Human Resources Consultants Save Money, Add Value

PR Log (Press Release) – Nov 09, 2006 – DOVER, N.H. — Human resources isn’t just about hiring and firing anymore.

Delise West, founder and president of Human Resource Partners in Dover, N.H., said she’s found that her services are now helping support the goals of her clients’ new investors.

“Companies that are proactive about human resources-related factors, including compliance issues and infrastructure, can make investing in that particular company more appealing to a venture capitalist because the investor knows there will be fewer employee-related surprises,” said West.

That was the case with Bradford Networks, Human Resource Partners’ newest client. According to West, the Concord, N.H.-based network security firm recently landed $2 million in funding from a venture capital firm.

“Bringing in an HR consultant was part of our strategy from the beginning. Our investor supported the idea to hire Human Resource Partners,” said Mike Gadoury, founder and CEO of Bradford Networks. “He wanted to prevent any employment-related surprises and have us put systems and structure in place while hiring A-players. We have achieved all of this and more with the help of Human Resource Partners.”

West said human resources services are often one of the last things start-up company founders think about in their formative years. However, as those firms grow and their officers begin to seek financial backing and support from venture capitalists or other investors, the need for resources pertaining to staffing, compliance, employee relations and retention and assistance with mergers and acquisitions arises.

“Regrettably, bringing in an HR professional is an afterthought for most companies,” said West. “And it’s not just with technology companies. I have one client that has a few restaurants and a couple hundred employees, they looked around one day and said, ‘How did we get this big?’ Now they need that peace of mind as it relates to employees and want to make sure they have everything in place and are doing the right thing.”

In addition to benefiting companies and organizations by potentially enhancing their valuation and providing structure and stability, firms such as West’s are also helping those groups save money.

According to Bradford Networks’ Gadoury, “Our company has realized a significant cost savings by retaining Human Resource Partners over hiring a full-time HR director. We filled a void of expertise that we were lacking as software engineers.”

For companies seeking an investor or venture capitalist, West suggests retaining the services of a human resources consultant six months prior to approaching those individuals in order to avoid any surprises and to ensure that needs such as the creation of an employee handbook are met.

“Having the human resources infrastructure in place prior to securing funding will demonstrate to an investor that the management team is proactive and may enhance the company’s valuation,” said West.

Human Resources Partners provides customized, fully-outsourced human resources solutions for small businesses and start-ups including compliance, hiring and retention services. For information about Human Resource Partners, visit the Web at www.h-rpartners.com or call (603) 749-8989.