Tailored training can keep firms out of trouble
For more than 20 years, Donald LaChapelle handled the human resources for his company, Donada, by relying strongly on his instincts. But two years ago, it became clear that his approach could end up getting him into trouble.
“I was doing the human resources, but there were so many things that I wasn’t aware of,” he said. “I did it by instinct and whatever experience I had, but things change very quickly. We had a couple of issues with employees so I figured before we got ourselves into a quagmire we better get someone in here to smooth out the edges.”
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To help with that LaChapelle turned to Joyce Maynard, co-founder of HRXpress, a Johnston-based human resources services firm that focuses on the needs of small businesses.
Similar services are also offered by other human resources consulting firms, including Quality Transitions Inc. in Charlestown. QT usually works to train the entire management team, said consultant Jack Marshall, but can also provide training to a single person.
“Usually, we do coaching for a company and not an individual,” Marshall said. “We create management manuals that cover the issues they need to know about. But [QT owner David R. Nichols Sr.], in particular, is great at coaching individuals. The company has been around for five years and he was coaching long before that.”
HRXpress normally is called in to help a business with specific problem areas, Maynard said.
But LaChapelle took that help a step further, utilizing HRXpress’ coaching service to teach his daughter, Christine LaChapelle, how to handle Donada’s human resources needs.
“With most of our other clients, we do an assessment to see where their gaps are,” Maynard said. “Everything we do with our clients has an aspect of coaching, but here, we worked on everything to set up a human resources function.
“With Donada, it’s one-on-one. I’m there on a regular basis.
“This is a proactive way of doing it,” she said. “We’re looking at all parts of human resources and looking at how it’s done now, what’s going on in the future. At the same time, Chris is gaining knowledge in the field of human resources. It’s not the hot-button issues we’re dealing with; it’s the entire scope of human resources.”
Donald LaChapelle said he preferred this method because it went further than looking at the short-term problems.
“Sometimes, if you use someone on a retainer, you may get the answers,” he said, “but you usually have only a very short period of time to explain what you want to do. “This way, Christine can keep on top of the issues that arise.”
When he and his daughter talked about having her taking over the human resources part of the business, they considered traditional college classes. But, he said, they decided on coaching because that way, she could learn what was specifically needed for their business.
“I could’ve sent my daughter to take a class at one of the local colleges, but I wanted someone to work with us on issues that were specific to our business. I didn’t want to get the general information and then make my daughter pick out what she needed. That seemed like a waste,” he said. “With this, we can focus on specific areas.”
Maynard also said that taking the information from a class and putting it to work in your own company can be difficult.
“Applying the knowledge is often missing in the field,” she said. “With coaching, it’s not just a training class. It’s saying, ‘Let’s look at the specific situation, and let’s try to shape a solution for you.’ ”
She and Christine LaChapelle already have tackled many important areas, Maynard said.
“We’ve gone over a lot of things,” she said. “We analyzed benefits and compensation and what the cost is, so they can explain to the employees the value of what they’re getting.
“And with that, they can control their costs to see what’s spiking, such as mileage and even the cell-phone expenses. That was an eye-opener for them.
“We also created job descriptions that they can use to manage and to help them be compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act. And we have worked on their policies,” Maynard said.
She added that Christine LaChapelle, who was in a completely different industry before this, has come a long way during their time together, and has become very adept at researching information on her own.
Don LaChapelle agreed, saying that he believes that hiring Maynard was a very wise decision.
“One of the things I’ve learned is that employers have no rights, employees have the rights,” he said. “So in order to not make a mistake, with Joyce’s help, we’ve tried to define areas while still being fair to the employees.
“It’s kept us from making mistakes,” LaChapelle said. “I think there’s a need in small companies like my own for human resources coaching – and, if they thought about it, they would use it just like they use accountants and lawyers. It’s just another cost of business that keeps you out of trouble.”
And, Maynard observed, even people who’re already in the human resources field can benefit from coaching.
“If someone in human resources wants to learn some specific skills on a more personalized basis, that’s what we’re doing,” she said. “We would work with the human resources person and support them. We’re not there to replace them.”
