HR Audits
Our Comprehensive HR Compliance Audit is designed to proactively identify risk, close gaps, and strengthen your HR foundation before issues escalate into complaints, investigations, or litigation.
This is our most in-depth and commonly requested audit, trusted by organizations across industries that want clarity, confidence, and a practical path forward.
What Is an HR Compliance Audit?
An HR Compliance Audit is a structured, expert-led review of your organization’s HR policies, practices, and procedures compared against current employment laws and recommended best practices. The goal is not just to identify what is technically compliant, but to assess how your HR systems work in real life and where misalignment creates risk.
Our audit goes beyond a checklist approach. We look at how your written policies align with how things are actually done day to day, and where inconsistencies could expose your organization to liability or employee relations challenges.
What Our Comprehensive HR Audit Includes
Our comprehensive audit is tailored to your organization’s size, industry, and risk profile. While no two audits are identical, areas typically reviewed include:
- Employment law compliance
- Wage and hour practices, including exempt and non-exempt classifications
- Leaves of absence and accommodation practices
- Performance management and disciplinary processes
- Policies and procedures, including employee handbooks
- Employee relations practices
- Hiring, onboarding, and separation processes
- Compensation practices and pay structures
- Personnel file management and recordkeeping
- Manager training and consistency in application
Our Audit Process
We follow a clear, thorough, and collaborative process designed to minimize disruption while delivering meaningful results.
1
Information Gathering
We collect relevant documents, policies, forms, and data to understand your current HR framework.
2
Interviews and Review
We conduct in-depth interviews with key leaders and HR contacts to understand how policies are applied in practice.
3
Analysis and Risk Assessment
Our experts analyze your materials and practices against current legal requirements and recommended best practices.
4
Written Findings and Recommendations
You receive a detailed written report outlining findings, identified risks, and practical recommendations.
5
Prioritized Action Plan
We provide a clear, prioritized plan so you know what to address first, what can wait, and where to focus resources for the greatest impact.
Other HR Audit Services We Offer
In addition to our Comprehensive HR Compliance Audit, we offer targeted audits focused on specific risk areas. These audits can be completed on their own or alongside a broader review.
I-9 Compliance Audit
A focused review of Form I-9 completion, storage, and retention practices to identify technical errors, gaps, and risk exposure.
Pay Equity Audit
An analysis of compensation practices to identify potential pay disparities based on gender, race, or other protected characteristics in order to comply with Oregon and Washington laws.
Wage and Hour Audit
A detailed review of wage and hour practices, including exempt and non-exempt classifications, overtime calculations, timekeeping practices, and pay policies.
Recruitment and Hiring Audit
An evaluation of hiring practices, job postings, applications, interviews, and selection processes to assess compliance, consistency, and risk related to discrimination or bias claims
Why HR Audits Are More Important Than Ever
Employment laws continue to evolve at a rapid pace, particularly around wage and hour compliance, paid leave, accommodations, and employee protections. At the same time, employees are more informed about their rights and more willing to raise concerns internally or externally.
Common triggers for HR audits include:
- Rapid organizational growth or restructuring
- Leadership or ownership changes
- Increased employee complaints or turnover
- Remote or hybrid workforce changes
- Recent or upcoming regulatory changes
- A desire to be proactive rather than reactive
An HR audit helps you:
- Identify compliance gaps before they become costly problems
- Reduce the risk of audits, claims, or lawsuits
- Improve consistency and fairness in HR decision-making
- Strengthen employee trust and organizational credibility
- Create a clear, prioritized roadmap for improvement
Common Risks We Frequently Identify
While every organization is different, audits often uncover similar risk patterns. Examples include:
- Policies that appear compliant on paper but are applied inconsistently by managers, creating exposure in employee relations and termination decisions
- Employees classified as exempt who do not consistently meet duties or salary requirements, increasing wage and hour risk
- Informal accommodation or leave practices that unintentionally treat employees differently, leading to fairness and compliance concerns
- Informal and arbitrary pay practices increasing risk of liability.
Frequently Asked Questions
The length of an audit depends on your organization’s size, complexity, and scope. Many comprehensive audits are completed over several weeks, spread across document review, interviews, and reporting.