HR Consulting Services for Small Businesses

HR Consulting FAQs

How is HR consulting different from HR outsourcing or a PEO?

HR consulting provides expert guidance, tools, and hands-on support without changing your employment relationship. With consulting, you remain the employer of record and keep full control over your policies and decisions. A PEO (Professional Employer Organization) works under a co-employment model—meaning the PEO technically shares responsibility for your employees, payroll, and benefits. That can make sense for some businesses, but many Maine companies prefer a consulting model that gives them flexibility, keeps them in charge, and still provides expert help with compliance, policies, and employee issues.

Do you work with small businesses that don't have HR staff?

Yes—that’s where we shine. Many of our clients are owner-led businesses or small teams where HR responsibilities have been added on to someone’s already full plate. We step in with a dedicated consultant who serves as your “HR department on call.” You’ll get a baseline HR audit, employee handbook, templates for things like job descriptions and offer letters, and access to our help line. That way, you can stay compliant and handle employee matters with confidence—without needing to hire a full-time HR manager.

What if I already have internal HR staff-can you still help?

Yes. Many of our clients have an office manager, HR coordinator, or even a dedicated HR manager already in place. We don’t replace their role—we complement it. Our consultants provide higher-level compliance expertise, additional project capacity, and resources like templates, training, and technology setup. That way, your internal HR person isn’t left on an island trying to figure everything out alone. Instead, they gain a partner who can back them up, answer tough compliance questions, and take on overflow work when things get busy.

How do you price your HR consulting services?

We keep pricing transparent and flexible. Many businesses choose one of our HR packages, which consist of many different deliverables, including a one-time audit, handbook, and essential tools for a monthly fee plus per employee charge. Others opt for the

For companies with specific one-time needs, we offer custom projects billed hourly and scoped to your situation. The benefit of consulting over hiring internally is that you pay only for the expertise and hours you need—without the salary, benefits, and overhead of a full-time HR staff member.

Do we have to stick to the preset packages, or can they be customized for my needs?

Our packages are designed to give you a clear starting point, but they’re not one-size-fits-all. Every business has different HR challenges, so we regularly adjust services to fit your priorities. For example, if you already have a performance review process in place but need extra help with training or investigations, we can swap or add those services into your package. Think of the packages as a framework—you’ll always have the flexibility to scale up, scale down, or customize based on where your business is today. Pricing may change based on your needs.

Do your HR services scale as businesses grow?

Absolutely. Many of our clients start with just a handful of employees and expand to teams of 50, 100, or more. Our HR consulting services are built to scale with you. As your workforce grows, we can add policies for multi-state compliance, expand your handbook with new employee categories, set up more robust performance management systems, and introduce advanced reporting and analytics. Because our services are subscription- or project-based, you don’t have to overhaul your HR support every time you hire—you simply adjust the level of service to match your needs.

Can you help us prepare for a DOL or IRS audit?

Absolutely. Our consultants conduct file reviews, check I-9s for errors, confirm personnel records are complete, and update policies that auditors will request. We also provide a remediation checklist with deadlines and help you train managers on what to do during an inspection. By identifying gaps before an auditor does, we save you stress, fines, and potential legal issues.

Does your HR software have technology for tracking and storage?

Yes. We configure isolved HR features so you can manage documents, acknowledgments, reviews, and checklists all in one secure platform. This means your handbook acknowledgments, offer letters, I-9s, and training sign-offs are stored digitally with audit trails. Employees get self-service access to their own documents, while you get reporting and reminders so nothing falls through the cracks. It’s a big upgrade from paper files or scattered spreadsheets.