Human Resource Audit Practices and Impediments in Manufacturing Firms of Pakistan; A Comprehensive Framework for Emerging Economies
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.22555/pbr.v27i4.1470Keywords:
HR Audit, HR audit framework, HR audit practices, HR audit constraints, HR audit significance, Manufacturing sector, Pakistan, Qualitative, thematic analysisAbstract
This study examines human resource audit practices and challenges that manufacturing organizations in Pakistan are facing. The manufacturing sector in Pakistan faces limited HR capacity and gaps in compliance systems that affects organizational performance. However, there is limited understanding of how HR audits are actually performed and implemented in this context. In this study, a qualitative research method was used, and data were collected through semi structured interviews from 15 experienced HR professionals in the manufacturing industry of Pakistan. For qualitative data analysis, NVivo-14 software is used, where a six steps thematic analysis approach of (Braun & Clarke, 2006) was applied to generate and interpret the appropriate themes. The findings of the research demonstrated the key processes, challenges and benefits associated with HR audits. The results discovered that along with the challenges HR audit practices also have significant value for the manufacturing sector. On the basis of these findings, an HR audit framework is proposed which is designed to address the unique needs and limitations of manufacturing organizations in developing economies. The theoretical and practical implications of these findings are enormous for HR professionals and policy makers as they can be used as a roadmap towards streamlining HR audits to create organizational agility and regulatory compliance. Overall, this study contributes to the existing literature by offering a practical framework that helps improve the effectiveness of HR audits by aligning compliance, competitiveness and long-term sustainability in emerging economies.
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