HR Companies & HR Consultants in Hooksett, NH

Innovative HR Partners is a small human resources practice headquartered in Hooksett, New Hampshire. It acts as an external HR function for employers who are not ready to staff an internal people team. Founded by Chris Chagnon, the firm works mainly with small and mid-sized organizations on both sides of the state line.

Its area runs from Nashua and Hudson down through Tyngsborough and Chelmsford in Massachusetts, and also includes Manchester, Londonderry, Derry, Litchfield and Concord. A typical client employs somewhere between 10 and 75 people, though the firm treats that range as a guideline rather than a hard cutoff.

The core offering is a recurring monthly engagement in which the firm takes on day-to-day HR administration under a scope agreed in advance. Depending on the arrangement, this can include running payroll inside the client's existing payroll platform, supporting hiring, and building onboarding and exit checklists.

It can also cover keeping personnel files and policies current, coordinating benefits enrollment with brokers and carriers, and serving as a steady sounding board for managers. For companies that only need targeted help, the firm also takes on one-off projects, audits and advisory work.

Services

• Fractional and outsourced HR on a monthly basis
• HR compliance audits covering handbooks, required postings, personnel files, and wage, leave and worker classification questions
• Strategic HR consulting during growth or organizational change
• On-demand support for a single urgent people issue
• Benefits administration and payroll coordination or processing
• Manager training and coaching
• Form I-9 record reviews
• Recruiting and hiring process support
• Employee relations, performance management, handbooks and policies, and onboarding and offboarding

How engagements work

Ongoing clients move through three stages. First, the firm reviews the practices in scope, such as personnel records, payroll and onboarding routines, and existing policies, to see what needs attention first. Next, it puts agreed systems and workflows in place, making clear who approves payroll changes and how handoffs run between the business and its outside providers.

Finally, it provides continuing administration and guidance and refines processes as the company changes. Compliance audits end with recommendations ranked by urgency and effort rather than a lengthy report. The firm is clear about its limits: clients keep employer responsibility and the final say on employment decisions, and legal, tax and licensed benefits questions go to qualified professionals.

It does not promise any particular savings or compliance results. Pricing is scoped individually after an initial consultation.

Background and specialties

Chris Chagnon holds a master's degree in human resources management and the SHRM-CP credential, and has more than ten years of hands-on HR work behind him. He lives in Hudson, and the practice is a member of the Nashua Chamber of Commerce. His deepest experience is with trades businesses.

The firm also works with service companies and restaurants, small businesses in general, and startups that are scaling up. Its stated style favors plain language, listening before recommending, and advice that can be put into practice right away.

For buyers comparing providers, the main differences are the personal, founder-led model, a specific focus on the trades, and a willingness to process payroll and handle recurring administration rather than only advising. The firm is built to support employers where HR currently falls to an office manager or the owner, or where supervisors lack consistent guidance.