Professional HR Services

Group - Professional HR Services - Human Resources, Compensation, Benefits, HR Strategies Now, Elements, HR, Strategy, Compliance, Administration, Talent Acquisition, Recruiting, Workers Compensation, Performance, Performance Management, Employee Relations, Termination

Retainer or Project-Based HR Support

HR Strategies Now offers two options to handle all of your HR needs. A retainer package is designed to cover your day-to-day Human Resource needs. This covers a wide range of support elements, including general HR guidance discussions, employee relations and performance management support, pre-hire and pre-termination reviews and more. This approach can be helpful for any organization, regardless of its size or industry. It’s designed to help you navigate the most pressing HR needs that will help you attract and retain the high-quality talent needed to grow your business and reduce risk. 


For elements that require a greater concentrated focus, HR Strategies Now also provides project-based services that enable you to complete your key initiatives while maximizing your time. From handbook design to HR system implementation and HR strategy to succession planning, this approach is designed to help you complete larger or more complex initiatives that are important to your long-term growth strategy.


Whether it’s providing general day-to day support, addressing “sticky” situations or tackling complex projects, HR Strategies Now is ready. 


Call (281) 853-4069 today to get started.

HR Strategy Design

The Human Resource strategy is your overall plan for managing your human capital and aligning it with your business activities. It sets the direction for all of the key functional areas of HR, including organizational design, compensation, benefits, manpower planning, talent acquisition, on-boarding, training and development, performance management, employee relations, succession planning and off-boarding.  The strategy also serves as the foundation for policy and procedure development and risk management efforts. 


The HR Strategies Now Solution:

We’ll begin with a review of your core objectives, the organization's mission and vision, the desired culture and any immediate concerns.  We'll also review your current HR practices as a baseline and then create plans to close the gap between that and your desired state, taking future staffing, competency, performance and compliance needs into account.  Next, comes the development of specific plans for each initiative and as much support as you need in bringing them to reality.  The final objective is to create a specific and measurable plan that can help you gain traction in improving your HR practices.  Because risk management is always a smart business tactic, a full Human Resources audit is available to establish a baseline and identify risks that may be unknown at the time.

HR Administration (Nuts and Bolts)

For many companies, HR practices start with the basics.... documentation, employee files, general compliance, policies & procedures and job descriptions.  That's a great place to start as business functions best when risk is controlled and employees understand the nature of their responsibilities.  As the business begins to grow, it is important to continue establishing that foundation because the quality or stability of other processes will be built on it.  If you are very intentional about getting the basics right, elements such as talent acquisition, training and development and performance management will be much more effective.  You will also have greater confidence that your risk is managed well.


The HR Strategies Now Solution:

"Nuts and Bolts" is about ensuring that your business has the most basic elements of an effective Human Resources practice, enough to ensure that employees understand their roles, responsibilities and expected results along with the fundamental behaviors that support your desired culture.  From job descriptions to policies, procedures and compliance, It's HR 101. 

  • Employee Handbook Design (Standard or Custom)
  • Policies and Procedures
  • Job Function Analysis
  • Job Descriptions
  • Process Design
  • Basic Compliance-Related Training & Development

Depending on your specific needs, it may be helpful to conduct a thorough HR audit that will highlight any potential risks and identify opportunities for systematic improvement.  It's a means of identifying where to start.

Compensation & Benefits

The combination of compensation and benefits is typically one of the most important elements in the employment relationship.  Employees need to believe that the company values their contribution or, to put it simply, they will find another employer who will.  That means that you must understand the competitive market for the positions that you rely upon and do your best to stay competitive with the combination of base pay, incentive pay and benefits.  Employees are generally familiar with the market rates for their positions and failing to provide something close to that will result in higher turnover and the loss of the intellectual capital that you depend on. 


A solid compensation structure is needed as paying either too much or too little can have a detrimental impact on both short- and long-term performance.  Benefits are often critical for employees who want to not only stay healthy but protect themselves against significant financial hardship.  Compliance requirements for these two functions can also be complex, especially in regard to the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) that governs healthcare plans. 


The HR Strategies Now Solution

With over 20 years of experience carrying responsibility for the development and administration of competitive compensation and benefit plans, I clearly understand the drivers behind creating effective plans and ensuring they are run properly.  From base compensation to incentive plans, recognition programs and benefit plans ranging from the most basic to robust, I can help you drive engagement without breaking the bank.  I can also help you effectively market these plans to both applicants and employees as part of your employer branding process.  This is a significant component of the employee value proposition (the employee's perception of what they receive in return for their work).  It needs careful focus.


We will work together to design job structures and descriptions, and to create compensation plans and benefit strategies. We offer support in market pricing positions to ensure your pay rates are in line with the market, and in the development of benefit strategies to help your employees take care of themselves and their families while controlling your costs. This includes internal marketing of compensation and benefits as a strategic element of your employee value proposition, also known as Total Rewards.

