HR Consulting · Performance · Compensation · Leadership · Talent Analytics

People
strategy
that holds.

I help nonprofits and mid-size organizations build HR infrastructure that actually works — compensation systems, performance frameworks, leadership development, and talent analytics designed to last past the first friction point.

HR built for organizations doing real work under real constraints.

I work with nonprofits, mid-size companies, and executive teams who need HR that functions — not HR that looks good in a slide deck.

WorkWise HR Solutions is built around a Prevention → Intervention → Stability methodology. Every engagement is scoped to your actual constraints, grounded in data, and designed to hold past the workshop or the deliverable.

My work spans the full people operations spectrum: compensation architecture, performance management, leadership development facilitation, and talent analytics that translate people data into decisions leadership can actually use.

4
Core Practice Areas: Performance, Rewards, Recruitment & Leadership
255+
Employees Across FTE, PTE & IC Tracks Supported Through Structured HR Systems
30/60
Day Post-Engagement Infrastructure Built Into Every Facilitation Engagement
2029
Strategic Plan Horizon Built Into Compensation Architecture for Active Clients
01

Performance Management

360° competency frameworks, goal-setting architecture, calibration systems, and talent intelligence reporting — built to develop people, not just evaluate them.

02

Total Rewards & Compensation

Market-grounded pay structures, compa-ratio frameworks, merit schedules, and pay equity analysis — built toward your strategic plan horizon, not last year's budget.

03

Leadership Development

Facilitated sessions for leadership cohorts navigating change — grounded in real team data and built with post-session infrastructure so commitments don't evaporate.

04

Recruitment Systems

Structured, repeatable hiring processes that reduce dependency on individual manager judgment and bring consistency across complex, multi-track workforces.

Selected Work

01 Performance Management
Chicago Nonprofit · 30–60 FTE · 125 PTE · 100 ICs

360° Competency Assessment System

Designed and deployed a full-cycle performance management framework across a multi-tier workforce — connecting individual goals to organizational strategy through quarterly, mid-year, and end-of-year touchpoints.

  • Built supervisor, self, and peer/direct report evaluation tracks into a single cohesive system
  • Surfaced halo effects and appreciation gaps, prompting targeted manager calibration conversations
  • Identified stagnation among top performers, enabling proactive stretch assignments before attrition risk emerged
  • Introduced competency levels (Identify → Apply → Expand → Lead) tied directly to merit increase eligibility
02 Leadership Development
Multi-State Finance Company · Leadership Team Cohort

Leading Through the Change You're In

Designed a full-day leadership development session for an executive team navigating active organizational change — grounded in real team data, not generic curriculum. Program developed and ready for facilitation.

  • Integrated ADKAR change management self-assessment with Tuckman team development mapping
  • Each leader will leave with a completed LAC card: one behavioral commitment, one measurable indicator, one accountability partner
  • Team will produce a signed Collective Team Statement and operational SOP governing decision-making, conflict, and communication
  • 30- and 60-day post-session infrastructure built in to sustain commitments after the room clears
03
Total Rewards
Chicago Nonprofit · Multi-Year Compensation Strategy

Compensation Architecture & Pay Equity Framework

Led the end-to-end design of a compensation strategy grounded in market data, pay equity principles, and long-term organizational sustainability — built toward a July 2029 strategic plan horizon.

  • Designed compa-ratio framework (0.80 → 1.20+ scale) to assess competitiveness across all roles without exposing raw salary data
  • Created tiered merit increase schedule by years of experience across four bands, eliminating ad hoc pay decisions
  • Incorporated federal FLSA, state Employment Cost Index trends, and Chicago-specific inflation benchmarks into model assumptions
  • Addressed pay equity gaps through structured leveling — distinguishing roles by technical requirements, not just title
  • Benchmarked against Payscale Social Service sector data to ensure competitive positioning in a constrained talent market
04 Recruitment
Chicago Nonprofit · 30–60 FTE · 125 PTE · 100 ICs

Position Recruitment Team (PRT) System

Built a structured, repeatable recruitment process to eliminate inconsistency and reduce time-to-fill across a complex workforce with full-time, part-time, and independent contractor tracks.

  • Designed PRT framework: cross-functional team selection, standardized phone screening, calibrated interview rounds
  • Centralized candidate tracking and rating through Prism, replacing informal decision-making with documented criteria
  • Reduced dependency on individual hiring manager judgment through structured panel alignment meetings
  • Ensured all-other-projects-deprioritized protocol for PRT participants, protecting process quality during high-volume hiring
05 Talent Analytics
Q2 Quarterly Talent Report · Organizational Health Cycle

Quarterly Talent Intelligence Reporting

Developed a recurring talent reporting system that translates performance, competency, and goal attainment data into clear organizational narratives — designed for leadership decisions, not HR recordkeeping.

  • Identified reactive-vs-proactive performance gap at Director level: strong crisis management scores masking declining documentation hygiene
  • Flagged manager-level execution misalignment: workload management improved while on-time delivery declined
  • Surfaced coordinator-level strategic stagnation before it became a retention issue
  • Qualitative and quantitative data integrated into a single report with actionable questions embedded for each leadership tier

HR that
earns its
seat

at the table.

01

Data-Informed, Not Data-Dependent

Numbers surface patterns. People make decisions. Every engagement translates data into questions that leadership can actually use.

02

Operational, Not Aspirational

Agreements, SOPs, and commitments only matter if they survive the first friction point. Everything I build is designed to hold past the workshop.

