By Kevin Boneske
Staff Writer
ASHWAUBENON – The village board approved a contract March 23 to have Human Resources Consulting handle Ashwaubenon’s human resources needs this year.
The board budgeted $50,000 in 2021 to either go toward the hiring of a human resources employee or an independent consultant to assist the village.
The board also previously directed Village Manager Joel Gregozeski upon his hiring last year to transition away from him handling human resources matters.
Following a review of the village’s human resources needs, Gregozeski said village staff determined at this time it’s best to have a third-party consultant provide that expertise.
“We did not feel that at the current time for $50,000 that we would be able to hire a person on payroll to meet the needs of instituting or initiating a full-fledged human resources program,” he said.
Gregozeski said six firms were contacted about human resources services.
He said a contract was recommended with Human Resources Consulting because of its location, skill set and setup of the contract.
“This particular firm is out of the Green Bay area,” he said. “We did interview firms that were from Green Bay, but also throughout the state.”
Gregozeski said Human Resources Consulting provides the village more flexibility, and has more direct human resources experience working with municipalities than the other firms interviewed.
“This (contract) is based on a time and material basis,” he said. “The employees that are assigned to the village would work three, four, maybe five hours a week in office that would support our human resources-related function.”
Gregozeski said village department directors will have the ability to utilize a hotline to call the firm for immediate human resources-related matters.
“Because of how the firm is set up, they have a flexible rate structure,” he said. “Based on our needs and the complexity of the challenges will determine who from their firm will be assigned to that task.”
Hourly billing rates are $220 per hour for an executive human resources consultant, $170 per hour for a senior human resources consultant, $125 per hour for a human resources consultant and $60 per hour for administrative support.
Gregozeski said the firm will also conduct a human resources audit of the village’s policies and procedures for a flat rate of $2,800.
“We’re going to identify areas where we’re not in compliance with law, and identify those and create directives to correct those issues, as well as identify areas where maybe we can improve upon our best practices,” he said.
Gregozeski said he expects the village will come in under $50,000 for the year with the contract.
“The worst-case scenario will be about five hours a week with a mixed bag between their kind of two lower tiers of hourly rates with the idea that (company owner) Diane (Biersteker), who is the higher-end rate, that would be on a more complex matter,” he said. “Diane would work maybe 10 hours a quarter, or something like that, based on the complexity of it.”
Gregozeski said human resources expenditures will be reviewed on an ongoing basis, with the firm billing the village every two weeks.
“As our needs are compiled and we understand what our billable charges are, we can determine what our needs are,” he said. “There’s no long-term commitment. Every two weeks we decide… is this going to meet or exceed budget, and we can adjust our level of service based on that demand.”
At a minimum, Gregozeski said one of the firm’s staff members will be available in the office at least three hours a week to answer human resources questions, with about another two hours set aside per week to call someone if the need arises.
Biersteker said the firm is looking forward to its relationship with the village.
“Our goal is to come in first and assess where you are, make sure that, as Joel said, you have good, solid practices and procedures that keep you in compliance with state and federal law, also institute best practices,” she said. “We make sure that we provide you with our recommended HR toolbox, some standard templates and forms that can be modified for specific use by the village.”
Biersteker said her company wants to make the village as self-sufficient as possible, and not create a dependency.
“We’re here to support you and make sure that you’re always improving, but at some point it may very well be appropriate to bring in your own HR-dedicated employee,” she said. “Then perhaps our role is simply as potentially a senior advisor or someone that gets brought in when there’s a more complex matter.”