HR Companies & HR Consultants in Fargo, ND

Bakkegard Consulting, LLC is a Fargo-based human resources consultancy led by founder Nicole Bakkegard, MBA, PHR. The firm works with small and mid-sized employers, including both companies and non-profit organizations, that need seasoned HR guidance but may not have the budget or workload to justify a full-time in-house HR leader. Its model is built around two engagement types: an ongoing part-time HR partnership and scoped engagements focused on a single initiative.

Ways to engage

Under the fractional arrangement, Bakkegard Consulting acts as an outsourced HR leader on a part-time schedule, adjusting the level of involvement as a client's priorities change. Typical work includes keeping policies current with changing employment rules, handling sensitive staff matters, supporting benefits administration and providing interim leadership while an organization goes through a period of change or growth.

The firm presents this option as a way to lower legal and operational risk and to avoid the salary, training and overhead burden of building a full HR department. For clients with a defined need, project engagements address one area at a time, from a compliance review to a compensation redesign. Areas covered include:

• Employee relations, including dispute mediation and neutral workplace investigations
• Compliance work such as HR audits and Form I-9 audits
• In-house recruiting support, interviewer training and job description writing (the firm is not a staffing agency)
• Performance management, including review processes and improvement plans
• Benefits program design, administration and rollout of new offerings
• Compensation, including salary benchmarking, bonus and incentive plans and equity models
• Culture and engagement surveys with follow-up action plans
• Labor relations support for unionized workplaces, including grievance assistance and supervisor training
• Employee handbooks, leave policies and onboarding and offboarding procedures
• Training, leadership development and individual coaching, along with documentation systems and employee recognition programs

Prospective clients can also start with the HR Insights Review, a guided assessment of how an organization's people practices are working. The firm stresses that it is not a pass-fail test or a formal compliance audit; instead it looks across onboarding, communication, performance and policy to highlight strengths, flag gaps and help leaders plan next steps.

Background and credentials

Nicole Bakkegard has more than 25 years of HR experience, spanning both strategic leadership and day-to-day practice, with particular depth in generalist HR work and benefits analysis. Her career has crossed many sectors, covering office-based professional settings as well as blue-collar operations, and she has worked with unionized workforces.

She earned her MBA at North Dakota State University, has held the PHR credential since 2001 and teaches business courses at NDSU as an adjunct faculty member. She grew up in rural Cass County and has spent her life in North Dakota.

What distinguishes the practice is its emphasis on relationships: the firm's guiding idea is that durable organizational change depends on trust between the consultant, leadership and employees. Buyers looking for a single, credentialed point of contact who can either embed on an ongoing basis or tackle a specific HR project may find the firm a good fit, particularly employers in the Fargo area and across North Dakota.

OnDeck Resources is a Fargo, North Dakota recruiting firm built around outbound search. It does not post openings and wait for applications to arrive. Its recruiters find and contact working professionals who are not actively job hunting, then present only candidates they have screened themselves. The firm calls itself an outbound recruiting firm and serves employers that need dependable hires, extra short-term capacity or senior expertise without running a long search on their own.

Service Lines

The firm sorts its work into three engagement models, so buyers can pick the one that matches how they want to add people:

• Direct Hire: permanent recruiting for long-term roles. Each candidate is sourced through outreach and personally screened by the team, and placements come with a 90-day replacement guarantee.
• Staff Augmentation: skilled contract professionals who cover projects, seasonal peaks or backfills while the client's permanent headcount stays the same. Contractors go through the same screening as permanent hires.
• Advisory Network: seasoned consultants who join part-time for an agreed period or a specific project. Clients can bring in one advisor or a whole project team, working on site or remotely.

OnDeck also runs a Finder's Fee Program and handles questions from job seekers about open roles. That makes it useful to candidates as well as to hiring managers.

How They Work With Clients

A typical engagement starts with a consultation, after which the team begins the search. The firm says it relies on direct outreach to proven professionals rather than job boards. Because recruiters speak to prospects on the client's behalf, the firm describes its approach as consultative and stresses handling each employer's reputation carefully.

Its stated goal is a short list of well-matched people rather than a large stack of résumés. Clients who want a closer look at the method can read the firm's own explainer on outbound recruiting.

The company's published values describe how it deals with both sides of a hire. It commits to candor, meaning candidates and clients are kept informed and not left without updates. It aims for precision in matching, favors long-term relationships based on trust, and says it advocates equally for employers and job seekers. Its vision is to be the firm employers phone first when getting a hire right really counts.

Background and Team

OnDeck Resources LLC reports placements and hiring support in the United States, Canada and Taiwan. Its small team is led by a managing partner and includes recruiting consultants, workforce consultants, a marketing consultant, a virtual assistant and a website developer. For North Dakota employers comparing HR providers, OnDeck fits best as a talent acquisition partner.

It offers permanent, contract and advisory options under one firm and relies on proactive sourcing rather than broad advertising, which is how it stands apart from general HR consultancies.