HR Companies & HR Consultants in Portland, OR

HR Annie Consulting is a human resources consultancy based in Portland, Oregon, working mainly with small and growing employers that need dependable HR expertise without necessarily hiring an in-house department.

Its engagements run from single, defined projects through to ongoing fractional or fully outsourced HR, so a business can bring the firm in for one policy question or hand over most of its people function. When a new client gets in touch, the firm assigns an HR specialist from its team whose experience suits the project.

Services

The firm's work is grouped around three themes: compliance, workplace culture and HR best practice. Its main offerings include:

• Strategic HR consulting and general HR support
• Fractional and outsourced HR
• Manager and employee training, including custom-built programs
• Recruitment and candidate search
• Pre-employment background screening
• Career coaching for individuals
• Keynotes, panels and workshops for events

Training plays a large part in what the firm does. It runs a recurring two-day HR & Manager Crash Course at its Southeast Portland office, aimed at supervisors, owners and HR staff, which covers eight subjects spanning culture, compliance and practice and qualifies for SHRM and HRCI recertification credits.

Speaking topics it lists include pay equity and compensation analysis, benefits planning, leadership development, interviewing and onboarding, and employee-led codes of conduct. Its keynotes deal with scaling a business, active listening and learning from mistakes in the workplace.

Client testimonials describe the firm helping a memory care provider write an employee-led code of conduct, and recruiting a specialist for a surgical practice.

Team and Credentials

The company is headed by CEO and owner Cindy Free, who has more than thirty years of professional experience, has run her own businesses for over twenty years, and holds a communication degree from Portland State University.

She is a PREP people analytics certified coach, a member of the Forbes Business Council, and has held leadership roles with the Entrepreneurs' Organization.

Others on the team are a Director of Operations with Six Sigma Green Belt certification and a background in telecom and healthcare, a training and development consultant who previously owned and managed restaurants and hospitality businesses, and an administrative manager responsible for client accounts and background check administration.

The firm is a SHRM member and approved recertification provider, an HRCI recertification provider, a certified Women's Business Enterprise through WBENC, and a member of the Professional Background Screening Association. It also belongs to CalChamber and HRCalifornia, which suggests it supports employers with staff in California, and it is listed as a service provider for the Nonprofit Association of Oregon. Partners named on its site include employment law firms, payroll and benefits providers, and recruiting firms.

For buyers comparing providers, HR Annie stands out for pairing hands-on consulting with in-house screening, recruiting and accredited training under one roof, along with a deliberately small-firm approach to client service. The company also takes part in community work, such as a free career exploration series run with EO Portland that took students and young adults to visit local businesses, plus pro bono and volunteer work.

Trüpp HR is a human resources firm based in Portland, Oregon. It offers outsourced HR administration, advisory consulting and online training. Its clients range from small employers without an internal HR department to midsized and enterprise organizations whose in-house teams need extra capacity or specialist knowledge. The firm doesn't replace a company's existing setup. Instead, its staff work alongside the client's own people, so businesses can fill skill gaps and handle growth without adding HR employees.

Outsourcing and administration

Clients can choose individual functions or hand over most of their HR work. Smaller employers get an assigned group of subject matter specialists and a dedicated HR business partner. The work starts with a review of current policies and practices to find compliance shortfalls, followed by a yearly plan that sets priorities for each quarter.

Unlike a PEO arrangement, Trüpp doesn't require clients to switch payroll vendors, change benefit plans or co-employ their workforce. Employees can get benefits details, digital forms and company documents at any hour through cloud-based systems.

• HR services outsourcing covering policies, onboarding, engagement, training and people strategy
• Leave administration for FMLA, ADA and state or municipal leave requirements, including notices and deadlines
• Benefits administration, including tracking, reporting, employee communication and open enrollment projects
• Employee relations outsourcing for complaint intake, case management and manager coaching
• ADA accommodation management, from intake and medical documentation review to decision letters and follow-up

Support for larger organizations

The employee relations and ADA programs are built for midsized and large employers, often ones dealing with rules in several states. Concerns come in through a secure online portal. A consultant confirms each new case in no more than four business hours and holds an intake conversation no later than one business day.

Each case gets a priority level, documentation, and a written summary of findings and recommendations. Clients follow progress on a shared dashboard and receive regular trend reviews. The firm reports an average first response of 43 minutes and an average closing time of 4.41 days.

Its accommodation specialists, all based in the U.S., lead interactive process meetings as neutral third parties and consult health care providers when employees agree.

Consulting, projects and training

On the advisory side, Trüpp offers general HR consulting, compensation consulting focused on defensible and scalable pay programs, compliance consulting and workplace investigations. Project work includes custom employee handbooks aligned with federal and state law, pay equity analysis, HR audits that rank needed improvements, and ADA and religious accommodation support.

Its eLearning catalog includes a manager series with EQUIP, HIRE, PERFORM and RESPECT learning paths, and an FMLA and CFRA course for managers. A Respectful Workplace series covers harassment prevention for employees and supervisors, civility, and diversity and inclusion. A certification program trains internal workplace investigators, and individual courses are sold through an online store.

Approach

Trüpp describes its style as proactive, strategic, adaptable and innovative. In practice, that means suggesting improvements before problems come up, weighing HR decisions against their wider business effects, adjusting to each client's culture and values, and using technology to update traditional practices. For buyers, the main appeal is access to senior-level specialists in leave, accommodations, compensation and employee relations without building a full internal department. The company also publishes free webinars, a blog, videos and downloadable HR resources.