Audit Checklist Action Plans
Human Resources (HR) activities play a large role in ensuring that a company meets a
variety of legal and regulatory standards. These include employee pay and compensation, civil
rights rules regarding employment offers and terminations, benefits considerations—particularly
health insurance, and many more (Davis & Carnovali, 2019). Beyond that, the organization
wants to be consistent in communication and branding and uphold its values as evidenced by
policies on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, employee and client safety, retention strategies, and
a range of other important practices. One way to keep up to date on the potentially shifting
requirements of federal, state, local, and corporate entities is to perform an HR Audit and take a
deeper dive into specific areas. To make the process more manageable, action plans can be used
as a guide for performing the review.
Area: Management
o Issue: Is there open communication to and from the HR department?
Goal:
Examine the following HR department processes: department meetings, employee
perception of communications, email opening rates, and department communications
relationship to company goals. Determine if any adjustments to these areas need to be made to
better facilitate communication by 9/30/23.
• Steps.
1. By 7/1/24 review how often department heads and executive team meet. Is there
an agenda and are the results (non-confidential) communicated to employees?
How are they communicated and is there a specific process for replies?
2. Conduct an employee communications survey to better understand employee
perceptions of the process by 9/10/24. What are the ways, times, and places that
employees feel that they can communicate? Is it transparent? (Fellow.app, 2022)
3. Review email open rates by 8/15/24.
4. Examine major HR initiatives communication for direct references to company
mission by 8/1/24. Ensuring that communication relates to the company principles
will provide for a better flow of information due to strengthened company culture
(Fellow.app, 2022).
• Tasks.
Task Who? Date Due Complete?
Gather previous 12 months documentation for Operations 6/1/24
department meetings including calendars, Director
agendas, follow up communications
Review interdepartmental meeting frequency Operations 7/1/24
and evaluate if it is appropriate for the Director
information covered. Gather input from meeting
attendees.
Review communication sent to employees after Communication 7/1/24
the meetings and any feedback received from Manager
employees in response. Does it happen after
every meeting, is it relevant, is it worded to
enhance the mission statement, do the responses
indicate clarity?
Design an employee communications survey in Communication 8/1/24
consultation with workforce analytics head to Manager
test perceptions of transparency, amount of
information, quality of information, opportunity
for response, etc.
Inform employees of upcoming survey, the Communication 7/15/24
reasons for it, and the importance of Manager
participating.
Distribute surveys Communication 8/02/24
Manager
Remind employees to complete surveys Executive 8/09/24
Director/Regional
Managers
Compile and report findings of survey IT Manager 9/10/24
Generate an average rate of email opening. IT Manager 8/15/24
Determine if there is any difference in opening
rate if email is generated from, or sent to, the
HR department.
Gather communication from HR that was HR Manager 6/1/24
distributed widely to employees over the past
six months
Examine the number of references to particular Communication 7/5/24
company goals or mission in each Manager
communication.
Executive director, communication manager Multiple 9/20/24
and HR manager meet to develop a plan to
address any areas of communication, incoming
or outgoing, that are failing in producing open
communication.
• Milestones.
1. Receive employee input regarding departmental meetings by 6/15/24.
2. By 7/05/24 initial meeting for Communications and IT managers to discuss
employee survey
3. Employee survey reviewed by managers 7/25/24 before distribution.
4. By 8/8/24 review the response rate to the employee survey.
5. By 9/10 reports regarding the various communication tasks will be complete.
6. By 9/20 a meeting will be set to follow up on areas of improvement.
• Resources required.
None
• Monitor, evaluate and update.
o Each due date should be marked off on the main list and communicated (emailed)
to the others involved in the action plan and the executive director.
o Those involved in the action plan will meet with the executive director on 7/5 and
8/5, to discuss any issues and resolve delays. On 9/15, the group and the executive
director will meet to discuss both the results of the communications assessment
and the functioning of the action plan.
Area: Hiring
o Issue: Are the job descriptions up to date?
