People Make The Difference…

People are what make or break an organization. No matter what your business or nonprofit is, the foundation is your people. We understand this; our focus is people, human resources, talent… We are about people too. Our service model is based on working with a person, not a portal. We think people make the difference both for your organization and ours.

About Us

Color Outside the Lines

We are a boutique HR Consultant firm with a focus on personalized service. We are in the Sacramento, California area but have clients all over the country with multi-state responsibilities. Local clients benefit from face-to-face meetings, while distant clients have phone support. Here is a snapshot of our clients:

They are busy.
They admittedly are not HR experts.
They want to do things right, but they don’t have time to search and click.
They care about their employees.

Our clients don’t come to us for cookie-cutter solutions. They come to us to build an HR infrastructure, become compliant, and help solve problems, or strategize for the future. The no longer wish to “color inside the lines.” They want innovative solutions to their most important asset--their people.

Who We Help

We specialize in small to medium sized employers (two to 100+ employees) including startups, non-profits, and family owned businesses, organizations with growing pains or “people problems.”
We work with: CEOs, CFOs, or the multi-tasker who is also responsible for HR. We are kind, but honest, we won’t sugarcoat things.
We work best with organizations open to making changes to succeed; because “Insanity is trying the same thing over and over and expecting different results.”

How We Charge…How We Differ

The most common question we get is, “Can you help us even though we are not your client?” The answer is yes, because whether we answer a few simple questions (once) or work with you consistently, you are not locked into contracts.

We charge a flat hourly rate which will decline the more hours we support you. We also have our “Premier Client Program” which provides consistent support at a flat rate. For special projects (such as building a compensation program) we provide a flat rate which may be less if we take less time.

We, and our fellow HR Consultants know that in most cases, the advice and systems we can provide usually end up saving organizations money.

Internet based HR Service Models of today have become very administrative oriented. (See "Has HR changed?"). Chances are your organization already has access to “free” HR support through one of you providers (payroll, insurance, software).

These services include a portal to many good HR forms and may even include an HR hotline. We think this is a handy tool and we do not see it as competition. In fact, 100% of our clients (so far) already have these HR services, but they NEED MORE.

So, if you are just doing price shopping for an HR form, swipe left, you probably just want an HR portal. If you are looking for individualized support, please take a few minutes to read about our services.

Has HR Changed?

Since 2005 we have helped clients face challenges such as “The Great Recession” federal and state legislation, and even “good” problems such as lower unemployment. In this relatively short span of time we have witnessed many changes in HR, mostly for the better.

Small employers have access to formerly unattainable technology for payroll, timekeeping, recruiting and employee data. But many employers forget those are simply the tools to navigate “HR Administration.”

Human Resources, at its core is about the people. Sure, the HR industry may be packaged differently, or given a hipster title, but whatever it is called, the key to successful HR is valuable insight regarding your people.

Often those on a web search start out looking for “Human Resources Support” and end up with an HR tool. Our specialty has always been people solutions. So, whether you allow drones at work, play dodgeball at lunch or still require a suit and tie, no matter. The solution for your company will not be the swag, but rather how your employees feel about your organization.

About Our HR Visionary

Cindy O’Peka (Our HR Visionary)

Cindy started her career in Human Resources back when Silicon Valley was literally making “Silicon” chips. She rode the exciting first wave in the heart of it all running HR for a high-tech startup. Though competent as a manager, she lacked HR expertise. “Not to worry…” her CEO assured her, “we have an HR Consultant.” Through his mentoring, Cindy caught the HR bug and never looked back. She went on to oversee HR at firms small and large, public and private. Her biggest role included running HR for an area with over 6,000 employees and ~25 HR managers. It was there she gained her skills in strategic HR while also earning her SPHR.

Taking on roles that included national and international employment rounded out her career. One company saw her unique ability to build bridges. There she received certification as a mediator and handled this critical first step in their arbitration program. She was also assigned as the national go-between for women in the company (of over 12,000 employees) who had complaints.

Put another way, she was overseeing a “#MeToo” type campaign long before this issue had so much media attention. Cindy always found compensation (employee and executive) fascinating and created compensation programs for both large and small employers. Later she taught classes to HR professionals on compensation at UC Davis Extension. The idea to start her company came after several “porch parties.” It seemed that her business owner friends gravitated to her with HR questions (usually employee issues) during these parties and she was happy to help.

But it occurred to her that there were limited resources for these smaller employers. She thought back to her early years and the awesome HR Consultant who had helped her. It was time to start a new chapter, focusing on the largest employers in the United States: Small to Medium sized employers.

When not being a self-proclaimed “HR nerd,” reading the latest about people management, or legislation, she can be found hanging with family and friends, walking her dog, volunteering at community events and yes going to porch parties (which have moved to the backyard). Travel tops her list of favs and she is still working on her list of “who she’s seen perform in person” knowing that some of the best “rock stars” will eventually retire.

About Our Logo

Our logo represents what we do.

We have learned that both people and organizations have “ups and downs;” there is no such things as a static organization or life. We are here to help during those times. We also find employers and employees can be at an impasse.
Our goal is to bridge the gap. You will see our logo is a bridge with ups and downs.
Green in our logo represents growth, something most organizations and people desire. Gray is the area in which we specialize; because there are a lot of “gray” areas in employment. Lastly, the word “Solutions” is what we are all about.