HR Companies & HR Consultants in Asheville, NC

Craft HR Solutions, LLC, which brands itself as CraftHR, is a human resources consulting firm based in downtown Asheville, North Carolina. It works mainly with smaller and midsize employers across Western North Carolina and Upstate South Carolina, and it also takes on clients outside that region. The firm calls itself purpose-driven.

Its work rests on the idea that organizations perform better when their people are supported. Its offerings include ongoing outsourced HR leadership, payroll and bookkeeping, advisory support, leadership development, strategic planning and one-off project work.

Fractional HR engagements

The firm's main offering is fractional HR. It is aimed at companies that need experienced HR leadership but cannot justify a full-time hire. Each client gets a dedicated consultant whose time is scaled to the organization, from a half day up to five days each week.

That consultant is backed by specialists covering benefits, compensation, compliance, recruiting, training and HCM payroll systems. Contracts run between one and three years. Work begins with a proprietary assessment in which senior staff review twelve areas:

• Business strategy and HR strategy
• Technology and process
• Culture and engagement
• Compliance
• Talent acquisition and onboarding
• Benefits
• Performance and development
• Compensation and payroll
• Time and attendance
• The employee handbook

The assessment moves through discovery, data collection, analysis, a written report and a findings presentation. It produces a prioritized project plan. A typical first year is then split into two phases. The first four months focus on urgent fixes and building processes. The steadier phase that follows covers day-to-day HR operations, performance management, retention, workforce planning, and full-cycle recruiting with onboarding.

Payroll, bookkeeping and advisory support

CraftHR administers payroll on more than ten different platforms. It handles setup, system changes, new-hire entry, tax coordination, reporting and employee questions about pay and deductions. The firm argues that payroll sits close to compliance and policy, so having HR professionals run it lowers risk.

It later added bookkeepers to its staff so that payroll records and the general ledger are reconciled by one provider rather than separate vendors. A combined HR advisory and payroll package pairs payroll processing with an on-call HR resource for issues such as employee relations, benefits and compliance.

Each of these engagements is led by a client success specialist or consultant and overseen by a vice president of client success.

Projects and other services

For organizations with a single defined need, the firm quotes and completes standalone projects. Examples it lists include:

• Recruiting supported by technology and a structured search process
• Compensation benchmarking and benefits design informed by carrier relationships and data analysis
• HR and compliance assessments
• Employee handbook writing and updates
• Employee engagement surveys, which the firm counts among its most important work

Leadership training and strategic planning complete its catalog. The firm also advertises help for employers facing compliance obligations in more than one state.

Industries served

CraftHR lists experience with healthcare, hospitality, manufacturing and distribution, architecture, construction and design, nonprofits, professional services, information technology and government. Prospective clients can book a free 20-minute introductory call after completing a short questionnaire about their organization. This gives buyers a low-commitment way to judge fit before signing a longer engagement.