"A brief note of thanks and appreciation for the superb work you did… The broad scope of your knowledge and professional insights have helped guide us to the right decisions and avoid many of the costly and time-consuming missteps so common to start-up situations."
	Marjorie Borell President, Borell Beauty, LLC

	"Shawn helped us restructure and improve our delivery of Human Resources services in almost every area. Her practical approach was just what we needed."
	Bernadette Medina Human Resources Manager, Reveo, Inc.

Mastering Change. Today's business environment is volatile. The best companies position themselves to react quickly when necessary to meet their goals. While change almost always carries with it some amount of stress, employees that are not prepared to accept and cope with change and transition are likely to become negative and risk-averse and lose focus, resulting in a decline in individual and company performance. With our extensive experience in managing significant change events-- including start-ups, high growth, turnarounds, new management teams, restructuring and downsizing-- we collaborate with our clients to build the systems and structures to support new situations. We devise and implement communication strategies to enable employees to accept change as necessary and positive, and training programs to give them the tools to make meaningful contributions in a changing environment.

Recruitment and Retention. No matter what the state of the economy, the best employees are always in demand. And the cost of employee turnover is astronomical-- studies have estimated that after factoring in lost management time and direct and indirect expenses of recruitment, training, learning curve, etc., the cost of replacing a departed employee can range from 2-4 times the individual's base salary. We work with our clients to develop and implement creative strategies to attract, acquire and retain top talent in a competitive, constantly changing marketplace, and decrease costly and distracting employee turnover.

Human Resources Development. A strong human resources department is the backbone of a successful organization. We work with our clients to position the HR function to provide the support necessary to further the organization's business goals, and to ensure the most effective and cost-efficient use of available HR-related resources. Our HR development services have included work in the areas of:

• Building a more responsive, service-oriented HR department
• Enhancing the skill sets of small HR departments
• Performance management
• Employment policies
• HR compliance
• Employee Discipline and Separation

Improved Workplace Communications. It is not enough to have outstanding strategies, goals and values if these elements are not clearly and consistently communicated to the workforce. And unless employees can effectively communicate with each other, misunderstandings, omissions and duplication of effort will result. We collaborate with clients to develop internal communication vehicles that convey the organization's values, expectations, benefits and important events to all employees. We create systems and strategies for employees to more effectively exchange information. The result is a more involved, knowledgeable and motivated workforce, with improved morale and productivity.

Workplace Privacy. Email, computer usage and other workplace privacy issues are among the "hot button" topics in today's workplace. While employers are justifiably concerned with protecting their business interests, unbridled intrusion on employee privacy can lead to employee lawsuits and low morale. We enable our clients to navigate this fine line, developing, implementing and communicating reasonable and legally appropriate strategies that promote effective employee use of company time, protect valuable intellectual property, and minimize the company's exposure to both employee and third-party lawsuits.

Re-engineering and Downsizing. Workforce reorganizations and reductions are unfortunate realities, but can be even more detrimental to a company if they are not conducted properly and effectively communicated to employees. We help clients make sound, legally defensible restructuring and downsizing decisions, and communicate these decisions to employees in a forthright, considerate manner. As a result, we enable our clients to make decisions consistent with business strategy, minimize potential legal exposure, and maintain employee focus during periods.

Identifying and Preventing Ethical Conflicts. A company's reputation is a precious commodity. Although most organizations strive to conduct themselves in an ethical manner, the lack of a clear, common understanding of what constitutes ethical behavior, and how to address breaches of these standards, can lead to internal problems, as well as problems with vendors, customers and other third parties. We help our clients identify potential ethical dilemmas and explore options for handling them, and to communicate their standards of ethics to employees and the outside world so that there is no misunderstanding about the company's adoption of and commitment to the highest legal, ethical and moral principles.

Conflict Resolution. Conflict is a normal part of doing business, as individual members of an organization may have different or conflicting goals. While some amount of conflict is positive-- keeping a company vital and open to new ideas-- unmanaged conflict can devolve to anger, blame and defensiveness; cost time, money and human resources and obstruct the achievement of business goals. We help our clients to get past the emotions and focus on solving the problem that the conflict represents. This results in more rapid resolution of disagreements, strengthened relationships, improved teamwork, and increased productivity.

Employee Training and Development. Organizations routinely invest vast amounts in facilities, office equipment and technology. However, no matter how sophisticated these tangible assets may be, without excellent people --effectively utilized-- a company will not flourish. We work with our clients to develop their employees to succeed, focusing on identifying and removing existing obstacles to productivity; educating the workforce as to new, more effective ways of working; fostering a more comfortable work environment; and increasing manager awareness of "hot-button" work place issues.

We offer a variety of employee development services, which can include workshops, on-the-job manager training and individual coaching. Some of the areas in which we are involved include:

• Performance Coaching
• Improving Interviewing Skills
• Developing Effective Management Skills
• Creating a Harassment-Free Workplace
• Encouraging Diversity
• Legal Compliance Issues
• Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO)
• Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)
• Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)