HR Companies & HR Consultants in Bismarck, ND

Overview

Evolve Insurance & HR Services is a Bismarck, North Dakota firm that combines human resources consulting with insurance brokerage. Operating under the legal name Evolve Human Resource Consulting, LLC, the company was launched in 2021 by Melanie Nicklos, who still owns and leads it. It began by offering straightforward HR support to small employers.

It later expanded into health coverage for individuals and families, Medicare plans, and group benefits for businesses. Its stated aim is to make insurance and people management less confusing for clients throughout the state.

The firm works with three main groups. Small business owners make up its core HR audience, particularly those that prefer to handle their own HR functions internally but want expert backup, resources and fresh ideas. It also supports in-house HR professionals who need outside consulting, compliance assistance or technology options. On the insurance side, it helps individuals and households looking for affordable health plans, as well as people approaching or already enrolled in Medicare.

HR and benefits services

For employers who cannot yet justify a full-time HR hire, Evolve acts as an outsourced partner that helps lay the groundwork for sound people practices. Its consulting addresses the workplace shifts many owners have faced in recent years, when employees increasingly report feeling disconnected or undervalued. Typical areas of work include:

• HR consulting for small businesses that self-manage HR
• Compliance guidance on general HR matters
• HR technology recommendations
• Process and workflow design
• Company culture improvement
• Internal communication standards
• Strategies to recruit, develop and keep employees
• Employee benefits design and brokerage

The firm notes that its HR information is general guidance rather than legal advice. It encourages clients to consult appropriate government or legal resources for jurisdiction-specific questions.

Insurance products

As an independent broker with access to several carriers, Evolve compares options rather than representing a single insurer. Its Medicare work covers Medicare Advantage, Medicare Supplement (Medigap) and prescription drug plans. Its individual and family practice focuses on reviewing existing coverage to find lower premiums or broader benefits.

For employers, it assembles group benefit packages meant to help attract and hold onto talent. The company states that its guidance carries no fee for clients and that using a broker does not raise premiums.

Background and approach

Nicklos holds a master's degree in organizational leadership, earned at the University of Mary. She has carried the SHRM-CP certification since 2015. Before starting the business, she worked in banking, healthcare, nonprofits and construction, experience that gives her perspective on varied workplaces. She describes her style as thoughtful, deliberate and hands-on, with a strong emphasis on relationships and collaboration. Client testimonials on the site highlight her knowledge and dedication.

For buyers comparing providers, Evolve stands out for pairing credentialed HR consulting with insurance and benefits brokerage under one roof. It also emphasizes familiarity with North Dakota's local markets and a personalized, transparent advisory style geared toward small businesses.

Fronteer Professional Services, Inc. is a Bismarck-based Professional Employer Organization (PEO) that has worked with employers since 1993. The locally owned firm serves employers in Minnesota as well as both Dakotas. It positions itself mainly as a partner for small businesses that want to hand off the administrative side of managing a workforce. Its tagline, Freedom for Your Business, reflects the idea that owners should spend their energy on operations and customers rather than paperwork.

Fronteer does not limit itself to a single function. It combines four areas under one relationship: payroll, HR support, benefits administration and bookkeeping. Clients get access to a team of payroll administrators, HR specialists, benefits administrators and bookkeepers. This lets a growing company avoid adding internal headcount for these roles.

Under the PEO arrangement, Fronteer handles payroll and related employment administration. The client keeps the main employer relationship with its worksite staff, including supervision, job duties and daily direction of work.

HR and Payroll Services

On the human resources side, the firm acts as an outside extension of a client's team. It offers compliance guidance, employee administration and help with workers' compensation and other employment-related obligations. Its payroll work is detailed and hands-on. Typical tasks include:

• State new hire reporting and E-Verify checks through the Department of Homeland Security
• Processing paychecks and direct deposits
• Calculation, filing and remittance of payroll taxes
• Preparation of W-2s and other year-end tax forms
• Certified payroll reports and custom management reports
• Garnishment processing and assistance with unemployment claims
• Coordination of benefit and retirement plan deductions
• Overtime calculation, PTO tracking and multi-state payroll administration
• Payroll reporting for workers' compensation

Technology

Employers are legally required to keep records of hours worked. To help with this, Fronteer has partnered with an established time and attendance provider whose platform also serves as a human resource information system. The system ties together timekeeping, payroll, benefits and HR data for staff working on location or remotely.

Employers gain centralized records, leave and PTO management, secure document storage and reporting that supports workforce planning. Separate portals serve employers, supervisors and employees, and a web-based time clock lets workers punch in from a browser.

Employees can view pay stubs and W-2 forms, adjust direct deposit details, request time off, check PTO balances and update personal information, including from mobile devices. Supervisors can sign off on leave requests and payroll and pull reports.

Fronteer also helps employers design benefits offerings aimed at recruiting and retaining staff and supporting their well-being, and then administers those programs. Its bookkeeping service focuses on keeping financial records current and organized so owners stay informed and compliant.

The company says its personalized, local approach is what sets it apart. Clients work with North Dakota-based staff who emphasize responsiveness and clear communication. The firm partners with established industry vendors to deliver its technology. Buyers who want one provider for payroll, HR compliance, benefits and books will find a consolidated option backed by more than three decades of regional experience, in place of several disconnected systems.

Overview

HR Services is a firm in Bismarck, North Dakota, that works as an outside human resources department for smaller employers. Owners of small and medium-sized companies can use the firm instead of hiring and paying a full-time HR professional. Its office is on Burnt Boat Drive in Bismarck, and new clients can start with a free first consultation to talk through their needs.

The firm promises clients three things. It aims to cut costs by taking care of the detailed work. It aims to lower the risk of compliance problems. And it aims to free owners to focus on revenue and on their core work. Employers stay in charge of their own staff, while the firm handles paperwork and admin that many companies lack the time or in-house knowledge to do well.

Services

HR Services splits its work into several areas:

• Outsourced human resources: handling everyday staff matters so that managing people is easier and less risky for the owner.
• Benefits administration and management: helping employers set up and run benefit packages that help them hire and keep good workers.
• Strategic planning: writing a plan with the client, helping put it into action, and updating it as the company changes.
• Training and coaching: everything from new-hire orientation and job-skills training to coaching for leaders.
• Risk management: advice to help businesses avoid compliance problems.

How They Work With Clients

The firm says it starts by getting to know each client: how it operates, what it values, where it wants to go, and how it gets work done. With that knowledge, HR Services tries to make HR feel easy to reach and not intimidating, so both owners and employees feel comfortable bringing it questions.

Its training aims to help each employee do the role they were hired for as well as they can. Planning is ongoing rather than a one-time project, and plans are updated as the business grows.

Background

Denise Roller started HR Services in 2012. Before that, she spent years helping small business owners with the staffing side of their companies. She has worked in HR, benefits and strategic planning for more than 25 years, starting in Los Angeles in 1988. The firm says its guiding idea is educating, empowering and equipping people, organizations and businesses so they can make better decisions.

For buyers comparing HR providers in North Dakota, HR Services is a local, founder-led choice. It suits companies that are too small for their own HR department but still need help with benefits, compliance, planning and staff development. Because it offers outsourced HR admin along with benefits know-how and coaching, it fits employers who want one partner for several people-related tasks.