HR Consultancy
HR audits
Want to ensure your organisation is compliant with HR best practice and latest employment law developments? Keen to understand your strengths and weaknesses, protect your organisation, and improve the efficiency of your HR system? Then you need an HR audit.
Policies, procedures, practices. Get a systematic health check of how you’re performing from a people management perspective and take your HR function to the next level with support from WorkNest.
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How we help
Save time, become HR confident
An HR audit is an intensive exercise. If you don’t have the time or resources to undertake this task in house, we can assign seasoned HR Consultants to conduct a thorough, unbiased examination and evaluation that will provide confidence, clarity and reassurance.
- Get a full MOT of where you are currently versus where you want and need to be from a highly-qualified HR specialist
- Examine specific issues that are important to your organisation, such as recruitment and retention, performance management, and record-keeping and documentation
- Diagnose issues and identify opportunities with a clear and comprehensive RAG report
- Take positive action with pragmatic, best-practice recommendations and a programme of compliance
- A great place to start if you’re considering ongoing Employment Law and HR support
Transform your approach to people management
A meaningful HR audit can transform human resources management from a reactive, transactional business process to a strategic, proactive service that delivers value to your organisation. Have any contractual terms and conditions been recently updated? How many disciplinary or grievance issues have you had in the last year? Are managers trained in your policies and procedures? Our HR experts will ask all the right questions to identify any emerging problems or areas of exposure, then work with you to put things right.
Some of these issues may already be on your to-do list but need bringing to the forefront as a priority. Others may only be uncovered by experienced, independent professionals. Either way, support from WorkNest can give you the information and momentum you need to focus your efforts and become a successful, sustainable organisation.
Popular FAQs
Common queries about our HR audits, answered by the HR specialists that conduct them.
What areas will the HR audit look at?
Two main focuses of an audit are legal compliance and best practice. We can also tailor the audit to the HR areas that are important to your organisation, such as recruitment and retention, training and development, compensation and employee benefits, engagement and communication, performance management, discipline and grievance, equality and diversity, attendance management, and recordkeeping and documentation.
What sorts of issues might the HR audit uncover?
An HR audit can uncover any number of things, from process issues, such as a lack of performance management, to documentation failures, such as the organisation not carrying out right to work checks (or not evidencing that it has). Whatever gaps are identified, we will provide practical recommendations that can be implemented either by your internal team or with our support.
Why might I need an HR audit?
There are a number of reasons why you might need an HR audit. You might not know exactly what’s wrong but have a sense that something isn’t working as it should. It could be that your organisation or HR function has changed in some way, perhaps with new leadership, and you want reassurance that everything is present and correct. You might be concerned that you’re not keeping pace with case law changes and need an expert review to minimise exposure. Or you might be preparing for expansion and growth and looking to take your HR systems to the next level.
In all of these cases, an HR audit can give you a picture of how you’re performing and provide practical direction and peace of mind.
How long will the audit take?
A comprehensive audit will typically take three days – one day spent with you on site to examine your policies, procedures and practices and two days to produce the report.
Explore Our HR Consultancy Services
We do more than just HR audits...
Consultation support
Looking to make changes within your organisation? If it will have a fundamental impact on the employment relationship, you have a duty to inform and consult with your employees first.
Whether you’re embarking on large-scale redundancies, considering making changes to employees’ terms and conditions or going through a transfer of ownership, our skilled HR specialists can conduct productive consultations with those affected to help you make informed, commercial decisions.
Dispute resolution
If alternative forms of dispute resolution fail, settlement agreements may be the only viable solution. However, negotiating one can be daunting – that’s why we’re here to make the process as painless as possible, as well as help you avoid legal pitfalls along the way.
Whether you have an employee who’s consistently underperforming or who isn’t suitable for your team, causing disruption and impacting negatively on team output, we can steer you through the legal requirements and iterative processes that need to be followed to deliver the settlement so that you can sever ties and move forward positively.
Investigations, hearings and appeals
There are many components to a fair disciplinary or grievance process. If you’re not comfortable conducting investigations, hearings and appeals yourself, or are simply strapped for time, our seasoned HR specialists can offer on-site support to take the pressure off.
We can conduct the meetings for you or, if you prefer, attend them with you to provide expert guidance and reassurance. This is invaluable when experienced, independent HR support is needed.
Mediation and facilitation
Resolving a workplace dispute or repairing a working relationship that has gone sour isn’t always easy. At WorkNest, we can provide mediation or facilitation services to help two or more individuals or groups reach a solution that is acceptable to everyone.
We can help those involved understand each other’s perspectives, clarify potential options, and develop an appropriate action plan for the parties to follow – allowing you to move forward positively.
Organisational change
Got big plans for your organisation over the next 12 months to three years? Then you might need to rethink and right-size your organisation to make sure your structure and skillset aligns with your aims.
If you’re not sure where to start with a task of this scale, our skilled HR Consultants can support you through the reorganisation process and ensure your workforce is set up for future success.
Recruitment
Hiring the right people can measurably propel your organisation towards success. Using proven methods, we can maximise your chances of attracting, sourcing, selecting and retaining the most talented personnel.
If you’re spending too much time and money on your recruitment, or struggling to get quality candidates through the process expediently, our outsourced recruitment offerings are suitable for one-off senior-level hires or even for us managing all your annual vacancies in one place.
Staff surveys
There’s only one way to truly evaluate your workforce’s feelings towards your organisation as a place of work, and that’s by asking them. Our staff surveys provide an effective and transparent measure of employee engagement.
After identifying your objectives, we can help you design, implement and analyse your survey. Done effectively, this can enhance your relationship with your employees, address critical issues and direct organisational growth.
Training and organisation development
Equipping your staff with the right skills fortifies your organisation and maximises its success.
Our trainers will apply fresh thinking to your operational and strategic challenges and offer innovative solutions to address your training requirements. Sharing their skills and knowledge, they will facilitate productive and insightful events to enhance your business’s management and leadership capability.
Welfare and medical capability meetings
When dealing long-term absence or persistent short-term absences, care must be taken to avoid being found liable for unlawful discrimination.
If you have concerns about an employee’s ability to undertake their role effectively, our seasoned HR Consultants can take care of all formal meetings for you and help you to do the right thing by your people and your business.
99.2% Client happiness rating
97% Client retention rating
Why choose us?
Experts in HR
At WorkNest HR, we’re known for our bespoke service and the quality of our support. Not only is our expertise unmatched, but we take the time to know you so that we can function as a true extension of your team.
- 40 employed HR Consultants, many of whom are CIPD qualified, chartered and fellows
- A dedicated Organisational Development Team of specialist trainers and consultants
- Cradle-to-grave HR service for new start-ups and growing businesses – everything from managing your HR administration through to defining your HR strategy
- Specialists in managing projects such as pay and reward, recruitment, HR systems, onboarding, redundancy and restructuring
- HR Consultants based in Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Newcastle, Chester, Horsham and London, working remotely and in your premises
Who you’ll be working with
Angela Carter
Director of Legal Services
Toyah Marshall
Head of Team
Toyah Marshall
Principal Employment Law Adviser
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David Roberts
Head of Operations, NASEN