Goal:
Ensure that job descriptions for both current employees and positions-to-be-hired
accurately reflect the scope of duties for each position. All categories of job descriptions listed
on the organization chart will be reviewed by 3/15/24.
• Steps.
1. Recruiter will review all currently in-use job descriptions for task work
consistency by asking employees to complete a desk audit between position levels
by 10/2/23.
2. HR Manager will determine how descriptions compare to actual tasks and
requirements of employees by 12/10/23.
3. The HR Manager in consultation with the Job Description Committee will
recommend rewrite/update for any job descriptions that are not reflective of
current employee work by 1/16/24.
• Tasks.
Task Who? Date Due Complete?
Gather all current job descriptions. Distribute to Recruiter 10/2/2023
current job holders (list to be provided by HR)
asking them to review the description and
annotate with any duties that are not accurate
within 2 weeks.
All managers will receive the employee updates HR Manager 11/10/23
and review for completeness and accuracy, and
provide further annotation as part of a modified
desk audit.
Data regarding current job descriptions and IT Manager 12/10/23
discrepancies will be sent to workforce analysis
to consider areas of significant difference in
duties, job levels, locations, and other relevant
information. Prepare a report for Job
Description Committee.
Form a committee including key board Executive 12/04/23
members, the programs director, the operations Director
director, the HR manager, two transition
counselors, two specialists, a fundraising
position and the communication manager to
consider if job descriptions should be changed
based on analyzed information.
Rewrite any job descriptions, if necessary Communication 2/01/24
Manager
Consult with legal team to ensure there are no Executive 2/16/24
unintended issues with the updates Director
Distribute to, inform, and counsel (if needed) Recruiter, HR 3/15/24
all new or potential employees who may be Manager, all
receiving a changed job description. managers.
Add updates to employee files and to HR department 3/15/24
recruitment communications and recruiter
Note. It should be noted that this is not intended to be a punitive process. If roles have shrunk or
expanded beyond the scope of the job description, it needs to be identified for a variety of
reasons including legal (Kimball, 2017), employee evaluation accuracy, hiring transparency, and
more.
• Milestones.
1. By 10/18/23, all employees will have returned their annotated job descriptions to
their managers.
2. By 11/17/23, the managers will provide an overall, generalized report of job
description responses to their direct reports. This will include a review of the next
steps in the process for employees.
3. By December 18, the first committee meeting will be held.
4. By January 8, the second committee meeting will be held, if necessary.
• Resources required.
o Legal consultation fee may be required.
• Monitor, evaluate and update.
o On 11/15/23, 1/25/24, and 3/12/24 meetings will be held with the action plan
team, executive director and representatives from the board (on 3/12/24), if
needed, to discuss any issues and resolve delays.
o On 4/1, the HR department and executive director will meet to discuss the best
process to monitor job descriptions. Potentially, spot checks should take place
after employee reviews.
Area: Safety and Security
o Issue: Are employees encouraged to promptly report incidents, and suggest ways to
reduce or eliminate risk?
Goal:
To review and revise the current safety and security reporting process for ease of use and
plan an internal communication campaign to support awareness of the update by June 1.
• Steps.
1. Determine what elements are involved in incident reporting and risk elimination
by 2/16/23.
2. Collaborate with key staff to decide if changes are needed to the processes by
3/18.
3. Push out focused communication to all employees encouraging participation in
risk elimination and prompt incident reporting using personal stories and relevant
organizational data by 5/1.
• Tasks.
Task Who? Date Due Complete?
Gather employee handbook chapter on safety, Program Director 2/1/23
any communication regarding the Incident
Reporting (IR) process (including complaints),
and the current incident report file
Review above documents: do they include clear Program Director 2/16/23
direction on timelines, incident descriptions,
chain of contact, resolutions, etc.? Is the
form/process typically completed fully? Have
any suggestions for change/improvement been
received?
Collaborate with the trainer about how and Program Director 3/18/23
when training on IR happens. Generate
suggestions for any changes to the process with
the input of employees as needed.
