HR Companies & HR Consultants in Fort Wayne, IN

Overview

AnCor HR, LLC is a Fort Wayne, Indiana human resources firm that gives small and mid-sized employers access to senior-level HR expertise without adding a full-time or part-time HR employee. Founded in 2019, the company operates on an administrative services outsourcing (ASO) model.

It covers payroll, benefits, HR and general employment administration so that business owners can concentrate on their core operations. Clients can engage the firm for an ongoing partnership, for one-off consulting on individual issues, or to roll out a particular HR initiative they have been planning.

Leadership and Credentials

The firm is led by Sheena Leugers, its owner and Director of Human Resources, who brings over two decades of HR experience. She holds the SHRM-SCP credential and has, at times, served as the HR lead for as many as twelve organizations at once.

Her background spans recruiting, benefits, leave administration, workplace safety, workers' compensation, payroll, unemployment claims, coaching, professional development and employee relations. That breadth lets her step into very different workplaces, learn their culture quickly and offer practical, people-focused advice. The stated aim is for AnCor HR to function as a dependable arm of each client's leadership group.

Services

Engagements are tailored to each organization's goals and draw from several service areas:

• Compliance: guidance on employee concerns, employee handbook drafting and review, policy and procedure writing, fair and consistent treatment of staff, tracking changes in federal and state employment law, and FLSA compliance
• Coaching and development: setting up or managing performance systems, soft-skills coaching, building and monitoring performance improvement plans, and compliant terminations
• Benefits administration: health insurance, COBRA, retirement plans, workers' compensation, unemployment compensation, designing benefit packages and assisting with renewals, and leave management covering FMLA, personal leave and paid parental leave
• Talent acquisition: needs analysis, job description writing, basic salary range research, job posting through an applicant tracking system, skills and behavioral interviewing, skills testing, reference and background checks, and onboarding orientation for new employees
• Payroll and special projects: payroll administration, HRIS implementation, performance measurement setup and training

The firm also flags the use of artificial intelligence in HR as a current topic it advises on.

Industries Served

AnCor HR works with a varied client base, including manufacturers in both unionized and non-union settings, business-to-business retail sales companies, funeral service logistics providers, and nonprofits active in human services, entertainment, philanthropy and similar community work. Its philosophy centers on hiring people who match an employer's character, strengthening employee relationships to support company culture, managing benefits to improve retention, and setting clear expectations so staff can succeed.

Working With the Firm

New relationships begin with a meeting to understand the organization's needs. After that conversation, the firm prepares a written support plan along with a service agreement, giving both sides a shared roadmap before work starts. The company emphasizes responsive, personalized service and long-term relationships grounded in trust and collaboration. This makes it a fit for employers that want an experienced HR partner on call rather than a large outsourced department.

Harris Human Resources Group, Inc. (HHRG) is a human resources consultancy based on Stellhorn Road in northeast Fort Wayne, Indiana. The firm positions itself as an outsourced HR function for organizations that cannot justify, or prefer not to carry, a large internal personnel department. Its stated aim is to give business owners back time and strategic focus while improving profitability by supplying seasoned HR expertise to companies of any size.

How engagements work

Every new client relationship starts with a no-cost assessment, during which HHRG reviews the organization's current HR situation and needs. From there, clients can choose the structure that fits them best: a defined project, hourly support, a quarterly arrangement or an annual retainer.

This flexibility lets a small employer bring in help for a single initiative, such as rewriting a handbook, while a larger firm can rely on HHRG as an ongoing extension of its management team.

Beyond direct consulting, the company also coaches staff members who have been handed HR responsibilities, helping them handle administration more efficiently and in line with regulatory and compliance obligations, with an eye toward lowering exposure to lawsuits.

HR services

HHRG's consulting work spans the full employee lifecycle and the policies behind it, including:

• Recruiting, candidate selection and outplacement administration
• Job analysis and the writing of job descriptions
• Compensation analysis and pay structure design
• Performance evaluation policies and appraisal systems, plus training on their use
• Workplace policies, procedures and employee handbooks
• Tools to strengthen morale, employee relations and workplace behavior
• Labor relations approaches and strategy for contract negotiations
• Safety training and the setup of safety and employee involvement teams
• Facilitated sessions for strategic planning and goal setting

Training, coaching and the HR Academy

Training is a major part of the practice. HHRG delivers executive and management coaching in both one-on-one and group formats, leadership development for supervisors, managers, leadership teams and senior executives, and instruction for newly appointed HR staff in strategic best practices.

