Valley Business Services: Human Resource Advisory Offerings
Unlock the Potential of Your Business
Resources. Relationships. Results.
Support for the Heart of Your Business
– Your People
Running your day-to-day business is hard work – there is so much to manage from ordering ingredients, products, packaging, and cleaning supplies to marketing and promoting your business, and then of course, there is the heart of what keeps your business running – your people!
For many small businesses, human resources is a challenge, and even for those that are well-established with a dedicated human resource team, keeping policies and procedures current, juggling recruitment, and developing benefits and rewards that lead to retention is no easy task.
At Valley, we recognize the challenges our members face in running their businesses, which go beyond the production of goods. By leveraging the true power of the cooperative model to combine our collective strengths, we’ve developed a program to support and guide our members to solutions to fill in the gaps and unlock the potential of their businesses.
Explore Our Human Resource Advisory Offerings
Valley Business Services offers a comprehensive range of support through our Human Resource Advisory Offerings to help you navigate the complexities of managing people and processes. Our services are designed to strengthen your organization in key areas like benefits, compensation, policies, performance management, hiring, and training. Whether you’re refining your employee handbook or developing leadership skills, we’re here to provide expert guidance every step of the way.
Policies & Practices
- Employee Handbook Review: Review employee handbooks to clarify language, simplify complex policies, and help managers understand compliance, rights, and workplace responsibilities.
- Policy Language Review: Review workplace policies for language clarity, consistency, and ease of understanding. This includes identifying confusing or overly technical terms, making suggestions for plain language alternatives.
- Employee File Review: Review employee records to ensure they’re complete, accurate, and organized. You will also be able to properly store, access, and protect the private and sensitive information.
Recruitment & Onboarding
- Job Description: Develop role analysis, collaborating with key stakeholders, and apply standardized formats to support recruitment, performance management, and employee development.
- Interview Guides: Design structured, consistent interview tools to help assess candidates that improve hiring decisions with role-specific questions, evaluation criteria, and tips for interviews.
- New Hire Orientation: Know how to create and deliver structured onboarding experiences that welcome new hires including orientation materials, policies, company culture, and the role of managers.
Compensation & Rewards
- Payroll Policy Consultation: Explain the implications of payroll schedules, deductions, and common paycheck components such as taxes, benefits contributions, and overtime. Support may also involve explaining timekeeping procedures and clarifying payroll policies.
- Wage Compliance Support: Explain rules around overtime eligibility, how overtime pay is calculated, and understand minimum wage laws and market pay practices.
- General Market Compensation: Receive data on the market value of a specific role up to three times per year. This is done regardless of a formal, written job description and is based on role understanding. Limited demographic factors would be used to provide the 50%-tile of the market.
Performance Feedback
- Delivering Feedback: Learn how to give clear, respectful, and effective feedback by advising on timing, tone, and conversation techniques, including balancing praise with criticism and handling tough discussions.
- Guidance on Discipline: Receive guidance on employee discipline in a fair, consistent, and compliant manner. This involves understanding the role of progressive discipline, documenting incidents appropriately, and ensuring clear communication of expectations and consequences.
- Documentation Practices: Receive guidance on how to properly create, manage, and store employment-related documents. Assistance also includes ensuring documents are clear, objective, timely, and compliant —while maintaining confidentiality and secure recordkeeping.
Training & Development
- Leadership Skill Gaps: Identify the skills and leadership abilities needed for each role by conducting assessments, reviewing performance data, and guiding development discussions.
- Training Program Effectiveness: Evaluation and improvement of training programs by partnering to define “competency” and assessing outcomes that validate learning objectives were met.
- Tracking and Documentation Practices: Create clear and organized records for training activities, materials, and results, including developing manuals, tracking attendance, defining competencies, and standardizing documents for compliance.
Benefits
- Assistance With Leave and Paid Time Off: Receive basic guidance on creating or understanding member leave and PTO policies, including how leave is earned, used, and requested, and help explain policy details and best practices.
- Medical and Health Benefits Support: Gain an understanding of benefits options. This includes explaining available benefit options such as health, dental, and vision, and answering general questions to make informed choices.
- Guidance on Health Insurance Options: Receive support to help understand health insurance choices. This includes explaining different plan types, coverage options, understanding terms, and how plan options fit needs.
How it Works
Select the Offerings You Are Interested in:
Simply fill out the form on this page and let us know which services you are interested in, and a member of our team will contact you.
Receive One-on-One Coaching with an Experienced Advisor:
Your advisor will work with you on scheduling coaching sessions and work with you through your identified needs to develop a tailored plan.
Roll Out Your Established Plan and Enjoy the Benefits:
Through established protocols and optimized processes, you can get back to your day job knowing your people are covered.
Your Advisor
Meet Thomas Schultz! Thomas brings over 25 years of experience as a human resource professional, with a well-rounded skill set that includes leadership coaching, employee relations, benefits administration, training and development, change management, and employment law.
Thomas offers one-on-one guidance while tackling broader organizational challenges. He builds adaptable HR systems and leads talent strategies aligned with business goals. As a certified behavioral consultant, he uses DISC and RightPath tools to strengthen teams by understanding employee behaviors and motivations.
With a Bachelor of Business Administration in human resource management from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, membership with the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), and more, Thomas is spearheading this new program of free or low-cost business support for Valley members.
Talk With Our Business Service Experts Today
Whether you need guidance in employee retention, training and development, or culture and leadership, we’re here to help you bring your business to the next level. Simply fill out our inquiry form below to connect with an expert.
A Valley team member will follow up to discuss how we can elevate your business.