Talent Acquisition

Hiring new employees can be an exciting process that has long lasting benefits.  There’s a huge upside potential if it’s done right.  If it’s not, the potential downside can also be long lasting… and damaging.  Employees who possess the right skills, focus and values can improve your team’s performance, expand its capability and increase earnings.  A bad hire, on the other hand, can damage your customer relationships, weaken your team dynamics, reduce your revenue and demand an incredible amount of your time. They are also more likely to experience workplace injuries and create a greater legal risk.


The key is to find employees who are “amazing”, who not only have the required skills and experience but also share the same vision and values as you.  That requires an intentional focus and a process that yields the right candidates and helps you to avoid legal risk. It’s essential to clearly understand the role, its responsibilities and required competencies, create the proper messaging to attract candidates, develop the questions that will yield the information that you need and then sell the opportunity to the final candidate… all while avoiding an ever increasing minefield of legal risk. 


The HR Strategies Now Approach

With a clear understanding of your company’s story, it’s values, cultural dynamics and desired results, you'll receive a clear process that will help you attract high quality candidates, interview them properly, and make final hiring decisions without exposing yourself to needless risk.  It includes the development of your employment brand, a solid recruiting process, interviewer training and evaluation procedures and communication practices that drive engagement and the start of a great employment relationship.

New Hire On-Boarding

As an employer, you have one chance to make a strong positive impression in your relationship with an employee, and that is during the on-boarding process.  True on-boarding is about more than completing new hire paperwork and learning the “do’s and don’ts” of the business. It’s about ensuring that the new employee perceives that they are an important and valuable member of your team. Think back to situations in which you developed a strong impression based on your first significant interaction with someone.  Perhaps a first date.  It’s the same principle.  First impressions often last.  While it’s tempting to just complete the minimum requirements and immediately put the new hire to work, this is your best opportunity to instill an understanding of your company’s mission, vision, values and culture.  The employee’s ability to connect and resonate with those elements will significantly impact their long-term success with the company. 


The HR Strategies Now Approach

You have an important story to tell.  I want to help you tell it in a manner that will stick with new employees so they understand your business brand, your desired customer experience and how to best approach their new role within the company.  Yes, we’ll cover the paperwork, key policies and procedures and the do’s and don’ts, but more than that, we’ll work toward creating a great experience for the new hire that re-affirms their decision to join your team.  Some of the core elements will include:

  • Advanced preparation and communication before the new hire’s start date
  • An overview of the company’s story (vision, mission, values and culture)
  • Key recommendations for their assimilation into the team
  • Clarification on their role, responsibilities and contribution to the company
  • Timelines / Expectations for their first week, 30, 60 and 90 days
  • Safety, security or other first level training topics
  • A review of the employee handbook (including key policies and procedures) and
  • Resources or connections that can help them along the way. 

Training & Development

From soft skills to technical, your ability to compete and win is directly impacted by the capabilities of your employees.  While “on-the-job” training is best for general responsibilities, many of the competencies required for you to deliver quality to your customers need a more concentrated approach. As a matter of fact, companies that place a high value on on-going training and development are often those recognized as “Best Places to Work”.  That’s because the development of your employees conveys that they are valuable to your organization, builds their capability, increases their confidence and enables them to deliver their results more effectively.  Once again, it’s a core ingredient in the principle of employee engagement. More importantly, they become engaged but you reap the longer term returns from that investment.   


While larger companies have the benefit of an abundance of training resources, smaller businesses are able to be more agile and focus on the creation of content that is most likely to generate significant returns. The challenge that small business owners face is that they are often stretched thin in running the business and find it difficult to devote the time necessary to develop actual training programs. A “You’ll learn it as you go” approach increases the employee’s time-to-productivity exponentially.


The HR Strategies Now Approach

Training and development does not have to be incredibly complicated.  Nor should it be.  It’s simply a matter of clarifying how you want your employees to perform and defining the skills or competencies required for them to do so.  From there a program can be designed that’s as simplistic or robust as you need to instill those competencies. Once the course is designed, I can prepare you or a member of your team to facilitate or do it for you.  Some engagements require a combination of the two.  Some of the more common training needs include interviewing and selection, performance management, leadership skills, and risk management. I have also facilitated sessions on business ethics, harassment prevention, business writing and industrial safety.  Keep in mind that proof of training can also be an important element in a defense against cases alleging harassment or workplace injury. 


Follow-up on any training program is critically important because it often makes the difference between a passive and active approach to learning.  Post-program reminders or quiz questions can be designed and distributed at regular intervals to ensure that the information remains fresh in the minds of the participants.


