You may think of an HR Assessment or Audit as something to check off the list to make sure you’re doing “all the things.” Or you might have had an HR Assessment on your to-do list for the last year, procrastinating because you just don’t have time to get it done. The reality is that an HR Assessment can be a great tool for you and a process that is eye-opening to the advancement of your organization. Here are the top five ways an HR Assessment can benefit your organization.
1. Priorities.
When you’re in the day-to-day work, it can oftentimes feel overwhelming. An employee is asking for a compensation increase, you have an I-9 on your desk that was supposed to be completed last week, and open enrollment starts next week. Everything is an emergency. Conducting an HR Assessment will help you clearly identify your priorities and help determine what is an emergency, and what problems you can address next week, next month, or even next year. An HR Assessment will allow you to take a breath and look at your HR operations from a high level, getting out of the small details. Yes, creating that manager training is important – but let’s first look at a way to streamline your I-9 process so your compliance isn’t a constant scramble and stressor each time you onboard an employee.
2. Expertise.
Look, we know you’re great. But no one person can be an expert in everything. Even more, no one person can be an expert in every area of HR. Conducting an HR Assessment means you get access to a variety of HR (and other) professionals that are experts in specific areas of human resources and business operations. An HR Assessment invites experts of all types into your organization to evaluate how your organization operates from day-to-day tasks to big picture initiatives. The experts will take a look at how your organization is operating and determine ways that can make your life easier and grow your HR function. This allows you to utilize expertise in ways that you otherwise wouldn’t. Hiring experts can be costly, but an HR Assessment can give you a high-level overview and help determine if you do need further support from experts or if you can create a solution to solve an issue at its core.
3. Savings.
An HR Assessment will not only save your organization money, but also time. The HR Assessment will take a look at all areas of your HR function and develop priorities and goals. While it may not solve all of your problems in one fell swoop, it will create a plan on how to address each problem. Most importantly, the assessment with look for long-term solutions for the time-consuming problems that continuously arise (like that accounting position that seems to be a revolving door for employees). This may include tools, resources, guidance, referrals to other experts, or more. An HR Assessment finds the core of ongoing challenges, offering solutions that will pay out long term. Streamlining processes can put hours back into your week so that you can focus your efforts on running your organization or continuing to improve strategy within the workplace or HR department. Not to mention, you can save thousands of dollars by finding those pesky compliance issues that you may not know exist.
4. Anonymity.
When you think of an HR Assessment, you may think of a compliance checklist. Our HR Assessments are much more than that. Compliance is important, but so are your employees, your culture, and how your employees view your organization. In an HR Assessment we work hands-on with employees and managers to gain perspective of their day-to-day life. Even better, this gives employees and managers a third-party outlet to express their successes, wins, concerns, and challenges that they often may not feel comfortable expressing directly to their organization. Some organizations may opt to conduct an HR Assessment or Audit internally. When they do, they miss a major piece of the evaluation. This creates a sense of anonymity to gain insight into your organization that you would not be able to do without a third party.
5. Clarity.
Do you have that friend or family member you call just to talk through why your Wednesday felt like a Monday? Sometimes, you just need someone to tell you that you are on the right track or maybe you should present that new idea to your boss. When you complete an HR Assessment, you get access to HR Consultants that can be your listening ear. They will spend time, first and foremost, understanding your concerns and challenges and why they exist and then brainstorm potential solutions. Oftentimes, these solutions are things you haven’t considered or even knew existed. Consultants work with countless clients of all sizes, industries, and life cycles. This means that when you work with a consultant, you’re essentially getting access to best practices of all different forms. The HR Assessment can guide you to make decisions based on proven approaches and solutions.
All in all, an HR Assessment can be a great tool for your organization and should be viewed as a partnership between HR and business owners. If you want more information on how we can tailor an HR Assessment for your organization, reach out to us at info@hannaresource.com or 859-514-7724.
