HR Companies & HR Consultants in Concord, NH

Traces of Joy HR Consulting is a New Hampshire firm that gives small and mid-sized employers access to seasoned human resources expertise without the cost of a permanent in-house HR hire. Its consultants work directly inside client operations. They cover areas such as employee relations, regulatory compliance, payroll, benefits, and HR technology, and they also serve as temporary HR staff when an organization has a gap to fill.

Who they serve and how they engage

The firm suits companies that have outgrown informal people practices but are not ready for a full HR department. It also helps organizations that are short-staffed in HR for a while. Examples include businesses dealing with growth, a restructuring, or an HR employee on leave, and the firm can work on site to keep things running smoothly.

When a client is recruiting its own HR professional, the consultants can handle the work in the meantime and then train the new hire and hand off responsibilities. New clients can start with a complimentary 30-minute consultation or request an HR audit.

Services

• On-site and interim HR coverage during growth, change, or staff leave
• HRIS work on ADP Workforce Now and Oracle Cloud HCM, including integrations, ATS connections, data migration, reporting, open enrollment configuration, workflow tuning, and user training
• Payroll processing for single-state and multi-state employers, plus tax reporting, reconciliations, year-end work, and W-2 handling
• Core HR support, including leave management, benefits administration, onboarding, employee relations, recruiting help, and guidance for managers
• Custom employee handbooks and workplace policies
• Compliance audits
• Mergers and acquisitions support, including HR due diligence, onboarding and offboarding plans, retention planning, and workforce transitions

Approach and specialties

The firm's stated goal is to connect people strategy to business objectives. It focuses on technical areas where mistakes can be costly, especially payroll, audits, HRIS, and M&A. Its consultants try to make complicated problems easy to understand so leaders can make well-informed decisions. They describe their work style as direct and responsive.

Their aim is to put systems and processes in place that hold up in everyday practice, not policies that only exist on paper. The website also has free downloadable HR templates, including a new hire checklist, a 30/60/90-day check-in form, an HR self-audit, a PTO request form, an employee disciplinary form, and an employee change-of-status form.

Team and background

Two founders run the practice. Traci Lasher, SPHR, is the Principal HR Consultant. Her background covers HR, payroll, compliance, HRIS, and finance, and she works closely with leadership teams to find problems and simplify how HR is done. Joy Martineau is the Principal HRIS Consultant.

She has worked across HR, business management, HR systems, payroll, and process development, and her focus is setting up and improving the technology and workflows behind HR and payroll. Together, the founders combine HR knowledge with technical and operational skills. That mix is especially useful for employers that need help with both people issues and the systems that support them.