Performance Management

Performance Management is a regular communication process between an employee and their supervisor for purposes of ensuring the continued performance and growth of the employee and the achievement of the organization’s goals.  Typically this has been accomplished through an annual performance review and, to be honest, the process can easily become cumbersome and lose its intended benefits.  Ideally, employees should understand the goals of the organization and be actively involved in defining goals or performance measures that lead to their being achieved. Once the objectives are defined, feedback should be occurring at a minimum of once per quarter, even if informally.  This ensures that the employee stays focused and obstacles are identified early enough to be removed. 


Assuming that the employee continues to deliver the right results and grows in their capability, a good performance management process will help to clarify whether they should progress further through the organization and/or receive additional compensation.  If they do not, it should provide a specific protocol on how to bring the employee back on track and, if they are unsuccessful, how to move them out of the organization. 


Perhaps more than any other HR process, the quality of your performance management process directly impacts your employees’ level of engagement and focus in performing their work. Why is that important long term?  Because engaged employees perform at higher levels, also more loyal to their company and are less likely to leave when other offers come around.  Retaining high quality employees is a key need for businesses today.


A well-designed process will also help you to minimize legal risk.


The HR Strategies Now Approach

With your company’s annual objectives, growth targets, values and desired culture in mind, a process and related materials can be designed that will ensure employees clearly understand their expected performance and results.  Training and guidance can be provided to your leadership team to help them obtain the best results from the process.  We can also cover event or behavioral triggers that should lead to corrective action if needed. 


This will provide you the best opportunity to improve employee engagement, achieve your targets, progress the organization and protect it long term. 

Employee Relations

At its core, Employee Relations is about creating and maintaining a positive relationship with your employees while simultaneously managing risk.  It’s about the efforts that a company makes to manage that relationship, including the physical, emotional and contractual elements. 


To put it simply, if you want employees to perform their best work, they not only need to receive guidance, direction and a set of objectives, they also need to perceive that they are safe, trusted, valued and not being taken advantage of.  Companies will often organize events that create a shared perception of community across employee groups. That’s helpful in creating a positive work environment. But Employee Relations also includes the handling of delicate situations such as counseling troubled employees or conducting internal investigations when employees choose to step outside of workplace behavior norms.


Other elements of Employee Relations include proactive communication practices, recognition programs, diversity initiatives and, perhaps most important, creating an environment of psychological safety.  Companies that drive psychological safety as a part of their culture have been shown in various studies to have higher levels of performance over time. 

Career Management / Succession

Ensuring that you have the right people at the right place at the right time is no easy task.  But it’s critical if you want to achieve your performance targets and improve employee engagement.


Career Management and Succession Planning are about preparing for the future. Career Management is focused on helping employees understand and prepare for future career opportunities.  Succession planning is more focused on proactively identifying and developing specific employees to fill key positions as the business grows.  Both require proactive planning and intentional focus. 


Frequently, employees are promoted into leadership roles because they are a strong performer, only to experience significant performance problems. That’s because the skills required to lead are often different than those required to be a strong individual contributor.  The end result is the potential loss of two valuable resources...the new leader and the individual contributor that (s)he was. 


Evaluating employees for possible promotion starts with clearly understanding the competencies required for their career path and assessing where the employee stands in comparison.  From there, a development plan can be created to ensure they’re ready when the time comes. 


The HR Strategies Now Approach

The potential impact of career management and succession planning on an organization’s performance and long-term success is enormous.  My objective is to help you put structure around the processes that will improve employee engagement, retention and your readiness for future growth.  Together, we can identify the critical competencies, identify and assess team members for possible growth and then create strategies to prepare them for the next level. 

Employee Off-Boarding

Why spend time planning for an employee’s exit, especially when we are working in a “right-to-work state”?  That is a really important question and some clarification is needed. “Right-to-work” generally means that an employee or employer can choose to end the employment relationship at any time.  But that does not mean an absence of risk for the employer when off-boarding an employee.  As a matter of fact, terminations that are handled poorly are far more likely to result in legal challenges than any other facet of the employee relationship.  A wrongful termination charge can typically be avoided if the process is managed well.


Off-Boarding or termination refers to the process of removing an employee from the business, whether voluntarily or involuntarily.  Voluntary terminations (resignations) can be relatively straightforward as you can immediately begin looking for a replacement, conduct an exit interview and hopefully the employee leaves on good terms.  Involuntary terminations, on the other hand, require far more effort and patience. The objective is to handle the situation objectively, professionally and with compassion if at all possible. 


The HR Strategies Now Approach

When it comes to off-boarding, the key is to enable you to move through the process cleanly and prepare your business to move forward, perhaps at a higher level.  I can assist by helping you to evaluate the situation carefully, prepare you or other leaders to properly communicate the decision and, in light of key employment laws, prepare documentation to ensure that if the action is challenged you have information to support the decision. While I am not an attorney, I have enough experience “in the trenches” to provide clear guidance on best practices. 

Share by: