ERC’s HR Compliance Audit is designed to ensure Ohio-based employers’ policies and practices are aligned with current regulations. We know it’s hard to keep up with every rule and requirement. Most teams simply don’t have the time or resources to manage a full-scale compliance audit on their own. That’s where we step in.
Our experienced HR consultants partner with your leadership team to identify potential compliance gaps and share clear, practical recommendations rooted in real-world best practices. With ERC, you’ll walk away with the peace of mind that your HR operations are current and compliant.
What’s Included in an HR Compliance Audit?
Employee Recordkeeping
We take a comprehensive look at your current HR practices across the full employee lifecycle, from hiring to recordkeeping to leave administration and more. Here’s what our review includes:
- Federal and State of Ohio Required Posting Review
- Employee file audit of new hire paperwork, wage and hour documentation, performance management forms, leave and medical-related requests, etc.
Selection and Hiring Evaluation
When onboarding new employees, it’s important to comply with legal and regulatory requirements that ensure fair and consistent hiring practices. This includes:
- Job Descriptions — A review of job descriptions can identify any discriminatory language, but also ensure that the description clearly reflects the essential functions and responsibilities of the position.
- Recruiting Process — When recruiting, it’s important to be consistent to avoid any discriminatory recruiting practices, which can extend from job postings to the candidate selection process.
- Interview Process — Having a standardized interview process ensures that hiring managers evaluate all candidates equally; our consultants can also ensure that interview questions are legal according to federal and state anti-discrimination laws.
- Recordkeeping — In case your organization is accused of discriminatory behavior, it’s important to keep records of all applicants, interviews, and evaluations.
- Hiring Process and Onboarding — Once you’ve found the right candidate for a job, it’s important that you have the right procedures in place to bring them on board, including paperwork, communication of company policies, and any necessary training.
Benefit Administration
Our consultants will review whether your employee benefits offerings are competitive, meet the needs of your workforce, and comply with legal and regulatory requirements. An audit of employee total rewards can help your organization attract and retain top talent and improve your reputation as an employer of choice.
Policy Administration
A comprehensive HR audit often starts with an examination of your organization’s policies and procedures, including:
- Employee Policy Review — A review of your current employment policies will not only evaluate legal compliance but also uncover any updates or revisions that need to be made.
- Performance Management Process — We’ll evaluate your current performance management policies, including your performance evaluation process, how feedback is provided, and how you document performance.
- Medical Leave Administration — Our HR Consultants will review your current processes for medical and accommodation requests to ensure consistent and compliant practices are established.
Wage and Hour Compliance
A review of company pay practices helps ensure that your organization’s compensation policy is aligned with your overall business strategy. This review also helps analyze whether employees are receiving fair compensation and benefits.
- Pay Practices — ERC will review your current timekeeping and payroll processes to ensure compliance with wage and hour laws.
- Pay Equity — Our consultants will conduct a generalized review of current pay data in order to flag any significant compliance risks related to pay inequity.
- Employee Status — We’ll help you stay compliant if you employ different types of employees, including exempt and non-exempt employees, and independent contractors.
Workplace Safety
One of the most important areas to consider from a compliance perspective is workplace safety. It’s important for your organization to create a safe working environment for all employees, but that extends to remaining compliant with standards set by regulatory agencies like OSHA. ERC’s HR Audit can help evaluate whether you have the right safety policies and procedures in place.
An HR Compliance Audit is ideal for organizations looking for a comprehensive, compliance-based analysis of current HR processes, policies, and practices.
You get one written report and a working session to walk through it. The report contains four things:
- Findings by area. What we reviewed in each of the eight areas and what we found, written so a reader outside HR can follow it.
- A priority ranking. Every gap sorted by how much exposure it carries and how quickly it should be addressed, so you can build a budget request around the top of the list.
- Specific recommendations. What to do about each finding, described concretely enough to act on or hand to someone else.
- What’s working. The practices worth protecting, so the report gives your leadership team something to stand on alongside the list of fixes.
How the Audit Works
Most audits run about 30 days from kickoff to final report.
- Scoping conversation. We learn your size, structure, locations, industry, and what prompted the call. If something specific is worrying you, we build the review around it.
- Document request. We send one organized list of what we need: handbook, job descriptions, a sample of personnel files, pay records, postings, and policy documents. You send what you have. Gaps in that list are themselves a finding.
- One day on site. A consultant spends a day at your Ohio location reviewing files, checking postings, and talking with the people who run your HR processes. Practice and paperwork often differ, and a day in the building is how we find out where.
- Analysis. We compare what we found against current federal and Ohio requirements, and against what we see working at other employers in the region.
- Report and walkthrough. You get the written report, then we sit down with you and your leadership to go through it, answer questions, and agree on where to start.
See a Sample Report
See a sample of our comprehensive HR Compliance Review report.
Frequently Asked Questions
About 30 days from kickoff to final report for most organizations. Larger employers, multiple locations, or a heavier document review can extend that. We give you a timeline in writing before we begin.
Cost depends on headcount, number of locations, and scope. We quote a fixed fee after a scoping conversation, so there are no surprises. Members receive preferred pricing.
We send one organized document request covering your handbook, job descriptions, a sample of personnel files, pay and timekeeping records, required postings, and current policies. Send what exists. If something on the list doesn’t exist, that tells us something useful.
That’s your call. Most of the work happens between our consultant and your HR and leadership team. The on-site day involves conversations with the people who run your HR processes. We follow your lead on how it’s communicated internally.
We tell you immediately instead of holding it for the report, and we explain what your options are. If it needs an attorney, we say so and help you frame the question. Nothing in the report should be a surprise at the walkthrough.
Every two to three years covers most organizations, with a focused review sooner if you add locations, cross an employee-count threshold that changes your obligations, expand into a new state, or change HR leadership.
Talk to an Expert
Want to learn more? Talk to an expert to get more information or pricing for ERC’s HR Compliance Audit.
