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Forbes
4 days ago
- Business
- Forbes
The HR Audit Every Small Business Should Do Before Hiring Again
Leyda Lazo, SHRM-SCP, Founder & CEO of Human Capital Consultants International (HCCI). Many small-business owners think hiring will solve their growing pains. But pulling new employees into broken systems only multiplies the problem. Over the past decade, I've worked with dozens of fast-moving companies in logistics, tech, healthcare and education. Nearly all of them had one thing in common: They thought they needed more people. What they really needed was a better structure for the people they already had. Before you rush to bring in new talent, consider giving your internal structure a tune-up instead. What's The Hidden Cost Of Hiring Too Soon? Hiring when you're not operationally ready slows everyone down. It results in overstretching existing teams, new hires walking into unclear roles and a directionless onboarding process. Performance gets lost in the noise. Worst of all? Good people leave—and business leaders assume it's a 'fit' issue. But in my experience, most early turnover stems from something completely preventable: a lack of internal clarity before the hiring even begins. This is a pattern I see all too often. Leaders rush to hire when the team feels overwhelmed. But instead of fixing the root problem—unclear processes, no ownership, inconsistent management—they add more people into an already unstructured environment. The result? Delayed ramp-up, poor engagement and turnover that feels avoidable…because it is. So, before you hit post job, pause and run a focused HR audit. It doesn't need to be complex or time-consuming, but it does need to be honest. What Should Every Small Business Audit Before Hiring Again? If current employees aren't sure who owns what, new hires will step straight into the confusion. Before adding an employee to the team, revisit job functions, decision rights and success metrics. Are roles defined, or are they blended across too many people? Can each person explain how they contribute to the business? Is there clarity around decision making and accountability? In fast-growing businesses, it's easy for roles to blur. People wear multiple hats. That's often necessary early on, but if you scale before defining ownership, you can create chaos. If your team members can't explain their own roles in one sentence, hiring won't fix the issue—it will amplify it. Don't wait for new hires to ask who does what. Define, document and reinforce roles before bringing anyone new into the system. Many small businesses treat onboarding as a task. But onboarding is a strategy. Done right, it drives clarity, builds engagement and improves retention. Done poorly, it increases turnover and frustration. Ask yourself: • Do we have a structured 180-day onboarding plan? • Are managers trained and involved in the process? • Do new hires understand expectations, performance metrics and company values? • Are we integrating new hires into our culture—or just handing off paperwork? The first six months are critical. It's not enough to 'get them through orientation.' People need consistent feedback, direction and reinforcement beyond Day 30. They need to know what success looks like—and how to get there. Employees don't fail because the job is too hard. They fail because no one shows them how to succeed. If you've had great hires leave within 90 days, the problem may not be who you hired. Take a look at your onboarding process and examine where things fell apart. Otherwise, you risk repeating it again. Whether you're operating in one state or five, compliance doesn't scale on autopilot. What worked for five employees might not cover your bases when you're managing fifteen. An HR audit should include: • Updated employee handbooks • I-9 and onboarding documentation • Classification checks (exempt vs. non-exempt) • State-specific labor law compliance • Required postings, trainings and safety protocols Growth doesn't exempt you from risk. In fact, it often increases it. As your headcount grows, so does your exposure to wage claims, audit issues and legal liabilities. In addition to helping you avoid fines, compliance helps protect the business you've worked so hard to build. Make sure your foundation is clean before you add more weight. Culture gets tested during growth. The more people you bring in, the more important consistency becomes. Your company culture isn't what's printed in the handbook. It's what people see, feel and hear every day. And in small teams, even one misalignment can create tension. Ask yourself: • Are your values actively reinforced or just posted online? • Do all managers lead the same way—or is your culture dependent on personality? • What behaviors get rewarded? What gets tolerated? • Would new hires experience what you say you stand for? New hires adopt the real culture they walk into. Make sure it aligns with the one you described in the interview. Make sure your culture is intentional, not accidental. Why This Audit Matters Hiring is expensive. Training is time-consuming. And culture? It's fragile. When businesses skip the audit, they usually pay for it later. You don't just lose money—you lose trust, momentum and reputation. You end up rehiring for the same role, retraining the same position and burning out the people trying to hold everything together. A structured audit keeps you ahead of that curve. It protects your team, gives your managers confidence and it sets your new hires up for long-term success. More importantly, it allows you to grow with intention, not just urgency. The Bottom Line Hiring is a strategic decision. But without the right structure in place, it becomes a gamble. Before expanding your team, ask yourself: • Are we clear on who owns what? • Do we have a 180-day onboarding plan that actually supports performance? • Are we compliant as we scale? • Does our culture show up consistently across the business? If the answer to any of these is 'not really,' slow down and fix it first. Great hires won't save a broken system. But a strong system? That's what keeps great people around and performing at their best. Because strong teams aren't built by accident. They're built by design. Forbes Business Council is the foremost growth and networking organization for business owners and leaders. Do I qualify?
