HR Audit: An essential strategic tool for your business
Amanda Nicholls
??Thanet's trusted HR Consultant - Simplifying HR for your business growth and compliance ??
As an independent HR consultant, our primary goal is to work in your business's best interest
When we start working with you as a Strategic Partner, we need to understand how your business ticks, the risks it faces and the opportunities available to you.
And the most powerful tool we can use to help us do this is an HR Audit.
What is an HR Audit?
An HR Audit is a comprehensive review of your company through the lens of an experienced HR expert.
Once we understand your goals and what you’re trying to achieve, we follow a structured approach to look at what’s happening in your business.
What are the main benefits of having an HR Audit?
We’ll ensure your company is legally compliant and protected against costly employment tribunal claims.
HR can often feel intangible. That’s why we’ll create HR Metrics, report on them and create a RAG-rated priority list of actions we need to take to help you to achieve your goals.
Once we know what needs to be worked on, we can provide you with the best possible support and price to make it happen.
If you’d like to review your business’s relationship with its employees and create the best possible action plan, please get in touch with us for a confidential chat today.
The 4-day week reboot
The traditional five-day work week, long seen as the standard, is increasingly viewed as outdated. Many attribute productivity problems to the rigid focus on hours and days rather than output and effectiveness.
A new 4-day week pilot project will launch this month, allowing companies to test the model along with other flexible working practices, such as flexible hours and nine-day fortnights. The results will be presented to Labour next year, with the hope that political support will grow for this shift in work culture.
It offers a potential solution to improve our work-life balance, increase productivity and make us happier and healthier.? But can it be a “one size fits all” answer for every business?
The perks of the job…
A new study has revealed that nearly half of UK job adverts promote statutory requirements and basic amenities as workplace benefits. The study found that 46% of current job listings highlight legal entitlements, such as ‘company pension’ (124,589 mentions), ‘20 days holiday’ (2,000 mentions) and ‘statutory sick pay’ (253 mentions), as key reasons to join.
Additionally, employers present standard amenities like free or on-site parking as perks, with mentions in over 161,000 ads. Basic offerings, like free tea (1,078 mentions), fruit (675 mentions) and even water, are also being marketed as benefits.
These perks do little to attract or retain top talent. Meaningful perks, flexible working and genuine support are needed to build a positive workplace culture that engages and retains employees.
82% of managers and workers who entered management positions had not received proper training and were identified as ‘accidental managers’. If not carefully managed, this can lead to low employee engagement, reduced productivity and a toxic workplace culture.
Why should you care about your employees’ ‘engagement’?
‘Engagement’ is an umbrella term we HR consultants use to describe your employees’ enthusiasm, commitment and motivation towards their work and your business.
Their levels of engagement have a direct impact on their performance and your bottom line.
That’s why working on engagement within your business is really important.
Now, with all things HR, it can easily seem quite intangible. But there’s a really easy way to measure your team’s engagement.
Engagement metrics not only help us to understand how engaged your team are, but they also help us to create benchmarks and report on improvements in the future.
These surveys provide insight into how employees feel about their work environment, management and overall job satisfaction.
This metric gauges employees’ loyalty and willingness to recommend their workplace, clearly indicating overall engagement levels.
Monitoring how often employees leave or stay with the company helps assess engagement.
Want to know how engaged your employees are? Get in touch with us for a confidential chat.
Q&A
What’s the difference between banter and bullying?
Banter is all about light-hearted, playful teasing that’s mutual and doesn’t cross the line—everyone’s in on the joke and no one gets hurt. On the flip side, bullying is targeted, mean-spirited, and aims to upset or put someone down, often with a power imbalance in play. It keeps going even when the targeted person isn’t okay with it. The big difference? Banter respects boundaries; bullying doesn’t.
Can I force employees to use annual leave for Christmas when the business is closed?
Yes, you can require employees to use their holiday allowance when the business is closed, like at Christmas, but you’ve got to follow some rules. Check their contracts and give proper notice—usually, notice must be at least twice the length of the holiday. Just ensure you’re on the right side of the law, communicate it clearly and you’ll be good to go!
Do I have to offer flexible working?
You don’t have to offer flexible working, but employees can request it. As an employer, you’re legally required to consider these requests reasonably. Still, you can refuse if there’s a valid business reason, like impact on performance, extra costs or difficulty meeting customer demand. Ensure you handle requests fairly and follow the correct process to avoid issues.