About a year ago, I received a call from a company (400 employees), stating they were having problems with high turnover, especially among key providers. Additionally, the CEO stated the company recently faced litigation and really needed help with compliance. Based on our entire conversation, I recommended having Expert Human Resources (EHR) conduct an HR Audit.
A thorough HR Audit would give an objective review of the employer’s “current state” and help evaluate whether specific practice areas are adequate, legal, and effective. An HR Audit would also uncover risk areas as well as reveal the reason(s) for the turnover problems. The CEO agreed. I quickly prepared a proposal and got to work.
The first thing I did was meet with senior leadership to learn more about the company, i.e., culture, organization, etc. A questionnaire was created and I met individually with the managers. Simultaneously, my team and I gathered information, including, handbooks, CBA, forms, benefits information, compensation plan, exit interviews, orientation information, etc.
After interviewing staff and collecting information, my team and I assessed and evaluated the information. It was amazing what we uncovered. One of the big things we found was that the reason key providers were leaving had absolutely nothing to do with pay. They were leaving due to lack of communication, not being appreciated (in their opinion), and lack of support. This was an easy (no cost) fix!
Our findings revealed over $500,000 in cost saving opportunities, which were (just to name a few):
- The staff was not using the current HR system because it was not user friendly. However, The Company was paying $3,500/month or $42,000 per year for that system and the Company was not under contract with the company from which they purchased the system.
- Discipline – Because the Company had seven (7) locations, frequently the managers of each location would administer discipline completely different (if at all) for the same violations. A lawsuit waiting to happen.
- Outsourcing opportunities – We found multiple outsourcing opportunities, for example, it would be a reduction in cost and more efficient to outsource recruitment of hard to fill positions and background checks.
We were able to provide a step-by-step plan for the Company and work with them to implement the plan. We stayed close by to monitor the plan. This company actually had $500,000 to add to their bottom line, just sitting there on the shelf.
Things went really well for the Company and I am excited to say that Expert Human Resources (EHR) is still a partner to that Company today.