03

Systems That Scale With You

From five-person teams to 200-person organizations, HR infrastructure should grow with the org — not require replacement every cycle.

04

Equity as Architecture

Pay equity, inclusive feedback design, and representation in decision-making aren't add-ons. They're structural — built in from the start.

Clarity with execution.

I coach leaders, managers, and teams who need more than a sounding board — they need someone who will push, challenge, and help them move forward with intention. Coaching engagements are grounded in the same Prevention → Intervention → Stability framework that anchors all WorkWise work: we don't just address what's visible, we build the infrastructure to prevent it from recurring.

01

1:1 Executive Coaching

For senior leaders and executives navigating transitions, building authority, or carrying the weight of decisions that don't have clean answers. We work on decision-making, influence, and leading under pressure — with measurable behavioral commitments, not just reflection.

  • Named ADKAR gaps mapped to specific behavioral changes
  • Leadership Action Commitment (LAC) framework applied to every engagement cycle
  • Post-session accountability structure built in, not optional
02

Manager & Mid-Level Coaching

For the managers who are doing the most work and getting the least support. We focus on the gap between what organizations need managers to be and who they naturally are — building confidence, communication, and the tools to lead people through real friction.

  • Strengths-based development with direct feedback on blind spots
  • Tools for navigating upward, lateral, and downward relationships
  • Practical frameworks for difficult conversations and delegation
03

Team Coaching

For leadership cohorts or intact teams working through change, conflict, or a transition point that requires collective re-alignment. Grounded in real team data — not generic curriculum — with signed agreements and operational tools participants leave with.

  • Tuckman team development mapping applied to current team state
  • Collective Team Statement and operating SOP built during session
  • 30- and 60-day post-session check-in infrastructure included
04

Org-Wide Coaching Programs

For organizations ready to build coaching as a capacity, not just a perk. We design a program that moves from prevention (building leaders before they're in crisis) through intervention (addressing what's already surfaced) to stability (infrastructure that holds).

  • Prevention → Intervention → Stability framework embedded across all tiers
  • Manager and executive tracks running in parallel with shared language
  • Reporting and progress metrics designed for HR and leadership review
"What sets Joy apart is her ability to combine clarity with execution. She doesn't just help you think differently — she helps you move forward decisively."
Richard Huxley, M.Ed, LSSBB
Customer Success Executive · Enterprise SaaS
"After each session, I left feeling energized and confident that I could accomplish what once felt like an enormous task. Without hesitation, I would recommend Joy to any professional seeking a coach to gain greater clarity in their career or life."
"Going from the unknown to absolute certainty and clarity within a few sessions was transformational and imperative for me to move forward. It was truly life changing and liberating."
Jenn Robinson
Founder, Inner Flow Living LLC
"Joy has helped me learn how to find the balance between what people need me to be and who I naturally am. She is a leader of people and for people. Seeing her stand up for people is something special to witness."
Gina L.
Coaching Client
"She has a wealth of experience and knowledge and the fact that she has chosen to share that with me is something I will always greatly treasure. My respect for Joy is endless."

The cost of getting
HR wrong is higher
than you think.

A full-time HR hire makes sense at scale. But for most nonprofits, mid-size companies, and growing teams, what you need is senior-level HR expertise applied precisely — not a full-time salary for part-time problems. Use this tool to see how the numbers actually stack up for your situation.

What matters most to your organization right now?

40 hrs/mo
50 employees
Here's how it breaks down for your situation
Full-Time HR Director $0
WorkWise Fractional Retainer $0

Tools built from
real engagements.

Every template and toolkit in this library was built during actual client work — then refined into something you can use independently. No filler, no fluff. These are the documents that made a difference in the room.

Coming Soon
Prevention · Intervention · Stability

The People Audit Toolkit

Guided self-assessment and survey templates to diagnose your organization's top HR friction points — sorted into Prevention, Intervention, and Stability categories so you know exactly where to start.

Toolkit · PDF + Survey Templates · $97–$147
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Coming Soon
Talent Analytics

The Clean Data Starter Pack

Excel and Sheets templates for headcount, turnover, engagement, and performance tracking — no HRIS required. Built for organizations that need clean people data before they can act on it.

Toolkit · Excel + Google Sheets · $47–$97
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Coming Soon
Leadership Development

Conflict to Clarity: A Manager's Field Guide

Scripts and practical tools for navigating interpersonal conflict using Lencioni and Tuckman frameworks — built for managers who need to act, not just understand theory.

Guide · PDF + Scripts · $67–$127
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Coming Soon
Total Rewards

The Total Rewards Audit

Benchmark compensation, benefits, and non-monetary rewards against what your employees actually value — with a structured gap analysis that tells you where the real retention risk lives.

Toolkit · Excel + Guide · $97–$197
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Coming Soon
Performance Management

Performance Management Without the Pain

A simple review cycle, goal-setting worksheet, and conversation guide anchored in ADKAR — designed for managers who dread performance season and the teams who suffer through it.

Toolkit · PDF + Worksheets · $67–$147
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Coming Soon
Talent Analytics

Quarterly Talent Intelligence Report Template

The reporting framework that turns performance, competency, and goal attainment data into organizational narratives — with embedded questions designed for each leadership tier.

Template · PowerPoint + Data Dictionary
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Ready to build HR that
actually holds?

Discovery calls are 30 minutes. No pitch deck, no pressure — just a direct conversation about what your organization needs and whether I'm the right fit to build it.

Book a Discovery Call Connect on LinkedIn

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