We’ve officially hit the halfway mark of the year—can you believe it? For many businesses, summer often brings a welcome lull before the intense pace of Q4. This “breather” is a fantastic opportunity to pause, take stock, and make sure your HR compliance strategy is truly aligned with where your business is headed.
Whether you’re right on schedule with your company’s projections or simply trying to keep up with everything that’s changing, conducting an HR audit during the summer is a great way for leaders and CFOs to review policies, processes, and regulatory requirements before year-end deadlines pile up.
In this post, we’ll outline the most beneficial HR responsibilities to reassess during the middle of the year, followed by a checklist to help your team take action and finish the year strong.
Four Strategic HR Areas to Elevate Your Business Mid-Year
Just because it’s not year-end doesn’t mean you’re in the clear on compliance. In fact, summer is when a proactive review of key HR areas can set your business up for major success later in the year. This is especially true for growing companies with teams spread across multiple states. Here are four crucial areas where we frequently help our clients strengthen their strategy and prepare for what’s ahead:
1. Benefits Blueprinting: Getting Ahead on Open Enrollment Planning
Mid-year is the ideal time to evaluate your benefits strategy and start preparing for open enrollment. At LBMC Employment Partners, we collaborate with clients to assess how effectively current plans meet the needs of both the business and its employees.
Additionally, this is a great time to check in with your team and gather their feedback to ensure your benefits plan continues to support retention, recruitment, and overall employee satisfaction.
2. Compensation Compass: Proactive Planning for Reviews
Now is truly the moment to review your salary benchmarks and think about potential merit or bonus adjustments before annual budget planning kicks off in the fall. A proactive approach here strongly supports both employee retention and sound long-term financial planning. It also helps ensure your compensation strategy remains competitive and fair.
3. Growth Reporting Guardian: EEO-1 Reporting Readiness
If your company has recently grown beyond 100 employees, you might now be required to submit EEO-1 data. Proactively confirming this eligibility mid-year ensures you can avoid any last-minute scramble or potential non-compliance penalties when the reporting period arrives.
4. Scalability Check: Evaluating Your HR Operations
As organizations expand, it’s vital to assess if your foundational HR elements—like employee handbooks, PTO policies, and internal HR processes—are keeping pace. Fast growth without corresponding structural updates can leave your team vulnerable. Mid-year offers the perfect opportunity to update these to better support your current and future workforce.
Your Mid-Year Compliance Checklist for Growing Teams
Use this checklist to guide your mid-year HR audit. It’s designed to help you quickly identify where your team might need additional support or updates:
- Review your compensation strategy. Make sure your comp plan actively supports employee retention and aligns perfectly with your 2026 budget planning timeline.
- Begin open enrollment strategy conversations now. Evaluating plan design and getting feedback from employees earlier gives you more leverage and crucial time to make informed decisions.
- Confirm EEO-1 reporting needs. If your company has crossed the 100-employee threshold, ensure you’re on track for reporting compliance.
- Audit your employee handbook and PTO policies for January 1 changes. Policies updated now can be rolled out smoothly, well before Q4 PTO usage and holiday schedules create a crunch.
- Review job descriptions and salary bands. Outdated or vague job descriptions can unexpectedly create misalignment in hiring, compensation, and overall compliance.
- Check state compliance for remote and multi-location workers. Multi-state operations can introduce complex tax and leave compliance issues, especially for your remote team members.
- Ensure employee leave policies meet all state and federal regulations. Changes in state-mandated leave policies might affect your current handbook or benefits offerings; it’s vital to stay current.
- Assess whether you need outside HR/PEO support. If your internal team feels stretched thin or is struggling to keep up, this might be the ideal time to explore strategic HR support for the second half of the year.
Remember: Evaluating your HR efforts isn’t about just checking boxes—it’s about building stability as you navigate the rest of the year.
Ready to Take Action? Let’s Talk.
Mid-year is a genuine opportunity to assess if your PEO is meeting all your needs. If you’ve experienced rapid team growth, expanded into new states, or simply need a second set of expert eyes on your policies, a compliance review can provide your team with much-needed clarity and confidence heading into year-end.
At LBMC Employment Partners, we proudly support growing businesses with proactive HR guidance, deep compliance expertise, and tailored solutions that truly scale with you.
If you’re a current LBMC Employment Partners client who utilizes our payroll services and sees a need for greater support, we’d love to connect. Let’s schedule a check-in to ensure your business is set up for success in the second half of the year.
If you’re not yet an LBMC Employment Partners client, we invite you to discover how our PEO and HRO services offer the strategic support growing businesses need to thrive. Reach out today to learn more.
