Human Resource System Audit

Read the executive summary on this page and download the pdf for the full report.

HR System Audit (552.5 KB)

Report Highlights

What we found

  • The County is operating under a more traditional human resource (HR) system and will need to address potential barriers in the way of reaching strategic HR.
  • The County’s onboarding, performance management, and training are not aligned with best practices.
  • There are no Countywide mandatory trainings for supervisors or managers on how to be good managers.
  • County HR professionals and the County Attorney’s Office seemed committed to complying with the spirit of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). But, the County did not appear to gather the data needed to assess the ADA accommodations process for bias.
  • The workplace complaint process was not supported by detailed Countywide procedures that encouraged mediation and early resolution of conflicts.

Why we did this audit

HR was included on our 2016-17 audit schedule. With the addition of a new ERP system, HR is preparing to make transformative changes to the way it does business. We wanted to determine if any barriers were standing in the way of HR’s success. 

What we recommend

  • The County needs to first make sure it is doing traditional HR processes well before it can move towards strategic HR. This means making some minor changes to FMLA/OFLA leave administration, as well as retooling programs in onboarding, performance management, and training to meet best practices.
  • Central HR should regularly evaluate departmental HR practices for effectiveness and adherence to HR processes and practices coming out of Central HR.
  • Department HR managers should be an integral part of top management teams and be fully engaged in management’s strategic choices. County HR professionals should be data-driven leaders who are instrumental in helping to make and carry out strategic decisions.
  • Central HR should implement a system for tracking accommodations and their status.
  • To fairly and promptly resolve complaints at the lowest organizational level possible, HR should develop Countywide, detailed procedures that begin with the initiation of complaints, address mediation, and go through formal investigations.
  • To help ensure the appearance of impartiality, and increase consistency, formal investigations should be conducted centrally.