Need Help with Conducting an HR Audit Across Different Units – Any Advice?

Hi,

I have been assigned the task of conducting an HR audit of other units within the organization. Could somebody assist me with this matter?

Regards,
Pawan

Hi Pawan,

Please note that an audit happens to check whether you follow the policies and processes, and if yes, what are the records (evidence) you maintain as proof.

HR audit or any audit starts by asking about the roles and responsibilities of individuals. Accordingly, the auditor asks questions such as how you do your job and what evidence is available to check whether you are doing it correctly. In the process, the auditor also checks if you are following prescribed policies and processes.

During an audit, if you fail to produce the records/evidence, the auditor marks an NC (non-conformity) or observation for that activity. The auditor gives an NC for major issues and an observation for minor issues. A major issue could be the lack of evidence of activities being performed or violations of observed policies, while a minor issue could be the continued use of old annexures/formats.

Based on the NC/observation, you must take CA/PA (corrective action/preventive action) to close the NC within 15 working days and subsequently send the conformity report to the quality team for further checks. The QA team reviews the conformity and, if satisfied, closes the NC accordingly. The same NC may be cross-checked during a repeat audit, and you will need to provide proper evidence to avoid an NC.

It's beneficial to have periodic audits as they give you a chance to identify gaps and improve. The key importance is that if your company as a whole receives no or minor NCs, it maintains its quality certification, e.g., ISO 9000, 14000, TL9000, etc.

Please do not create false evidence just to satisfy the auditor. Remember, the auditor is there to help you, not judge your performance.

Best of luck for your audit.

Regards,

Anup

I think I have replied to you both ways regarding the duties of an auditee and Auditor! As an auditor, please remember not to take things personally and avoid asking any questions that are not related to specific policies or processes.

Regards, Anup

Hi Pawan,

Is your company covered under any quality system, i.e., ISO, GMP, OSHAS, etc.? If it is, then replies from our friends to this mail would suffice your purpose. If you are not covered under any system, then my advice for conducting an HR audit would be to divide the HR activities into three parts: A) Statutory B) Non-Statutory/Welfare C) Developmental.

In the statutory part, you can cover all the compliances of labor laws. If you have faced an inspection by GLO/PF/ESIC inspectors, then you can audit other departments easily.

In welfare, you can cover activities like recreation, canteen, transport, etc.

For developmental activities, you can cover training identification of all employees, appraisal guidelines being properly followed or not, training for all employees being completed or not, whether training feedback is taken or not, whether the effectiveness of training is calculated or only discussed, and whether exit interview procedures are followed or not. The list for all three mentioned above is exhaustive. Based on the list, prepare open-ended questions and proceed to do audit jobs.

Regards,

Ashish

Hi Mr. Anoop,

I have a query on this. When I was working in a small import company, the Director of the company had appointed an auditor to audit the working of the different departments. But before the auditor started their work, the same director gave us instructions to update all the documents of the departments, however, it was possible. I was not able to understand why he had given us such instructions when he himself decided to appoint an auditor.