You have a real team and a growing headcount, and HR foundations built for a company half your size. That gap is invisible right up until an exit, a complaint, or an audit makes it very visible.
Most engagements start with a fixed-fee audit rather than a retainer, so you can see how I work before committing to anything ongoing.
None of these are emergencies on their own. Together they are usually the point where an organization either brings in senior HR judgment or starts paying for the absence of it.
Employment agreements pulled off the internet or inherited from a founder's last company, never reviewed against your actual jurisdictions. Termination clauses are where this gets expensive.
Performance conversations, accommodation requests, and terminations handled by whoever is closest to the problem, with no consistent process and no documentation trail.
People classified as contractors who look, in practice, exactly like employees. This is one of the most common and most costly exposures in a growing company.
A handbook that exists but does not reflect how the company actually operates, and does not cover the things that are actually happening.
Screening tools, note takers, and assessment software adopted faster than anyone governed them. Real legal exposure, usually invisible to the people using them.
Staff in more than one province or state, running on one set of assumptions. Employment standards do not travel.
Fixed fee. No retainer, no obligation to continue, and no pressure to. If the audit says your foundations are solid, that is a useful thing to know for $750.
Employment agreements and offer templates. Core policies, including the ones you are legally required to have for your size and jurisdiction. Contractor and employee classification. Termination and performance documentation practice. Where AI has entered hiring or HR decisions. The compliance gaps most common for organizations like yours.
A written report, in plain language, that ranks what it finds as high, medium, or low risk, with a clear view of what to fix first and what can wait. Plus a debrief call to walk through it and answer questions.
You send documents, we have a short scoping conversation, and you get the report within about a week. It costs you roughly an hour of your time.
Why start here. HR foundations rarely feel urgent until an exit, a complaint, or an audit makes them urgent. The point of doing this while nothing is on fire is that you get to fix things on your own schedule and budget instead of under pressure and on advice of counsel.
If the audit turns up work worth doing, this is usually the shape it takes. Nothing here is a prerequisite for anything else.
The intensive part. Fixing what the audit found: agreements, policies, classification, documentation practice, and any compliance gaps that carry real exposure. Scoped and quoted as a project so you know the total before starting.
The lighter ongoing phase. Employee relations questions as they come up, manager coaching, terminations handled properly, hiring support, and someone senior to call before you do something that is hard to undo. Month to month, 30 days notice either side.
Some organizations do not want a retainer and just want to be able to call when a live situation comes up. That is a perfectly good way to work together.
I would rather tell you up front that we are not a fit than take an engagement that does not work for either of us.
10 to 150 people. Scaling, restructuring, or newly funded. Multiple jurisdictions. Non-profits and healthcare organizations with real compliance obligations and small internal teams. Companies where leadership actually intends to treat people fairly and needs the structure to match.
If what you want is documentation to justify a decision already made, or a policy binder that lets you say you have one, I am the wrong person. The work only holds up if it is honest, and my usefulness to you depends on my being willing to tell you things you would rather not hear.
Rachel handled the HR side of Unity's acquisition of Ziva, no small feat, with great judgment and a steady hand. She built real structure where we were lacking and made sure the team felt supported throughout. If you are navigating a transition or managing growth, Rachel is a solid choice. James Jacob · Co-founder & CEO, Ziva Dynamics
Thank you so much for all your help and support. It has been a game changer. Fractional HR Advisory Client · North Carolina
15+ years across private sector, healthcare, public sector, and nonprofit, most recently as Senior HR Partner at Unity (Americas). More about my background.
No. The audit is a one-off fixed fee. Retainers run month to month with 30 days notice on either side. I would rather you stay because it is working.
Often yes, in a different shape. Frequently the person handling HR is capable but does not have senior backup for the hard calls: terminations, accommodations, complaints, restructures. That is a good use of hourly consultation rather than a full retainer.
Yes. Engagements run across Canada and the United States, including employers with staff in both countries.
You will be told plainly, with the exposure explained and options for addressing it. You are under no obligation to have me do that work. Some clients take the report to their own counsel, which is a completely reasonable thing to do.
Yes. Reduced rates are available for registered non-profits and charities. Ask on the call.
A 20-minute call is enough to know whether this is worth doing. If you would rather just read first, the one-pager covers the whole scope.
A brief, no-obligation call to understand where you are and whether the audit is worth doing. Confidential, and reaching out does not commit you to anything.