HR Companies & HR Consultants in York, PA

Alternative HR is a York, Pennsylvania human resources consulting and outsourcing firm built for small businesses and non-profits that need professional HR guidance but are not ready to employ a dedicated, certified HR manager on staff. The firm works with employers in York and nearby Pennsylvania counties, and its client base also reaches into Maryland. Its stated aim is to make HR compliance less complicated, recommending practical measures scaled to each organization's size and industry rather than heavyweight corporate programs.

HR services offered

Buyers can choose individual programs or combine several, depending on how much support they need:

• HR audits that review existing HR functions, check compliance, comment on the employee handbook and suggest best practices
• HR retainer program giving ongoing access to consultants by phone and email for questions on compliance and HR topics
• On-site HR support at the client's premises on a weekly, every-other-week or as-needed schedule
• Recruiting and staffing focused on both required skills and cultural fit
• Handbooks and policies, including advice on which policies a given business should adopt
• Employee relations management, covering job description updates, performance improvement plans and everyday workplace conflict
• Support for companies that already have an internal HR department
• Online HR training

How the firm works with clients

New relationships typically begin with a no-cost consultation in which the team assesses what the employer actually requires before recommending a program. From there, engagement can be as light as an advisory retainer or as hands-on as a consultant spending regular time inside the client's facility.

The company describes its approach through a set of values: being committed and available outside normal hours, keeping fees within reach of small organizations, adapting to each client's scale, responding promptly and with empathy, fitting around client schedules, keeping its information current and accurate, and offering advice without judgment.

A recurring theme is helping owners avoid rash or emotionally driven personnel decisions that can create legal and operational risk.

Background and team

The firm was founded in 2010 by CEO Kellie Boysen, who left a corporate HR career to focus on helping smaller employers.

She holds the PHR and SHRM-CP certifications, a bachelor's degree in human resource management from Indiana University of Pennsylvania and an MBA with an HR concentration, and she brings close to two decades of HR experience, including work with three start-ups.

She belongs to local and national SHRM chapters, was named York SHRM's top HR practitioner for 2014, and volunteers with the Junior League of York, SCORE and the York County Economic Alliance.

Consultant Ben Allatt, based in the Harrisburg area, has more than 15 years in HR, a Messiah College degree in HR management, and particular interest in diversity and inclusion programs and diversity-focused recruiting.

Consultant Beth Trimmer has over 15 years of HR work in manufacturing, defense and banking, with a background in recruiting, onboarding, leave administration and HRIS, and a Penn State degree in labor and industrial relations.

For employers comparing HR providers, Alternative HR stands out as a small, credentialed local team offering modular, right-sized support, from one-time audits to recurring on-site help, aimed squarely at small businesses and non-profits in south central Pennsylvania and Maryland.