7 days ago
- Politics
Anti-hate coalition denounces presence of white nationalist 'active clubs' in Hamilton, calls for action
Several organizations in Hamilton are denouncing white nationalist active clubs, whose members were found by a recent investigative report by CBC News (new window) to be preparing for a "race war" in area gyms and parks. The Hamilton Anti Hate Coalition, a group formerly known as No Hate in the Hammer, said it is also calling on municipal authorities and neighbours to act immediately in light of the investigation's findings. Coalition members have also issued their own statements since the investigation's initial report was published on July 18. Hamilton Centre for Civic Inclusion (HCCI), Hamilton Anti-Racism Resource Centre (HARRC), and Hamilton Immigration Partnership Council (HIPC) have expressed their condemnation and are calling for urgent action to root out hate. HIPC said it's deeply alarmed by the report from the CBC's visual investigation unit. These groups are not benign social organizations. They are part of a transnational movement grounded in fascist ideology, white supremacy, misogyny, and violent extremism, HIPC said in a statement. HIPC unequivocally condemns the presence of these hate-fuelled organizations in our city, the statement reads. Their activities — whether covert or public — pose a serious threat to the safety of all Hamiltonians and are especially harmful to newcomers and longstanding racialized communities who already experience heightened risk of discrimination and violence. Hamilton Immigration Partnership Council's anti-racism committee chair is Kim Martin. Photo: Submitted by Sarah Wayland According to HIPC anti-racism committee chair Kim Martin, newcomers and racialized communities face disproportionate barriers and discrimination. The organized presence of hate groups training in our public spaces sends a chilling message, Martin said. This cannot be normalized. We must meet it with urgency, solidarity, and zero tolerance for hate in all its forms. A CBC visual investigation (new window) , in collaboration with The Fifth Estate, recently identified local spaces where white nationalists are getting together to train, including in Myrtle and Gage Parks. Known within white nationalist communities as active clubs, these training sessions are also part of the groups' recruitment and propaganda. Although the clubs portray themselves as promoting community, fitness and Canada's European heritage, some experts told CBC News they're a growing extremist threat. Organization launches survey to hear from residents The report prompted HCCI — a community-based organization dedicated to making Hamilton an inclusive city — to get public input on combating hate. HCCI has launched a survey saying it wants to hear from people about what is needed and what expertise already exists to determine how best to support impacted communities. "Many of you have likely seen the disturbing reports published by CBC (new window) and CBC Hamilton (new window) about so-called 'active-clubs' operating in Hamilton gyms and local public spaces," HCCI wrote in an email on July 23. The escalation of these activities in the current context is disturbing and we know that reading and seeing this happen so close to home is very concerning, HCCI said. We also know that it triggers many historical memories and feelings amongst communities for whom these threats are unfortunately not new. HCCI has put out a three-question survey to see if there are any specific needs we could help respond to and figure out if we can pool some resources to add to and amplify the knowledge and skills that we know already exist in our communities. HCCI told CBC Hamilton residents interested in filling out the survey can contact HCCI directly with their email address and name and they will send the link. WATCH | CBC tracks 'active clubs' to Hamilton area: The anti-hate coalition is also encouraging residents to report suspicious activity such as groups training in parks under questionable circumstances. For example, they could be wearing masks, appear heavily militarized and be using white supremacy slogans. There are various means to report such activity, the group said, including through the Hamilton police and (new window) , a website launched in 2023 for people in the area to report incidents of hate. It is separate from police. Police say no criminal offences reported related to groups Hamilton Police Service said it is aware of the groups mentioned in the CBC report and continue to monitor their activities, however there have been no criminal offences reported to Hamilton police related to these clubs, it said. Police also said a club training in a facility is not a criminal offence. It is up to the individual business owner to act accordingly. Each business owner has the right to choose how they respond. They advised anyone who sees members of an active club working out in a park to report