Its HR Academy is an ongoing program aimed at HR professionals as well as the office managers, administrative assistants and owners who often end up responsible for hiring, onboarding, discipline, reviews and engagement without formal HR training. The site also lists business and life coaching and a section for job seekers.

The firm has an established speaking presence across northeast Indiana. Since 2020 it has presented at chamber of commerce events in New Haven, Wells County, Huntington County, Kosciusko County, DeKalb County and Angola, as well as at the Wells County Leadership Academy, Young Professionals of Steuben, the NE Indiana Regional Chamber, a Kosciusko HR group and an ActionCOACH seminar.

Topics have included conflict resolution, time management, key performance indicators, sales success, team and employee development, building a retention-focused culture and preparing businesses for the pandemic economy. For buyers comparing providers, HHRG suits small and mid-sized employers seeking flexible, locally based HR support that blends compliance-oriented consulting with leadership and staff development.

Overview

Hope Advising, legally Hope Advising, Inc., is a human resources consultancy in Fort Wayne, Indiana. It works mainly with smaller employers and nonprofit organizations in Northeast Indiana and beyond. Clients can choose how to work with the firm, from a monthly advisory subscription to one-off setup projects or fully outsourced people management.

The goal is to give organizations that cannot justify a full-time HR hire access to experienced practitioners, so leaders can deal with workforce matters before they grow into bigger problems.

Engagement models

The firm's best-known offering is HR on Tap™. Under this retainer, a client pays a predictable monthly fee for a set number of consulting hours to use as questions come up. Typical topics include coaching staff and handling hard conversations, employment law exposure, written policies and recordkeeping, help for managers making people decisions, and morale or turnover concerns.

For organizations that need more than occasional advice, Hope Advising also offers fractional and interim HR leadership. Its consultants can act as a part-time CHRO, HR director, manager or generalist under a custom arrangement, which can also cover gaps such as an HR employee's medical leave.

A broader outsourcing option puts the team in a hands-on role covering employee relations, compliance, performance management, coaching for leaders and routine HR administration.

For companies without basic HR infrastructure, the HR Foundations package is a defined project. It means owners, office managers and bookkeepers don't have to build a people function themselves. Deliverables include an employee handbook, as many as five job descriptions, an offer letter template, an orientation checklist and packet, and information for a new hire's first day.

Wider foundations work can also include compliance reviews, documentation practices and performance tools. Organizations unsure where to start can ask for a free HR evaluation to find their main problem areas.

Leadership, career and recruiting services

Hope Advising runs leadership development based on the Livstyle™ assessment. It is aimed at supervisors and mid-level managers who were promoted for their technical ability but never trained to manage people. Participants learn how they tend to communicate, make decisions and react under pressure.

They then build skills such as emotional intelligence, giving feedback, handling conflict and working with team dynamics. The same assessment is used in a career coaching program for young people at the start of their working lives, combining insight into what motivates them with practical planning.

The firm also recruits HR professionals for client organizations, weighing judgment, flexibility and cultural alignment alongside technical ability.

Team and industries

The firm is led by chief executive Valerie McKain. She holds the SHRM-CP credential, is a certified Livstyle™ trainer, sits on the board of NIHRA (the regional HR professional association), and has worked in both software and nonprofit settings. Consultant Kelsey Rutledge has a master's degree in HR management and experience in nonprofit, public media and smaller organizations.

She handles much of the HR on Tap™ advisory work and focuses on explaining requirements in plain terms. Clients come from many sectors, including:

• Nonprofits and education
• Healthcare
• Professional services and real estate
• Construction
• SaaS, technology and media
• Small businesses in general

For buyers, Hope Advising stands out for its flexible scope and its focus on HR systems that work in daily operations, not only on paper. Because it offers subscription advice, project work, interim leadership, training and HR recruiting, an organization can start with limited support and add more as it grows.