CHRO & VP Human Resources Recruitment
People leadership that turns your workforce from a daily worry into a competitive advantage
The Function Most Private Companies Build Last
In most owner-managed businesses, HR grows up as an administrative function: payroll, benefits, and paperwork, often handled by someone who inherited the job. Meanwhile the real people problems, such as finding skilled workers, keeping good managers, handling labour relations, and building a culture people stay for, land on the owner's desk with no one equipped to solve them.
A strong CHRO, Chief People Officer, or VP of Human Resources changes that. They build the systems that attract and keep talent, develop the management bench, keep the company on the right side of employment law, and give the owner a trusted partner for the hardest decisions a leader faces, because the hardest decisions are almost always about people.
We recruit senior HR leaders for privately held Canadian companies, including unionized manufacturing and distribution environments where labour relations experience is not optional. We know the difference between an HR administrator with a big title and a people executive who moves the business.
What a Strong People Leader Owns
Talent Attraction & Retention
Making the company a place skilled people join and stay, in labour markets where the shortage of talent limits growth.
Labour & Employee Relations
Managing collective agreements, grievances, and workplace issues before they become disruptions, lawsuits, or strikes.
Building the Management Bench
Developing supervisors and managers so the company promotes with confidence instead of hiring every leader from outside.
Compensation & Benefits
Pay structures that are competitive enough to keep good people and disciplined enough to protect margins.
Culture & Engagement
Protecting the values that built the company while professionalizing how people are hired, reviewed, and led.
Compliance & Risk
Employment standards, health and safety, and workplace policy across every jurisdiction the company operates in.
Signs It's Time to Hire a Senior HR Leader
Turnover in key roles keeps repeating and nobody owns fixing the cause rather than refilling the seat.
The company cannot hire fast enough or well enough to support its growth plans.
People issues, such as conflicts, terminations, and grievances, consume a disproportionate share of the owner's time.
The business is unionized or facing organizing activity and lacks senior labour relations experience.
The company has grown across multiple sites or provinces and HR practices are inconsistent or informal.
An upcoming succession or sale requires the organization, not just the financials, to be in order.
Why Senior HR Searches Are Hard to Get Right
Administrator vs. Executive
Many candidates have run HR departments without ever influencing business decisions. The gap only shows once they are in the seat.
Labour Relations Depth
Union environments demand hard-won experience with negotiations and grievances. It cannot be learned on your dime.
First-Ever HR Leader
Building an HR function from scratch is a different job than running an established one. The candidate must be a builder.
Trusted by Both Sides
The best people leaders hold the confidence of ownership and the workforce at the same time. That balance is rare.
Fit with a Lean Culture
Owner-managed companies have no appetite for corporate HR bureaucracy. The right leader professionalizes without suffocating.
Measuring the Invisible
Great HR outcomes show up as problems that never happened. Assessing real impact takes deeper digging than most interviews manage.
One-Year, No-Fault, Full Replacement Guarantee
We are so confident in our process that we offer a one-year, no-fault, full replacement guarantee on every executive we place. If it doesn't work out for any reason, we'll conduct a replacement search at no additional fee.
Ready to Find Your Next People Leader?
If people problems are consuming the owner's time or limiting the company's growth, the right HR executive pays for themselves quickly. Contact us for a free, no-obligation consultation.
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