HQ in Alexandria - Serving Northern VA, MD and DC since 2001 (703) 952-3177

Smart HR

Human Resource Services and Consulting

by

Surely one of your New Year’s resolutions is the get your human resources in order for 2020, and Smart HR is here to help you do it with our annual HR Audit Checklist. These are proactive steps, presented in a user-friendly bulleted format, you can take now to minimize HR headaches in 2020.

Personnel Files, Recordkeeping and Posting Requirements

  • Ensure your HRIS is meeting your needs by tracking the right information and providing you with useful and purposeful data.
  • Address aging files according to your records retention policy. New hire applications and paperwork should be kept for two years; Personnel and payroll files should be kept for seven years from the date of termination; I-9s should be kept for no more than three years after termination.
  • Create a 2020 I-9 file in which to keep your 2020 I-9s.
  • Ensure all employment law posters are up-to-date.
  • Update organizational chart if necessary.

Employee Handbook

  • Consult legal counsel on state and local changes to employment laws that impact corporate policies.
  • Conduct annual review of employee handbook and update policies as needed.
  • Obtain an acknowledgement of employee handbook receipt from all employees if a revised/updated employee handbook is issued and keep in personnel files.

Recruiting and Hiring

  • Speak with department heads and hiring managers to forecast recruitment needs for 2020.
  • Ensure your Applicant Tracking System (ATS) is meeting your recruiting needs.
  • Revisit your orientation procedures to ensure new employees feel welcomed and have the resources needed to get off to a good start.
  • Consider implementing a mentor or buddy system for new hires.
  • Review and update, if necessary, your new hire and termination checklists to ensure all administrative tasks are handled most efficiently.
  • Ensure hiring managers and any other personnel who conduct interviews are well-informed on legally-compliant interview questions.
  • Ensure your job posting template and application include your EEO policy.
  • Ensure your new hire packets contains current tax forms, health insurance information, I-9, etc.

Compensation and Performance Reviews

  • Evaluate the compensation system for potential pay disparities based on gender, race, age and any other protected class of employees. Include all forms of compensation (starting salary, benefits, bonuses, shift differentials, overtime, training opportunities, separation pay, etc.)
  • Consider creating and distributing total compensation statements for all employees.
  • Ensure all employees are properly classified as exempt or non-exempt in light of the recent changes to the FLSA’s salary threshold to be considered exempt. See Smart HR’s blog Exempt vs Non-Exempt – The Basics.
  • Evaluate how pay raises and bonuses are determined to ensure that decisions are made in a non-discriminatory manner.
  • Ensure competitive salaries by benchmarking jobs against compensation surveys that are detailed and specific to your company and region.
  • Ensure all job descriptions are current and each employee has a copy of his/her job description.
  • Review performance appraisal tool to ensure it is aligned with your compensation strategy.
    Circulate performance review dates to appropriate management.

Benefits

  • Review benefit offerings to ensure a competitive, appealing package.
  • Update all benefit materials to reflect changes to plans and premiums.
  • Circulate open enrollment dates to appropriate management.
  • Ensure employees have received all mandated notices such as the Marketplace Coverage Notice, Summaries of Benefits and Coverage, Summary Plan Descriptions, CHIPRA, Patient Protection Choice for Providers and HIPAA Special Enrollment Rights Notice.
  • Verify and update 403(b), 401(k) or Simple IRA contribution limits for current year if necessary.

Training and Employee Engagement

  • Assess the need for management training on employment laws and best practices to avoid litigation.
  • Schedule annual corporate-wide EEO training.
  • Consider conducting periodic “stay interviews” to discover what makes employees want to stay with your company.
  • Plan employee gatherings, outings, parties, lunches, picnics, etc.

Smart HR Audit

The 2020 Smart HR Audit Checklist is a helpful resource for you as you prepare for 2020. While working through the action items, you will likely find areas of concern or that need some special attention. You may even decide you need a more comprehensive HR audit. Among Smart HR’s many innovative, world-class human resource offerings is an HR auditing service. An HR audit involves a review of current practices, policies and procedures to identify areas of strengths and weaknesses and where improvements may be needed. If gaps are identified between “what is” and “what should be,” Smart HR makes recommendations for improvements and gives you a very specific path forward. By virtue of going through an HR audit, you are demonstrating your commitment to your employees and making HR a priority. Get 2020 started the right way, call today.