Reach out to similar successful organizations Trainer 3/18/23
for insight into their training, communication
and work processes regarding safety and risk
reporting.
Review IR forms and process description for Communication 3/18/23
clarity. Manager
Workforce analytic (IT) uses information from IT Manager 3/18/23
IR to generate report regarding the statistics for
risk, how prompt reporting impacts risk, etc.
Develop an internal awareness campaign for Communication 4/19/23
reducing safety risks as well as any updates to Manager
the process. Include management member
stories regarding risk reporting (Van Dyke et
al., 2013).
Designate May “Risk Reduction and Executive 5/1/23
Reporting” month. Director
Coordinate, launch, and oversee awareness Communication 5/1/23
campaign. Manager
Develop a risk reduction file with annotation. Program Manager 6/1/23
Revisit on a schedule.
• Milestones.
o On 3/15/24, the initial review of forms and processes is complete.
o On 4/1/24, see initial reporting from analytics.
o On 4/15/24, receive stories from management and executive team to include in
the campaign.
o On 5/1/24, Risk Reduction and Reporting Month
o On 5/15/24, see employee signoffs on risk reduction and reporting updates.
o On 6/1/24, the project is complete.
• Resources required.
o None, other than employee time
• Monitor, evaluate and update.
o On 4/1/24, action plan participants meet to discuss the current plan status and
develop any plans for delays or issues.
o On 12/1/24, evaluate the increase or decrease in employee incident reports.
o On 12/1/24, evaluate the increase or decrease of risk reduction suggestions.
Area: Discrimination and employee rights
o Issue: Are employees trained on discrimination issues?
Goal:
To ensure that staff know the importance of understanding discrimination issues and how
to cope with them effectively. This will be demonstrated through participation in discrimination
training and the ability to pass training module testing at 80 percent or higher by 7/5/24.
• Steps.
1. Examine how, when, and what training employees should have received on
discrimination issues by 6/1/24.
2. Determine if the training is properly documented and followed up by 6/1/24.
3. Ensure that updates are made, if necessary, based on new regulations, and review
of incident reports. Communicate this in a timely manner by 8/1/24.
• Tasks.
Task Who? Date Due Complete?
Gather employee handbook chapter on Trainer 5/1/24
discrimination policy, relevant onboarding
training materials, relevant continuing training
materials, organization incidents/complaints of
discrimination, previous employee
discrimination training quiz results, and best
practices information for organizational
discrimination issues.
Compare results of quizzes and incident reports HR Manager 5/15/24
to determine where there may be lack of
knowledge or misunderstanding.
Ensure that all new employees have taken the Trainer 5/15/24
onboarding test regarding discrimination issues,
and that all continuing employees have taken
the yearly refresher module.
If the desired 80 percent on the discrimination Trainer 6/1/24
testing/quizzes was not achieved, was there 100
percent follow up?
Work with the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Trainer 7/1/24
(DEI) consultant to refine the various trainings,
quizzes, etc.
Review files for job specific discrimination HR Manager 6/1/24
training in: 1. Working with clients 2. Hiring 3.
Working with employees 4. Communications 5.
Soliciting funds
Determine if training documentation is kept Trainer 6/1/24
accurately, is it placed in employee files?
Ensure that any updates to discrimination Communication 6/1/24
training and policies are communicated to staff Manager
appropriately. Review previous six months of
discrimination/DEI communication.
• Milestones.
1. By 5/20/24 establish if there are any obvious issues that are not being addressed
in training.
2. By 6/05/24 have a list of items to present to the DEI consultant
3. By 7/5/24 have any new training agendas updated
• Resources required.
o DEI consultant fees
• Monitor, evaluate and update.
o The executive director will monitor the action plan dates for progress.
Area: Recordkeeping and documentation
o Issue: Are personnel files current?
Goal:
To be in compliance with all required personnel documentation as required by federal,
and state policies, and best practices by reviewing each personnel file with a state-specific
checklist by February 28.
