Focus on your projects. Not HR gaps.
Most principals became the HR department by default — fielding staff complaints between client deadlines, navigating terminations with no documentation, and watching good engineers walk out the door because the people systems just aren't there. HR Compass puts a SHRM-certified HR Director in your corner — starting at $500/month.
Fractional HR for engineering firms is a monthly HR partnership designed for firms that don't have a dedicated HR person — or where that responsibility falls on a principal, office manager, or operations lead who's already stretched thin. A SHRM-certified HR Director becomes a working part of your team, available for real HR questions, labor-compliance issues, policy guidance, and the situations that don't have an easy answer.
Your projects are too important for HR to slow them down.
By the time your firm has 10+ employees, HR stops being something a principal can handle between client deadlines and project deliverables. And yet — that's exactly what most firm owners are doing. These are the conversations we hear from engineering leaders every week.
"A client's audit asked for our certified payroll and HR policies — and we weren't ready."
Public and government-funded projects require specific HR documentation — job descriptions, prevailing-wage classifications, and certified payroll (WH-347) timekeeping records. An audit-ready HR foundation isn't optional for firms doing public-works or government contract work.
"We keep losing our best engineers to bigger firms."
Competing on pay with larger firms is hard — but compensation is rarely the only reason engineers leave. Without structured onboarding, a clear path to PE licensure and promotion, and a culture worth staying for, burnout and attrition drain your billable capacity quietly.
"I'm running W-2 staff and 1099 contractors and I have no idea where the line is."
A mixed workforce of W-2 employees and 1099 contractors creates legal complexity most principals aren't aware of. Misclassifying a contractor as an employee — or vice versa — can create serious wage-and-hour liability. The line matters legally, and it needs to be documented.
Up and running
in two weeks.
No long onboardings, no committee meetings. Just a clear path from "we should probably get HR help" to "we have an HR Director."
Discovery Call
30 minutes on Zoom. We learn your staffing structure, project mix, contractor-vs-employee setup, and the HR situations keeping you up at night.
Plan & Match
We recommend a tier (Bronze / Silver / Gold) and pair you with the SHRM-certified Director who fits your firm best.
Onboard
Your Director reviews your current policies, labor-compliance posture, and any active people issues. Clear priorities, week one.
Run It
Monthly retainer hours, on-call guidance, manager training, quarterly reviews. Scale up or down as your firm grows.
The HR Director Team
We know the importance of great HR Directors with a small business background instead of a corporate one. We hand-select HR talent with over 20 years of experience. Here are two of our best.
Karen Moss
Karen has 30+ years of Human Resources experience, including her most recent position as the Director of People Operations at Epic, LLC. She developed and implemented HR programs, policies, and practices in talent management, employee engagement, benefits, and wellness.
Karen holds her certification as a Senior Professional in Human Resources and a SHRM Senior Certified Professional.
Amy Clark
Amy has over 25 years in HR. In her last role as Chief People Officer at a mid-sized engineering firm, she built the HR function from the ground up.
Her experience also includes HR leadership roles at ADP, EvoShield, and a multi-state law firm, where she focused on legal compliance, employee relations, benefits administration, and strategic workforce planning.
Real HR work — done by real HR Directors.
Every retainer covers strategic guidance and execution. We don't hand you templates and disappear; we do the work alongside you.
Handbook, classifications, audits.
The hard conversations, handled.
Hire, onboard, and keep great people.
A real HR voice in the room.
Pick the level of HR your firm actually needs.
Three tiers, transparent pricing, month-to-month. Move up or down as your firm grows.
- 3 hours dedicated HR Director time / month
- Handbook review & annual refresh
- Compliance check-ins (FLSA, I-9, state)
- Email & phone advice as needed
- HR template library access
- 6 hours dedicated HR Director time / month
- On-call employee relations support
- Bi-annual manager training
- Quarterly business reviews
- Comp benchmarking (annual)
- 10+ hours dedicated HR Director time / month
- Embedded weekly office hours
- Performance & comp system rollout
- Investigations & complex cases
- Principal & leadership coaching
Your principal is managing HR alone. That's one job too many.
A full-time HR Director costs $90–120K loaded — a line item most firms this size can't justify. HR Compass delivers 20+ years of experience for a fraction, with no salary, no benefits, no overhead.
Stop drafting termination memos at 11 PM and putting staff complaints in your mental queue. Your HR Director handles documentation, difficult calls, and follow-up — so you can focus on the work.
In a small firm where everyone knows everyone, it's hard for anyone internally to push back on a principal. We can — and do. Objective HR guidance, free from office politics and personal history.
Real onboarding, real career paths, and managers who actually know how to manage. Less turnover, less re-hiring.
When a principal calls at 4 PM on a Friday asking "can we let this person go?" — you get a real answer, not a Google search.
Most staff complaints trace back to management. Bi-annual training that turns your project managers and team leads into managers who actually know how to manage.
I was the principal, the lead engineer, and the HR department. HR Compass gave us a real expert on call — and gave me my time back to focus on the work.
HR Compass Silver Member
What your firm looks like
90 days from now.
Most clients feel the difference in the first two weeks. Here's what the first three months could actually look like.
Foundation is set.
- HR policies reviewed — you know what's current, what's missing, what client audits expect
- Employee and contractor classifications documented and defensible
- Active people issues have a plan — not just a worry
- You know exactly who to call when something comes up
Firm runs cleaner.
- Principals and project leads are back to billable work, not HR firefighting
- First manager training session complete
- Onboarding process documented — new hires land with clarity and ramp up faster
- Comp benchmarking underway — you know how you stack up for retention
HR is just handled.
- First quarterly review — you know exactly where you stand for your next audit
- Staff issues are documented and handled — not absorbed into your culture silently
- Labor-compliance and certified-payroll requirements are current and organized
- Your firm is defensible — policies, docs, and processes that hold up
Everything you
want to know.
If you don't see your question here, we would love to do a 30-minute call. We're happy to talk through whether HR Compass is the right fit before you commit.
Ready to get your
firm's HR handled?
Tell us a bit about your firm and where things stand today. We'll help you figure out which plan makes sense. No pressure — just a real conversation.