it through police's non-emergency number or online. On July 24, Hamilton police released their 2024 hate crime statistics (new window) , which show that 297 hate- or bias-related crimes and incidents were reported to police over the 12-month period, a 35 per cent increase from the previous year. Hamilton police reported 106 hate crimes — criminal offences where hate or bias is a clear motivating factor — and 191 hate incidents, which include actions with hateful overtones but that don't meet the legal threshold for a crime. Hate crimes were most often in the form of graffiti, but also included arson, assault, criminal harassment, theft and uttering threats, among others, police said. Black, Jewish and 2SLGBTQIA+ communities were the most frequently targeted. 'We need.. preventative approaches': HARRC City officials, including Mayor Andrea Horwath and Ward 3 Coun. Nrinder Nann, have been urging residents who discover hate in their neighbourhoods to report it. Residents in Hamilton want assurance that our local police service is working proactively to monitor, track, investigate and report the individuals involved in extremist organizing in Hamilton with Canadian intelligence agencies, Nann wrote in an email to CBC Hamilton. I encourage all residents in the city to learn more about hate symbols so they can report them accurately. Nann said she is working with both HCCI and HARRC to build skills residents can use to foster community safety in Ward 3 neighbourhoods. A CBC investigation found members of white supremacist groups have been preparing for a 'race war' in Hamilton-area gyms and parks. Police say they are aware of these groups and continue to monitor them. Photo: CBC / Bobby Hristova HARRC's executive director, Lyndon George, said collective accountability, is needed, noting that we can't keep treating racism and hate as individual experiences. To confront hate in Hamilton, we need to shift from 'they' to 'we.' This is not a problem for impacted communities to solve alone; it's a responsibility we all share. George is concerned that racism and hate are too often reduced to isolated incidents or perpetuated by bad actors instead of being recognized as systemic and experienced collectively by entire communities, often over generations, he said. We need systems of accountability that include preventive approaches to address hate, bias, and radicalization before they engage in violent extremism. With files from Aura Carreño Rosas, Justin Chandler, CBC News
CBC
7 days ago
- Politics
- CBC
Anti-hate coalition denounces presence of white nationalist 'active clubs' in Hamilton, calls for action
Social Sharing Several organizations in Hamilton are denouncing white nationalist "active clubs," whose members were found by a recent investigative report by CBC News to be preparing for a "race war" in area gyms and parks. The Hamilton Anti Hate Coalition, a group formerly known as No Hate in the Hammer, said it is also calling on municipal authorities and neighbours to "act immediately" in light of the investigation's findings. Coalition members have also issued their own statements since the investigation's initial report was published on July 18. Hamilton Centre for Civic Inclusion (HCCI), Hamilton Anti-Racism Resource Centre (HARRC), and Hamilton Immigration Partnership Council (HIPC) have expressed their condemnation and are calling for urgent action to root out hate. HIPC said it's "deeply alarmed" by the report from the CBC's visual investigation unit. "These groups are not benign social organizations. They are part of a transnational movement grounded in fascist ideology, white supremacy, misogyny, and violent extremism," HIPC said in a statement. "HIPC unequivocally condemns the presence of these hate-fuelled organizations in our city," the statement reads. "Their activities — whether covert or public — pose a serious threat to the safety of all Hamiltonians and are especially harmful to newcomers and longstanding racialized communities who already experience heightened risk of discrimination and violence." According to HIPC anti-racism committee chair Kim Martin, newcomers and racialized communities face disproportionate barriers and discrimination. "The organized presence of hate groups training in our public spaces sends a chilling message," Martin said. "This cannot be normalized. We must meet it with urgency, solidarity, and zero tolerance for hate in all its forms." Fascist fight clubs are training for a 'race war' in parks and gyms. CBC tracked them A CBC visual investigation, in collaboration with The Fifth Estate, recently identified local spaces where white nationalists are getting together to train, including in Myrtle and Gage Parks. Known within white nationalist communities as "active clubs," these training sessions are also part of the groups' recruitment and propaganda. Although the clubs portray themselves as promoting community, fitness and Canada's European heritage, some