Conducting a HR Audit

Consultants are hired when companies need to solve a problem or make improvements. Clients may know that something is just not working but are unable to pin point exactly what the problem is. Here's what you need to do:

Conduct Needs Analysis 

Audit

Needs analysis identify gaps in performance by reviewing the current performance level and the desired level.

A HR Audit template can help you get started. This one's included in the Consulting Kit.

Define the Scope of the Project

It's important to define the scope of the project so that the parties involved in the audit are aware of which areas are being reviewed (i.e deliverables) and completion timeline for each defined project/task. Having a scope also helps to keep focus and not be distracted by other non value added tasks. Equally important, if possible, is to keep a list of what projects/tasks that are not within the project scope. This forces all key stakeholders to be an active participant and seriously deliberate on the scope instead of just merely agreeing to it. This helps avoid/minimise the project from being derailed which can happen when a new task is added half way through the project.     

Information Gather

Although qualitative and quantitative research methods are typically used for gathering information about and resolving different types of problems, most consulting projects will require the business consultant to use a combination of the two methods. Quantitative analysis is typically used in projects for clients who want to improve the bottom line by increasing profits or cutting costs. Qualitative analysis might be applied to projects in which the client is aiming to achieve changes in the structure of an organization, like employee engagement. 

The most common methods used in qualitative research are:

• Observation - for example, observing how employees interact when problem solving.
• Interviews -  conducted one-on-one between a participant and the interviewer. Useful when exploring topics that are too sensitive to discuss in a focus group.
• Focus Group - a small group, typically not more than 8 - 10 participants, providing interactive feedback to the moderator.
• Surveys - uses a list of questionnaires. Useful when employee are located in various locations and across different time zones. Advantage of surveys are respondents can remain anonymous. 

Gap Analysis

Before you can do a gap analysis, you must know the organization’s desired outcomes. These may have been clearly identified in the initial meeting with your client. However, chances are you will clarify and quantify precise desired outcomes only after further research and discussion.

Identify Solutions

As answers begin to emerge from your analysis, it’s wise to discuss them with handpicked management members so you can begin to get buy-in for your recommendations. It may be tempting to work on the solutions on your own, then step into the boardroom, and deliver your recommendations like a hero riding to the rescue of the company. However, if you take this approach, you may be surprised at the amount of opposition you encounter, not to mention some blind spots that you may have missed. 

Make Recommendations

After soliciting inputs from the management, put together an action plan which includes timeline for fixing non compliance issues or implementation of new initiatives/processes. In the recommendation/action plan, it's important to identify the internal party who will be partnering with you and is accountable for the outcome of the particular project/task. 

Implementation

Once the recommendations have been accepted by the client, it's time to roll them out. The most important aspect at this stage is communication. Make sure employees and key stakeholders are aware of imminent changes that affect them and have an avenue where they can ask questions. This is to deter any talks around the water cooler and direct them to the proper channels to be addressed. 

Project post mortem

The post-project review is an informal meeting that takes place anywhere from two days to two months after the project is completed. This serves two purposes: Knowledge Transfer to the client, and the opportunity to receive Client Feedback.

Client Satisfaction

Client satisfaction is crucial in the consulting business. It's important to find out if your client is happy with your service and if you have provided value to their business. It is an effective way to find out how you can improve your services. Also, remember, happy clients are a good source for testimonials!

There are various client satisfaction survey tools that you can use such as Survey Methods and Survey Monkey. The latter even has a Net Promoter Score (NPS) template. NPS has gained popularity as a tool to gauge a company's customer satisfaction and loyalty.  

You can read more about NPS here.

If customer satisfaction survey is new to you, check this article out.