Frequently Asked Questions

Practical answers to common questions about HR consulting, compliance, employee relations, and building HR infrastructure

Not sure what kind of HR support you need? Explore the questions below or contact HR Workforce Solutions to discuss your situation.

General HR Consulting

HR Workforce Solutions provides practical HR consulting and project-based HR leadership for growing organizations. We help businesses strengthen their HR infrastructure, address employee and workplace challenges, reduce HR risk, and build the people processes needed to support growth.

Our work is organized around three areas: PROTECT your organization from HR risk, SOLVE complex people and workplace challenges, and BUILD the HR function and workforce capabilities your business needs to grow.

PROTECT helps strengthen your HR foundation and reduce risk through HR Health Checks, assessments, policy and process reviews, and other proactive HR work.

SOLVE helps address employee relations issues, workplace challenges, investigations, and other HR problems that require focused attention.

BUILD helps organizations create, strengthen, or modernize their HR function, including HR processes, systems, workforce practices, and manager capabilities.

Together, PROTECT | SOLVE | BUILD provide a practical framework for addressing your organization's HR needs, whether you're strengthening your foundation, addressing a current challenge, or building for what's next.

HR Workforce Solutions works with growing organizations that have reached a point where their HR needs are becoming more complex than their current infrastructure can support.

We primarily serve small and growing businesses, including organizations in manufacturing, construction, HVAC and skilled trades, and other owner-operated businesses. We also work with villages, townships and small municipalities.

Whether you're hiring your first employees, building an HR function, strengthening an existing HR operation, or navigating a complex workplace challenge, HWS provides practical HR support tailored to where your organization is today and where it is headed.

Yes. HRWS can supplement an existing HR team when additional capacity, specialized expertise, or project leadership is needed.

This may include HR assessments, policy and process development, employee relations, workplace investigations, HR function modernization, manager development, workforce planning, or other projects that require additional HR expertise.

No. HRWS works with organizations that may not yet need a full-time HR leader, as well as organizations that already have HR personnel but need additional expertise, capacity, or specialized support.

Depending on your needs, HRWS can provide focused project support, specialized HR expertise, additional capacity, or ongoing HR support.

No. HRWS is designed to complement your organization's leadership and HR team.

For organizations with an existing HR function, HRWS can provide additional expertise, capacity, or project support. For organizations without an established HR function, HRWS can help build the HR foundation, processes, and infrastructure needed to support the organization as it grows.

PROTECT: HR Risk and Compliance

Take our online quiz to get a quick snapshot of your organization’s HR strengths and gaps. You’ll receive an immediate score, followed by a detailed review of your results and a free consultation with HRWS.

The assessment looks at key areas such as policies and procedures, employee documentation, onboarding, employee relations, manager practices, HR systems, and other core HR processes. We’ll help you understand what’s working, where gaps or inconsistencies may exist, and what to prioritize next.

The quiz and consultation are free, with no pressure and no obligation to engage HRWS for additional services.

No. The HR Health Check is a structured HR review designed to identify strengths, gaps, inconsistencies, and areas that may require attention. It is not a legal opinion, legal audit, or certification of compliance. When an issue requires legal interpretation or advice, HRWS can coordinate with appropriate employment counsel.

Yes. HRWS can review existing HR policies and procedures for consistency, clarity, practicality, and alignment with the organization's current workforce and operations.

Depending on the engagement, HRWS can also help develop, update, organize, and implement HR policies and procedures and establish processes for keeping them current.

SOLVE: Employee Relations and Workplace Challenges

Yes. HRWS provides practical support for employee relations matters such as workplace conflict, performance concerns, employee complaints, disciplinary issues, manager challenges, and other difficult workplace situations.

HRWS helps organizations understand the situation, establish an appropriate approach, document the matter, and determine practical next steps.

Yes. HRWS can provide independent workplace investigation support, including investigation planning, interviews, information gathering, documentation, findings, and recommendations regarding next steps.

When a matter involves legal advice, litigation, or other circumstances requiring legal counsel, HRWS can coordinate with appropriate employment counsel.

BUILD: HR Function and Workforce Development

Yes. Building HR functions from the ground up is a core area of HRWS's BUILD work.

HRWS can help establish HR structure, policies, processes, systems, employee practices, recruiting and onboarding processes, manager tools, and workforce strategies.

The engagement can be designed around the organization's current needs and may include establishing the foundation, implementing the function, and preparing for the eventual transition to an internal HR team.

Yes. HRWS can evaluate an existing HR operation and identify opportunities to improve its processes, systems, policies, documentation, workforce practices, and manager support.

Depending on the organization's needs, modernization may include redesigning processes, improving HR systems, clarifying roles and responsibilities, strengthening manager capabilities, or creating a roadmap for continued HR development.

Yes. HRWS can support manager and leadership development through manager coaching, leadership development, performance management, communication, employee relations guidance, and practical tools for leading people.

The goal is to give managers the structure, knowledge, and support they need to lead effectively and consistently.

Working with HRWS

Every HRWS engagement starts with a conversation about your organization, your current HR needs, and what you want to accomplish.

Depending on the situation, we may begin with a focused discovery process, free HR Health Check, or assessment before recommending a path forward.

From there, we define the scope, priorities, deliverables, timing, and investment so you know what to expect before work begins. Engagements may be structured as a specific project, hourly support, or ongoing monthly support.

The length of an engagement depends on the scope and complexity of the work. Some needs can be addressed through a single project or targeted support, while larger initiatives such as building an HR function, developing infrastructure, or completing a comprehensive HR assessment may take several months.

HRWS designs engagements around the organization's needs rather than using a one-size-fits-all approach. The typical length of a fractional engagement is 3 months, then month to month thereafter.

Yes. HRWS provides remote HR consulting nationwide and onsite support within our standard Southwest Michigan and Northern Indiana service area.

For organizations outside our standard service area, extended onsite travel is available by arrangement. Additional mileage, travel time, and other reasonable travel expenses may apply based on the location and engagement.

Travel arrangements and any applicable travel fees are discussed and agreed upon before the engagement begins.

Onsite support can be particularly valuable for HR assessments, employee relations matters, workplace investigations, manager coaching, training, HR function builds, and other hands-on projects.

HR consulting fees vary based on the type of service, scope of work, complexity, duration, and level of support required.

HRWS offers flexible engagement options, including project-based services, hourly support, and monthly retainers, allowing organizations to choose an approach that fits their needs and resources.