Assess the Health of your HR

Posted by Lee Yarborough on 2/7/17 10:15 AM
Lee Yarborough
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Posted on: February 7, 2017

We all know the value of visiting the doctor for an annual check-up. Preventative healthcare can help you avoid illness and diagnose problems even before you notice symptoms. If something is discovered in your annual physical, a path can be set to correct the problem. Often the doctor will suggest lifestyle changes such as diet or exercise. Other times, a stronger course of action, such as medicine or medical intervention, may be needed.

When it comes to our health or the health of those we love, it is easy to see the value of preventative health assessments. However, when it comes to our businesses, we don’t always take the same approach. Instead of proactively assessing potential risks, we often wait until the problem is too big to ignore. We become so focused on the day-to-day business, that we don’t look at our internal processes to see if we have any potential HR health issues.

What are healthy Human Resources practices and how do you assess the health of your HR?

Human Resources refers to the activities relating to your organization’s employees, such as recruiting and hiring, training and orientation, administrating of employee benefits, and employee retention. Healthy HR requires a set of best practices when implementing policies and procedures surrounding these activities.

When evaluating your company’s HR health, it is important to ensure that the evaluation is objective. Do not have the persons who are responsible for the HR functions at your company give the full assessment. They will be an important part of the process, but often they are too close to the job to be truly objective. By using an outside HR firm or consultant, you will have receive a second opinion and you will have someone help hold your organization accountable when implementing any changes. Just like a personal trainer that can help you lose weight by teaching you proper diet and exercise and holding you accountable to your new regime, an HR firm can outline the best HR practices and help with the follow-through of any necessary changes.

Further Reading: Top 10 Areas to Pose Questions for an HR Assessment

At your annual physical, your doctor will check your vital signs, perform visual and physical exams, and order a panel of blood tests. He or she will update your medical history and discuss factors like medications and stress, which could impact your health. A physical cannot uncover every potential illness, but it does provide the doctor with an overview of the general health of the patient. An HR assessment is similar; it is a general review of the HR health of the organization. Policies are reviewed, records are sampled, and many questions are asked about the administration of the HR activities.

Many HR practices and processes are reviewed in an HR assessment including hiring, onboarding, recordkeeping, and compensation. The culture is also evaluated in regards to safety, morale, and employee relations. Policies and practices are appraised for compliance and conformity. Often during an assessment, needs are discovered and work can begin to improve the overall health of an organization’s Human Resources.

Employees are typically the greatest assets that a business has, yet often the HR functions and liabilities are overlooked in the day-to-day operations. Just like an annual doctor’s visit, a periodic review the practices surrounding HR is essential. Yes, you might uncover some unhealthy risks that you don’t know about, but in the long run, this preventative assessment will reduce your liabilities and put you on the right track for success.

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Topics: Human Resources

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