HR and payroll consulting
Hands-on HCM and payroll optimization.
Your system went live, but your team still works around it. I find out why, and give you a prioritized 90-day plan to fix it, without replacing your platform.
The problem
Live, but not owned.
Most trouble after go-live does not come from the software. It comes from the gap between how the system was configured and how your team actually works. Over time people build workarounds, and the workarounds become the process.
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Offline spreadsheets
Pay and benefits calculations live in lists outside the system because nobody trusts the reports or the workflow.
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Open enrollment fire drills
Frantic data auditing every year, with errors that reach paychecks and benefits coverage.
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Integrations that fail quietly
Carrier feeds and system handoffs throw exceptions that someone re-keys by hand.
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Paid-for modules nobody uses
License spend continues on modules and user seats that sit inactive.
I call this Platform Atrophy: the slow decay that starts when the implementation team finishes go-live and nobody keeps the system's settings aligned with how the team works. It is not a training failure, and it is not your fault. Implementation projects are measured by the go-live date, not by what happens afterward.
The offer
HCM & Payroll Optimization Audit
A fixed-fee diagnostic that compares how your platform is configured with how your HR and payroll team works day to day. The result is a plan you can act on, not a slide deck. Built for organizations with 100 to 5,000 employees on an enterprise HR or payroll platform.
What you receive
- Findings report: where staff time, payroll accuracy, and license value are being lost
- Prioritized improvement list: every recommendation ranked by business impact and implementation effort
- 90-day action plan: assigned task owners, corrective milestones, and immediate quick wins
- 60-minute readout with your executive sponsor and team
- Two working tools: a pre-audit checklist that finds unused seats and modules, and a playbook for moving spreadsheets back into the system
Fee and terms
$4,500 fixed fee, due at project kickoff.
- Performed remotely, so no travel expenses
- Limited slots each month, so each audit gets dedicated, hands-on attention
- Fixed scope and fee, agreed in writing before you commit, so there are no hourly surprises
- For comparison, traditional enterprise consulting firms often charge $15,000 to $25,000 for standard reconfiguration projects
How the audit works
The ALIGN Method.
I call the approach the Platform Calibration Protocol: a tune-up that finds why your team uses spreadsheets instead of the system you already bought, and gives you a plan to fix the settings so the system does the work.
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Audit settings
Review your live configuration and feature settings to find where the gaps are.
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Listen to operators
Interview the people who run HR and payroll each cycle to surface undocumented workarounds and recurring corrections.
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Isolate leaks
Map where staff hours, paycheck accuracy, and paid module subscriptions are being lost.
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Grade payoffs
Rank every fix by operational impact and implementation effort.
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Navigate execution
Deliver the 90-day roadmap with owners and quick wins, and walk your team through it in a live readout.
Each phase starts once the one before it is complete. I confirm the timeline in the Scope of Work before we start.
Scope
What is included, what is not, and who does what.
Every audit starts with a written Scope of Work that spells this out.
Scope includes
- Review of your live configuration, integrations, reports, and user roles
- Interviews with the people who run each cycle
- Review of recent payroll corrections and error logs you provide
- License and module use, with each finding tied to lost hours, payroll accuracy, or license value
- Email follow-up on questions about the deliverables after delivery
Not included
- Changes to your live system or data
- Implementing the recommendations
- Running payroll or correcting individual employee records
- Tax, legal, benefits-compliance, or accounting advice
- Software selection or platform migration planning
- Custom development, training, or additional platforms
Anything outside scope is quoted separately.
Your team's part
- One executive sponsor and one day-to-day contact
- A short intake form before kickoff
- Read-only access, or exports and screen shares
- Availability of your HR and payroll operators for interviews
- The spreadsheets and offline lists your staff maintain
- Deciding which recommendations to pursue and owning their implementation
Access and confidentiality
I work with read-only access and do not change your production configuration. I ask only for the data I need, and I do not need Social Security numbers or bank account details. We sign a mutual non-disclosure agreement before kickoff, and your findings are never named in my marketing.
Data and integration work
When the fix is a migration or an integration.
Some findings need building, not just configuring: moving data between systems, connecting the tools you already use, or cleaning up reports that do not reconcile. I take on data migration, integration, and reporting cleanup as separate projects, scoped and quoted from your requirements. The audit tells you what needs to be built. It does not build it.
Results
Documented results from past work.
These figures come from my own engagements. Your results will vary with your platform, your team, and how fully the recommendations are carried out.
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60%
shorter audit time after restructuring a client's open enrollment process in its HRIS
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~75%
typical reduction in manual data entry across past work, and 90% in a single engagement
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100+
projects completed in a four-year system audit and improvement program for a 5,000-employee enterprise
Behind those numbers: 15+ implementations and 70+ client engagements for organizations of 50 to 5,000 employees, and a 2022 Outstanding Achievement award from a previous consulting firm.
What clients have said
In their words.
Titles are generalized to protect client privacy.
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“I think I can speak for the entire team when I say how much we truly appreciated your knowledge, support, and guidance getting us through this migration!!”
HR Systems Manager -
“These Analytics have been the best help! Last year I was always chasing where the Reviews were and this works so slick.”
HR Business Systems Manager -
“Thank you Kristin for all your support through this project. We would not have been as successful without you. I look forward to working with you on MANY more!”
HR Director
More from clients
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“She's excellent... Kristin was great to work with throughout.”
Senior Executive -
“I have been very concerned about us maintaining lists outside of [the system]. This is a huge help to us!”
Benefits Partner -
“I just want to say how impressed I have been with your forethought and understanding through this whole process.”
Finance Team Member
Straight answers
Questions I hear before an audit.
Do you recommend replacing our platform?
No. The audit is built around the system you already own. Software selection and platform migration planning are outside its scope.
Our rules are too specific for an outsider.
That is what the interviews are for. I work from your actual configuration and from the people who run each cycle, and I tell you where a finding rests on an assumption.
Will you change anything in our live system?
No. I work with read-only access, or screen shares led by your staff. Implementing recommendations is outside the audit and can be quoted separately if you want help.
Which platforms do you work with?
The method applies to any HCM or payroll platform. I confirm yours before we start, and if it is one I have not worked with, I tell you up front.
My team has no time for this.
The audit is designed around that: one executive sponsor, one day-to-day contact, and a few hours of interviews in total.
Is there a guarantee?
There is no outcome guarantee. The audit is sold on its defined deliverables. If a deliverable does not match the Scope of Work, tell me and I will correct it.
Scoping call
Tell me your platform, your size, and where the workarounds are.
I will tell you whether the audit fits.