HR Insights & Resources

Fractional HR means you get an experienced HR professional part-time, for the hours you need, without adding a full-time salary. At HumanizeHR, Anna Boshoer works with you as your hands-on HR lead. She sets up HR policies and processes, coaches managers, and keeps you compliant with the relevant Ontario law. Most small businesses don't need 40 hours of HR a week. They need the right amount of hours, done by someone who has seen the problem before.

We don't hand you a binder and leave. HumanizeHR is a strategist and an implementer. We build the system, roll it out with your team, and stay until it works. Anna is a Certified Human Resources Leader (CHRL). She knows that process and people beat technology every time, so you get practical fixes sized for a lean team, not an enterprise playbook. You work directly with an experienced HR professional, not a junior associate.

We mostly work with professional services firms (accounting, finance, insurance, tech and creative agencies), non-profits, manufacturing, and growing retail and hospitality businesses, including multi-location operators. What these clients have in common matters more than the industry: a busy owner or leader who has been "doing HR" along with many other responsibilities and knows it's starting to cost them.

Yes. We're based in the Simcoe County, Ontario, and most of our clients are in Ontario, so Ontario law (ESA, OHSA, AODA) is where we're strongest. We also support employers in other provinces, where we account for that province's employment standards. If your team is spread across provinces, share it with us, and we'll tell you whether we're the right fit.

All three. Most ongoing work happens virtually, which keeps it efficient and affordable. We come on-site in the Greater Toronto Area and Simcoe County when needed.

Mostly businesses with 1 to about 100 employees. That's the stage where HR usually lives in the owner's head, on a shared drive, or in a shoebox of paper files. It’s ideal to engage with us when you start planning for your first hire. However, many companies come to us when they open a second location, hire a first manager, or when the Board is asking for "structured people practices."

Yes. That describes most of our clients. If your HR "department" is you, your office manager, or your controller, we step in as your HR function. We give you the policies, processes, and advice an HR team would, without the headcount, and we set it up so your people can run it day to day.

Yes. We know the pressure Executive Directors face: stretched budgets, a mission that depends on people who are close to burning out, and boards asking for proper HR practices. We scope the work to fit non-profit budgets.

Absolutely. Many clients start with one project: an HR audit, an employee handbook refresh, a hiring process redesign, a performance review system, or a compliance review. You get a defined scope, a clear deliverable and a set timeline. Clients often find that one project shows them other areas worth fixing, but that's your call.

Yes. Ongoing fractional support gives you a set number of HR hours each month as your go-to for employee issues, manager questions, policy updates, and legislative changes as they happen. It works like having an HR lead on your team, without the full-time cost.

It depends on what you need. Single projects take approximately 4 to 12 weeks. Ongoing clients often stay a year or more, because once the foundations are built, the value shifts to having someone who knows your business and your people when the hard moments come. Our goal is to make you more self-sufficient, not dependent on us.

Yes, and it matters more than most owners realize. Ontario employers of every size have obligations under the Employment Standards Act, the Occupational Health and Safety Act, and the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act. We review what you have, find the gaps, and fix them before an inspector or a lawsuit does. Our consultation does not constitute legal advice.

Yes. We coach new and experienced managers through the parts of the job no one trained them for: giving feedback, handling underperformance, delegating, and coaching their own teams instead of just giving them the answers. Better managers save you time, and they're one of the biggest levers you have on turnover.

Yes. Popular topics include respectful workplace and harassment prevention, AODA accessibility, coaching skills for managers, clear communication, expectation-setting, interviewing skills and bias-free hiring. Sessions are practical and built around real situations your team faces.

Book a free Intro and HR Gut-Check: a 30-minute one-on-one call with Anna. We'll talk about what's keeping you up at night, find your biggest people risks, and you'll leave with at least one practical next step, whether or not we work together. There's no sales pitch, just a straight read on where you stand.

That's what the HR Gut-Check is for. Most owners come to us with a symptom (turnover, a difficult employee, a stale handbook) rather than a service in mind. We work out the root cause, then recommend the lightest option that solves it: a single project, ongoing support, or as-needed help.

Month one is about listening: we review your current policies, processes, and pain points, and flag any compliance risks. Months two and three (and beyond, depending on the state of your company’s HR), we tackle the highest-risk or highest-cost issues first and roll the changes out with your managers, so they stick. By approximately month four, most clients have a working HR foundation and a clear plan for what's next.

We reply to new inquiries within one business day.

Pricing depends on how you work with us: hourly for as-needed support, a fixed fee for defined projects, or a monthly retainer for ongoing support. You get a clear quote before any work starts, so there are no surprise invoices.

No long-term contract is required. Projects are scoped and priced upfront, and as-needed or extra support is billed by the hour. Ongoing retainers are month-to-month, because building good HR takes some consistency, but you're never locked in.

Yes, always. We follow HRPA's Code of Ethics, which includes strict confidentiality.