Unlock Hidden Profits and Growth: How a Strategic HR Audit Drives Success
Episode 7
What if a simple HR audit could transform your entire workplace culture and save you thousands?
In this critical episode of People Success Circle, I break down the powerful impact of an HR audit—beyond mere compliance—to uncover hidden opportunities that can revolutionize your business.
In this episode: Learn how a deep dive into your people side can protect your company from legal risks, reduce costly turnover, and create an environment where employees are truly engaged and motivated.
A Six-Step Roadmap: The six key areas to examine in an audit. Learn how to turn audit findings into a prioritized action plan, unlocking quick wins and long-term improvements that free up leadership to focus on growth and innovation.
Strategic Insight Beyond Compliance: Discover how bundling a compliance check with a strategic assessment reveals areas for improvement—from outdated policies and inefficient hiring practices to misaligned performance reviews—that can drastically elevate your workplace culture.
Actionable Results: How to turn your audit findings into a prioritized action plan that boosts employee engagement, fixes pockets of toxicity, and drives bottom-line success.
Real-World Success: Hear the inspiring story of my client, Kyle, who restructured his HR processes, freed up his time for strategic ventures, and set his organization on the path to sustainable growth.
Whether you're an HR leader, business owner, or someone passionate about building a better workplace, this episode is packed with insights to help you take your people side to the next level.
🎧 Tune in or keep reading for practical, people-first strategies to help your organization thrive.
🔗 Helpful Links
🌐 Mindy’s website for business consulting: https://www.limerockcareerco.com
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Episode 7: Watch or Listen
Key Takeaways From Episode 7: Unlock Hidden Profits and Growth: How a Strategic HR Audit Drives Success
HR Audits Aren’t a “Gotcha”—They’re a Growth Opportunity
When approached with the right mindset, an HR audit becomes one of the most powerful tools to strengthen the people side of your business. It helps you identify what’s working, what’s missing, and what’s holding your team back—without shame or blame.
The Two Types of Audits: Compliance and Strategy
Every audit I conduct includes two sides: compliance (legal musts like wage laws and I-9s) and strategy (culture, hiring, training, performance, and more).
HR Assessments Should Happen Every 2–3 Years
Things change fast—laws, employee needs, even your company’s goals. I recommend a full HR audit every two to three years. For many of my clients, the first audit is eye-opening. After that, they bring me back regularly because they’ve seen the transformation it leads to in morale, hiring, and retention.
Key Audit Areas That Can Transform Your Workplace
There are six core areas I evaluate in every audit, each with a direct impact on your business performance: Compliance, Policy & Procedure, Hiring & Onboarding, Performance & Development, Culture & Engagement, Compensation, Benefits & Tech.
Small Fixes Can Lead to Big Wins
Sometimes the smallest findings save the most money. I’ve uncovered job ads running for years, underused benefits, and hiring bottlenecks that were costing thousands. One client freed up their general manager’s time simply by redesigning the hiring process—and empowered the rest of the team to take ownership. Those are wins that ripple through the whole company.
The Audit Doesn’t End With a Report—It Leads to Real Action
When I deliver your audit findings, I prioritize them: 1) what’s legally urgent, 2) what will drive the biggest impact fast, and 3) what’s nice-to-have. From there, you can take action in-house or work with a consultant to implement solutions.
People First, Profits Follow
If you’re struggling to get leadership buy-in, here’s what I remind my clients: when the people side of the business isn’t working, everything suffers. Sales, service, retention, culture—it’s all connected. When you invest in your people, you build the foundation for long-term success. And it all starts with seeing what’s really going on behind the curtain.
🎧 Want the full story, examples, and action steps?
Listen to the full episode of The People Success Circle for more insights on building a thriving culture that drives results.
Read the full transcript
Mindy:
What if I told you that a simple HR audit could protect your company from potential lawsuits, help you reduce turnover risk—which could save you thousands of dollars—and overall make your business a place where employees love to work? Sounds too good to be true, doesn't it?
Well, in today’s episode, I’m going to unpack what an HR audit actually does. I’ll explain why it’s important for businesses of all sizes, and I’ll help you learn how to take action to improve your workplace environment—so your employees are more engaged, and that engagement leads to better business results.
Mindy:
HR audits are something companies don’t do often enough. But when done right, they can drastically transform how we hire, manage, and retain employees. We’ll cover what an audit is, the key areas to review, the benefits of doing one—and most importantly, how to turn your audit results into an action plan that drives success.
So whether you’re an HR leader, a business owner, or someone in the workplace who just wants to do things the right way, this episode is for you.
Mindy:
As a human resources consultant, when people hear the phrase “HR audit,” they tend to get nervous. The word “audit” has a negative connotation. But I want to flip that. Through all the audits I’ve done, I’ve seen that this is one of the most important initiatives a business can take to elevate the people side of their operations.
A true HR consultant doesn’t want to just catch compliance issues—they want to help you improve every aspect of how you manage and support your people. So instead of thinking about it in a scary way, think of it like this: an HR audit is a deep dive into how well your company manages and supports its employees. That’s it.
Mindy:
There are several components of an audit, and I’ll walk you through them today. But more importantly, I want to help you understand how an audit can be truly impactful in your workplace.
