HR Companies & HR Consultants in Cranston, RI

Hilb Group HR Consulting Practice is the human resources arm of Hilb Group, a national insurance brokerage that ranks among the top 20 firms of its kind. The practice is aimed at employers who need dependable HR expertise but do not want to build out a large internal department.

Rather than hiring additional full-time staff, client organizations can draw on a bench of experienced HR consultants for anything from a single short project to ongoing, broad support. In Rhode Island, the practice operates out of a Cranston office, and the wider Hilb organization maintains a number of other locations around the state.

HR Consulting Services

The practice organizes its offering into four main areas, so that a business can pick the level of help it needs:

• Virtual HR: remote access to HR professionals, offered in four tiers, each including entry to a members-only Knowledge Hub stocked with toolkits, guides and other reference material
• Recruiting: flexible, on-demand help filling important positions
• Specialty Services: targeted projects such as writing or updating employee handbooks, conducting HR assessments and handling exit interviews
• Managed Payroll Solutions: support with routine payroll processing, plus benefit administration through a dedicated Employee Assist team that works directly with a client's workforce

Taken together, these services cover much of the employee lifecycle, from hiring and onboarding through compliance, payroll and offboarding. That makes the practice a practical fit for small and mid-sized employers that want one partner for both people operations and administrative tasks.

Benefits and Insurance Under One Roof

A key difference between Hilb and many standalone HR consultancies is that the HR practice is part of a full employee benefits and commercial insurance operation. Clients can also get benefits consulting, compliance guidance and help with employee communication.

On the product side, Hilb places group dental, disability, life and long-term care coverage, flexible spending accounts, retirement services and a healthcare captive program known as InCap. Its commercial lines include workers' compensation, directors and officers coverage, cyber liability and general liability. For a buyer, this means HR policy, benefits strategy and risk protection can be coordinated by one firm.

Industries and Specialties

Hilb runs specialty programs in more than 30 areas. These include construction, healthcare, financial institutions, manufacturing, hospitality, technology, non-profits, professional services, real estate, retail, social services, transportation and wholesale distribution. Employers in these sectors can pair HR consulting with advisors who already know the workforce and regulatory issues common in their industry.

Background and Scale

Hilb has more than 2,400 employees working from over 125 branches and serves clients in all 50 states. The firm describes its approach as pairing the reach of a large broker with the hands-on attention of a smaller local agency. It also emphasizes investing in its own people, arguing that engaged staff lead to better service for clients.

In New England, Hilb has grown partly by acquiring regional firms, among them the former OceanPoint Insurance and the HR consultancy HR Knowledge. For Rhode Island employers, this combines local relationships with the resources of a national organization.