HR Companies & HR Consultants in Manassas, VA

JBR Consulting is a human resources firm headquartered in Northern Virginia. It offers outside expertise to organizations that want help with nearly every aspect of managing people. Its client base spans small nonprofits, growing businesses and very large corporations, and it serves customers in Virginia, the greater Washington area and other parts of the country.

Scope of services

The firm takes on both short engagements and extended projects. Its approach goes beyond fixing the problem at hand: each assignment is meant to leave the client with the tools and structure needed to keep new policies, programs and processes running well over time. Typical areas of work include:

• Advisory support on general HR questions
• Development and refreshing of policy manuals
• Employee handbook preparation and updates
• Strategic planning with both near-term and longer-term horizons
• Organizational development solutions
• Planning and rollout of HR programs
• Targeted project support for particular situations
• Ongoing assistance that complements an in-house HR department

Working style

JBR begins by listening. The team works alongside each client to learn its goals and circumstances, then builds a solution that suits that particular organization instead of relying on a generic model. Where an HR department already exists, the firm can act as an extension of it. Where internal resources are thin, it can fill gaps in knowledge and capacity. The broader goal is to help companies improve how they interact with, manage and reward employees.

Client feedback published by the firm reflects this style. A vice president at an automotive dealership group credited JBR with a thorough update of the company's policy manual and handbook, and praised the founder's counsel. An HR executive at an airline catering and services provider, who has relied on the firm for many years, describes its work as consultative, punctual and accurate, and says it has advanced numerous plans and programs.

Leadership and qualifications

JBR has operated since 2000 under its founder and owner, Joan Reutter, who has more than twenty years of experience in HR and strategic consulting. Earlier in her career she held notable management and consulting roles at several well-known employers, including a major energy company, a regional hospital network and prominent benefits and actuarial consulting firms. Her credentials include:

• A mathematics degree from Adelphi University, awarded magna cum laude
• Senior Professional in Human Resources status through HRCI
• Senior Certified Professional status through SHRM
• Prior standing as an Associate in the Society of Actuaries
• Past service on a SHRM expertise panel covering total rewards, compensation and benefits

Buyers weighing HR consultants may also note that JBR is certified as a woman-owned small business by Virginia's Department of Minority Business Enterprise. That designation can be relevant for organizations with supplier diversity commitments or public procurement requirements, and it comes alongside a long operating history and a founder whose background combines corporate HR, consulting and quantitative training.