Before I dive in, let me share what prompted me to do an episode on HR audits. I’ve been working closely with several companies, including one where I invited the general manager to be a guest on this podcast. After recording that interview, I realized many people don’t even know what an HR audit really is—or they have the wrong idea about it. So I wanted to give you this preview before airing that interview.
Mindy:
First, know that an HR audit goes far beyond just compliance. There are actually two types of audits. One is a compliance audit—it looks at legal areas like pay practices, OSHA requirements, EEOC laws, etc.
The other is a strategic audit. This one looks at everything from company culture to hiring, training, onboarding, giving feedback, and performance reviews. In my opinion, you should do both at once. Being compliant doesn’t automatically mean you’re a great place to work. And being a great place to work doesn’t mean you’re legally protected.
So I bundle both types of audits together. And while I still call it an “HR audit” because that’s the industry term, I personally prefer to call it an “HR assessment.” It sounds less scary—and that’s truly what I’m doing: assessing your business from the people side and providing recommendations.
Mindy:
How often should you do an HR audit? I recommend every two to three years. Why? Because laws change, your employee culture evolves, and your business goals shift. Your first audit is so important—and once companies see the transformation, they often continue every few years.
Mindy:
Now, what triggers an HR audit? There are a few common reasons:
A company fears they may not be compliant.
The company is growing in size or locations.
They’re nearing a threshold like 50 employees, which brings new legal requirements (like FMLA).
There are ongoing employee complaints or high turnover.
There’s been a change in leadership and someone wants a fresh perspective.
Most companies aren’t dealing with lawsuits when they call me. They’re trying to be proactive. They want an expert to take a fresh look at how things are going on the people side.
Mindy:
Let’s talk about the six key areas I evaluate in every HR audit.
First: Compliance
I want to make sure the company isn’t unintentionally breaking any laws. I’ve never seen a company purposely breaking the law, but “you don’t know what you don’t know.” So we look at wage and hour laws, labor laws, discrimination laws, and more.
Common issues I see:
Misclassification of employees (exempt vs. non-exempt)
Missing I-9 forms
Outdated labor law posters
Getting this right helps you avoid fines, lawsuits, and reputational damage.
Second: HR Policies and Procedures
This usually comes down to your employee handbook. Often, I find outdated or incomplete handbooks—some written by lawyers but missing the HR perspective.
I check for:
Compliance with new laws (like new pregnancy laws or FMLA requirements)
Relevance to the company’s current structure or locations
Tone and clarity—does the handbook reflect your culture, or is it all punitive?
An outdated or unclear manual creates confusion and distractions. A strong handbook helps people focus on their jobs, not guessing what the rules are.
Third: Talent Acquisition and Onboarding
This is one of my favorite parts because it has a direct impact on your bottom line and employee morale.
I review:
Recruiting strategy and budget
Interview training and processes
Offer letters and onboarding experience
I once discovered a company had a job ad running for 687 days—almost two years! They didn’t even know it was still active. That one mistake cost more than the audit itself.
Fourth: Performance Management and Employee Development
This area directly impacts employee success. I look at:
Performance review processes and forms
Manager training on giving feedback
Career development and goal alignment
A common issue? Companies think they’re doing reviews, but documentation is missing or inconsistent. Also, when managers aren’t trained to give feedback, they tend to avoid it—missing a huge opportunity to help employees grow.
Fifth: Workplace Culture and Employee Engagement
We all know engagement is at an all-time low—worse than before the pandemic. This part of the audit looks at:
Employee satisfaction
Communication channels
Feedback systems
Conflict resolution
Employer branding
When companies don’t have good feedback loops, you often find drama or toxicity that distracts from real work. I help identify those patterns and recommend solutions.
Sixth: Compensation, Benefits, and HR Technology
This includes reviewing:
Pay equity
Bonus structures
Benefits that align with what employees actually want
Pay transparency laws
HR tech systems (like HRIS)
Data privacy practices
Generational needs are shifting. What Gen Z values might be very different from what your current benefits offer. We also ensure your data is secure and your systems support efficiency as you scale.
Mindy:
So what are the benefits of doing an HR audit?
You prevent problems before they get expensive.
You reduce legal risks and costly turnover.
You uncover inefficiencies that are draining your resources.
You increase HR effectiveness—and educate whoever is currently managing HR.
You send a powerful message to your team: we care about the people side of this business.
Mindy:
After the audit, I prepare a report that prioritizes my findings in three categories:
Legal Compliance – What must be fixed right away to avoid risk.
High-Impact Actions – What improvements would make the biggest difference in morale, performance, or profit.
Next Steps – What else could be addressed, either internally or with support.
I also identify low-hanging fruit—things that are easy to fix but bring quick wins and build momentum.
Mindy:
Let me share a quick success story.
One of my clients, Kyle, was the general manager—and he personally did all the hiring for nearly 50 employees. When I asked him how he had time for it, he said, “That’s just the way it’s always been.”
After the audit, we shifted hiring responsibilities to his trained team. Now, Kyle only interviews direct reports, and his team feels empowered and equipped to make great hiring decisions. That change freed up his time for strategic growth—and it boosted team engagement.
Mindy:
The decision to bring in someone to audit your HR practices speaks volumes to your employees. It shows them that leadership is serious about creating a better workplace. And that’s often the first step toward improving engagement and retention.
Mindy:
Thanks for joining me today! Be sure to listen to the next episode where I sit down with Kyle to hear how the audit impacted his business—and the people behind it.