• Steps.
1. The Human Resources (HR) Manager will determine what should be represented
in the personnel file by 10/13/2023.
2. The HR Manager will develop a fillable form checklist of required documentation
for each state in which Open Doors operates with appropriate input by
10/27/2023.
3. HR Manager and/or HR staff will review and update all files for the past seven
years using the checklist by 12/31/2023.
4. Assessment of overall file completeness and development of follow-up evaluation
will be completed by the IT and HR Managers by 3/1/24.
• Tasks.
Task Who? Date Due Complete?
Research federally required documents for a HR Manager 10/6/23
personnel file. Gather examples of each
document.
Research state requirements for each state HR Manager 10/6/23
where Open Doors operates and gather
examples.
Consult with the legal team to determine if HR 10/13/23
there is additional information that should or Manager/Executive
should not be included in personnel files. Director
Review individual personnel files, filling out HR designee 1 12/31/23
the appropriate check list for each. *
Review individual personnel files, filling out HR designee 2 12/31/23
the appropriate check list for each. *
Explore time requirements for file review, HR Manager 9/1/23
determine if temporary assistance is needed
for HR.
If required information is missing in the file, HR Manager 1/15/24
determine if that information can be gained. If
not, devise an appropriate course of action in
consultation with the executive director and
legal team.
Depending on any missing information in the Executive Director 1/15/24
file, assign appropriate department/person to
collect the needed form(s), etc.
Provide file discrepancies data to IT Manager HR Manager 12/31/23
for analysis
Report is prepared noting patterns of Head of Workforce 1/31/24
added/missing file information for use in Analytics
further training.
Develop training checklist/modules for Trainer 3/1/24
receiving all required employment documents
in a timely manner.
*Review includes checking for all required information, removing information that does not
belong for further action, and noting discrepancies.
• Milestones.
1. By 10/27/23, 75 file reviews will be completed.
2. By 11/10/23, 200 file reviews will be completed.
3. By 11/27/23, 275 file reviews will be completed.
4. By 12/8/23, 350 file reviews will be completed.
5. By 12/29/23, 450 file reviews will be completed.
6. By 1/20/23, 95 percent or more employee files will be completely up to date.
7. By 2/15, a plan for updated file completion will be underway.
• Resources required.
o Human Resources staff will be required to spend approximately five to seven hours
per week carrying out reviews over 10-11 weeks. Intern assistance will be assigned
for at least five hours per week for the next 12 weeks. The HR manager will
determine if the intern assists in the review task or receives other duties that will free
up the HR staff to complete the review.
o Legal consultation fees may be required.
• Monitor, evaluate and update.
o On 10/15, action plan participants will meet to ensure that the checklist process is
proceeding as intended and that the project is ready to roll out to HR staff.
o Compare the percentage of complete files prior to updates (10/14/23) and after
(12/31/23). What is the increase in completion rate? This will help to determine
how successful the completion process was originally and may influence how
much effort should be expended going forward.
References
Athuraliya, A. (2023, September 6). What is an action plan? learn with templates and examples.
Creately. https://creately.com/guides/how-to-write-an-action-plan/
Davis, R., & Carnovali, M. (2019, March 13). HR function’s compliance role. Corporate
Compliance Insights. https://www.corporatecomplianceinsights.com/hr-function-
compliance-role/
Fellow.app. (2022, October 21). Internal communication barriers: Steps to overcome them:
Fellow. https://fellow.app/blog/productivity/internal-communication-barriers-steps-to-
overcome-them/
Kimball, D. (2017). Cases in human resource management. SAGE Publications, Inc.,
https://doi.org/10.4135/9781506332123
Macau University of Science and Technology. (n.d.). What should an action plan include?
Quality Assurance Office. https://www.must.edu.mo/en/qa/faculty-review/what-plan-
include
Maurer, T. J., & Rafuse, N. E. (2001). Learning, not litigating: Managing employee development
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