experts told CBC News they're a growing extremist threat. Organization launches survey to hear from residents The report prompted HCCI — a community-based organization dedicated to making Hamilton an inclusive city — to get public input on combating hate. HCCI has launched a survey saying it wants to hear from people about what is needed and what expertise already exists to determine "how best to support impacted communities." "Many of you have likely seen the disturbing reports published by CBC and CBC Hamilton about so-called 'active-clubs' operating in Hamilton gyms and local public spaces," HCCI wrote in an email on July 23. "The escalation of these activities in the current context is disturbing and we know that reading and seeing this happen so close to home is very concerning," HCCI said. "We also know that it triggers many historical memories and feelings amongst communities for whom these threats are unfortunately not new." HCCI has put out a three-question survey to "see if there are any specific needs we could help respond to and figure out if we can pool some resources to add to and amplify the knowledge and skills that we know already exist in our communities." HCCI told CBC Hamilton residents interested in filling out the survey can contact HCCI directly with their email address and name and they will send the link. WATCH | CBC tracks 'active clubs' to Hamilton area: Exposing fascist fight clubs training for 'race war' in Canada 16 days ago CBC News' visual investigations team tracks down where two Ontario-based white nationalist groups recruit and train young men to fight. They're called 'active clubs' and they're on the rise around the world, including in Canada, where experts say they're one of the fastest-growing extremist threats. We expose them to the owners of MMA and boxing clubs that they've infiltrated. The anti-hate coalition is also encouraging residents to "report suspicious activity" such as groups training in parks under "questionable circumstances." For example, they could be wearing masks, appear heavily militarized and be using white supremacy slogans. There are various means to report such activity, the group said, including through the Hamilton police and a website launched in 2023 for people in the area to report incidents of hate. It is separate from police. Police say no criminal offences reported related to groups Hamilton Police Service said it is aware of the groups mentioned in the CBC report and "continue to monitor their activities," however "there have been no criminal offences reported to Hamilton police related to these clubs," it said. Police also said "a club training in a facility is not a criminal offence. It is up to the individual business owner to act accordingly. Each business owner has the right to choose how they respond." They advised anyone who sees members of an active club working out in a park to report it through police's non-emergency number or online. On July 24, Hamilton police released their 2024 hate crime statistics, which show that 297 hate- or bias-related crimes and incidents were reported to police over the 12-month period, a 35 per cent increase from the previous year. Hamilton police reported 106 hate crimes — criminal offences where hate or bias is a clear motivating factor — and 191 hate incidents, which include actions with hateful overtones but that don't meet the legal threshold for a crime. Hate crimes were most often in the form of graffiti, but also included arson, assault, criminal harassment, theft and uttering threats, among others, police said. Black, Jewish and 2SLGBTQIA+ communities were the most frequently targeted. 'We need.. preventative approaches': HARRC City officials, including Mayor Andrea Horwath and Ward 3 Coun. Nrinder Nann, have been urging residents who discover "hate" in their neighbourhoods to report it. "Residents in Hamilton want assurance that our local police service is working proactively to monitor, track, investigate and report the individuals involved in extremist organizing in Hamilton with Canadian intelligence agencies," Nann wrote in an email to CBC Hamilton. "I encourage all residents in the city to learn more about hate symbols so they can report them accurately." Nann said she is working with both HCCI and HARRC to build skills residents can use to foster community safety in Ward 3 neighbourhoods. HARRC's executive director, Lyndon George, said "collective accountability," is needed, noting that "we can't keep treating racism and hate as individual experiences." "To confront hate in Hamilton, we need to shift from 'they' to 'we.' This is not a problem for impacted communities to solve alone; it's a responsibility we all share." George is concerned that racism and hate are too often reduced to "isolated incidents" or perpetuated by "bad actors" instead of being recognized as "systemic and experienced collectively by entire communities, often over generations," he said.
