance evaluation process might violate an employee’s rights in regards to race, gender, religion, sexual orientation, disability or other protected characteristics or class.

4. Termination of employees

Finally, a review of the organisation’s termination processes are important in order to ensure that all processes are in line with laws and regulations.

Wrongful termination is a serious legal matter and must be avoided. Regular audits will ensure that the company acts legally and within the scope of the law.

Part of this review should also be to ensure that you are providing the terminated employee with the benefits they are entitled to. Any issues with this review could save a multitude of legal issues, along with time and money down the line.

When to conduct a workplace audit?

As soon as you can, and on a regular basis. Annual would be a good benchmark to set, in order to ensure your HR processes are regularly checked against the latest workforce laws and regulations.

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This publication is for informational purposes only and nothing contained in it should be construed as legal advice. We expressly disclaim any warranty or responsibility for damages arising out this information. We encourage you to consult with legal counsel regarding your specific needs. We do not undertake any duty to update previously posted materials.