Human performance · Organisation maturity audit
Know whether your people system actually works
An independent, evidence-based audit of how well your HR function performs, across 6 domains and 42 capabilities. It shows what to fix first, and proves progress year on year.
Talent is a precious resource in a scarce market
The people who carry your critical knowledge, client relationships and know-how are hard to find and harder to replace. Every competitor is drawing on the same limited pool, so keeping the people you have is the most direct way to protect performance. The audit connects the capability of your people system to four outcomes leaders care about.
Keep the people you want
Capable people stay where work is fair, clear and well supported, and leave where it is not.
- Regretted attrition
- Early leavers
- Time to productivity
Less friction
When roles, decisions and processes are clear, the same outcome takes less effort to deliver.
- Time to fill and time to decide
- Rework and policy exceptions
- Workload and effort signals
More discretionary effort
People give more judgement, energy and creativity when they believe the system is fair and they can do meaningful work well.
- Engagement that is acted on
- Manager effectiveness
- Voluntary contribution
Better commercial outcomes
Stable, engaged teams deliver consistently, keep customers confident and sustain growth.
- Continuity in critical roles
- Productivity and delivery
- Customer feedback
The more you care, the more friction costs you
Every organisation has some friction: competing demands, processes that take longer than they should, decisions that are hard to get. The more friction there is, the longer and harder the route to the same outcome, and the more emotional effort it takes. The people who care most feel it most.
Finding the friction is the first step to reducing it. The audit locates it in specific capabilities, with evidence.
Most organisations know what they spend on people. Far fewer can prove the system works.
In many organisations, leadership confidence in HR rests on trust and historic practice, not on objective evidence that the people system delivers the outcomes the business needs.
Trust is important. Assurance requires evidence. An audit closes the gap between intended standards, observed execution and organisational outcome.
Six domains. 42 capabilities. Seven evidence lenses.
Select a domain to see its capabilities and why each one matters. Every capability is rated across the same seven lenses: intent, design, governance, execution, evidence, outcomes and improvement.
No single domain delivers an outcome alone. The audit looks at all six together.
A finding you can act on, traced to evidence
Every rating in the report traces back to specific evidence. Here is a short extract from a sample report. All data is fictional.
Six domains at a glance
| HR role and foundations | Requires improvement |
| Strategic workforce planning | Needs development |
| Compensation and benefits | Needs development |
| Acquire new talent | Needs development |
| Enable organisational effectiveness | Requires improvement |
| Maximise potential | Needs development |
Radar scale: 1 needs development, 2 requires improvement, 3 good, 4 outstanding.
Skills and competency frameworks
Needs developmentFinding. No competency framework or skills matrix exists for any role. The strategic plan names digital and AI capability as a priority, but no skills plan was found, and HR had not been consulted.
| Intent | No stated intent to build a skills or competency framework in any strategic or HR document. | Absent |
| Design | No competency framework, skills matrix or capability model exists for any role. | Absent |
| Governance | No owner identified. 3 of 6 senior leaders assumed it sat with department heads. | Absent |
| Execution | Some ad hoc training, but not against any defined skills standard. | Partial |
| Evidence | No skills audit or self-assessment data in any system reviewed. | Absent |
| Outcomes | Cannot show whether readiness for the priority has changed. | Absent |
| Improvement | No mechanism for identifying or acting on skills gaps. | Absent |
- Run a short staff self-assessment against a list of the skills the priority needs. It can be built in two to three weeks with existing survey tools.
- Name an accountable owner for the capability, even on an interim basis, so the priority has a person responsible.
Illustrative extract from a sample report. A full report covers all 42 capabilities, with a prioritised 12 to 36 month roadmap.
Diagnose first. Transform second.
A structured six-week diagnostic that builds an evidence-based baseline without creating unnecessary operational burden. Typically four to six weeks, depending on the organisation.
- Kick-off and stakeholder interviews
- Documentation request and collection
- Survey design
- HR process deep-dive (1–2 days)
- Employee sentiment questionnaire
- Former-employee and exit questionnaire
- Analysis and triangulation of findings
- Interim findings for key stakeholders
- Finalisation of report and recommendations
- Objective-setting workshop(s)
- Recommendations for immediate changes
- Agreement of ongoing support needs
- Maturity baseline and domain scoring
- Heatmap of risk and capability gaps
- 12–36 month roadmap with milestones
- Governance pack and assurance dashboard
- Reassessment and QA review
- Access to key personnel in Week 1 and around Week 4
- Requested documentation in a timely manner
- Prompt responses to follow-up questions
Do we need to be strong in all 42 areas?
No. The point is to know where you stand, decide which gaps matter most for your strategy, and close them in a sensible order.
Can we see the scoring framework?
We are happy to walk you through the domains, capabilities and lenses. The detailed scoring method and weightings stay with us; that is where the value of the audit lies.
Can we repeat it to track progress?
Yes. The same model is applied the same way each time, so year-on-year results are directly comparable.
Do we have to use 10k for the follow-on work?
No. The findings are yours. You are welcome to continue with us, but the audit stands on its own.
Get the Organisation Maturity Audit guide
A 28-page guide to the model: why the people system drives retention, friction, discretionary effort and results, the 42 capabilities we assess, and how an audit works.
- The case for assurance, not trust
- All 42 capabilities: why each matters, what good looks like, and the evidence we review
- How results are presented, prioritised and reassessed
Configure the whole organisation, or start with one area.
Start with a conversation about what you’re seeing. No pitch, and no obligation.
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