“You were wonderful yesterday, with great energy and real-life ideas. I was glad that I had the opportunity to be present for your presentation.”

- Sandie, Business Operations Administrator

"Lesley has provided me with support in setting up HR systems and providing leadership training for front line leaders. In each case her services were well aligned with my needs and her results were spot on. My leaders also have high marks for her training."

- Duane, Operations Manager, Alcoa (former VP of Operations at Paradigm Precision)

"We hired Lesley to conduct a compliance review, compensation survey and analysis, and benefits broker selection while I was CFO at Paradigm Precision. Lesley demonstrated subject matter expertise providing solid recommendations freeing management to focus on restructuring and the financial performance of the business. Lesley was a pleasure to work with -- I would recommend her."

- Dave, former Chief Financial Officer, Paradigm Precision

"We hired Lesley to perform the majority of our HR functions with a focus on recruiting. She has been an excellent partner for Wildflower Bread Company. She is very knowledgeable in her field and maintains a professional yet approachable manner. She is proactive as far as keeping the company in the loop with new developments in HR systems and Federal and State laws. She is extremely reliable and ethical. Her skill set is very broad and she can adjust her work and fees to the needs of a particular company. I would highly recommend her services."

- Alison, Chief Administrative Officer, Wildflower Bread Company

"I have known Lesley Gates for over seven years and have the utmost respect for her both personally and professionally. While working with her at an online brokerage firm, I found her to be honest, hard-working and someone that you always wanted on your team. She approaches everything she does with a tremendous amount of energy and enthusiasm. Her knowledge of the human resources field is superb and she also approaches her work in unique and creative ways. In addition to those qualities, Lesley stands out as a leader in projects and initiatives as well as in her community."

- Angie, SPHR, Senior. Human Resources Manager and Consultant

"For several years at the same employer I worked closely with Lesley and found her to be an exceptional senior human resources professional. She was very open and honest with her approach and had a exceptional understanding of the human resources issues at hand. On a number of occasions I sought her support to handle difficult human resource issues with my staff and found her to be very pro-active and knowledgeable.

I would recommend Lesley to any company that is seeking human resource consultative support as she brings a new perspective and a wealth of background and knowledge to be able to handle both large corporation as well as smaller employee human resources concerns."

- Chris, Senior Information Technology Manager

"I have worked with Lesley for the last several years through our various roles within the Valley of the Sun Human Resource Association. Lesley was part of the Central Valley Membership Committee and went on to chair that group. As a past chair of that committee, I interacted frequently with Lesley regarding membership initiatives and direction. Lesley joined the VSHRA Board of Directors in 2006 as I moved into the President’s role. She was designated the Board Liaison to all three chapter Membership Committees.

The enthusiasm, commitment and outstanding follow-through that Lesley has shown in every endeavor are very commendable. She is able to establish coalitions and drive initiatives from the Board in an all-volunteer group that is sometimes akin to herding cats. I knew as President that I could always call upon Lesley for any special project and it would be executed to the fullest extent possible.

I can not express how strongly I would recommend her to anyone needing her services. She is a very knowledgeable and professional HR practitioner. No one will be disappointed in engaging her on any project."

- Vikki, Past-President, Valley of the Sun Human Resources Association

"Inherent in her work style Lesley listens, observes and considers the impact that words and actions have on the big picture. As an example, Lesley noticed the turnover in our Call Center Customer Service Department was quickly escalating; the supervisor of the CSR department was new to the role and had limited management experience. Lesley took time from her HR responsibilities, mentored the Customer Service Supervisor and wrote a training program and operating procedure manual to help assist new staff with their product knowledge. This resulted in increased work efficiency, a 17% reduction in monthly turnover, and greater customer satisfaction. This simple effort had an immediate and long-term effect in improved morale and productivity within the CSR department and in other departments; all of which had a positive effect on our bottom line."

- Howard, President of a Promotional Products Company

We began by writing job descriptions incorporating employee input describing what they do in their jobs daily, and addressing all relevant legal and compliance issues. We followed with conducting a salary survey of jobs in the same industry, matching jobs to the market based upon job content, not just job title. Salary structures were then developed from the market data, and jobs were leveled across the organization and slotted into the new structure. We reviewed each person’s pay against the salary survey to determine appropriate pay levels for all employees.

As a result of this project, the company understood their pay position in relation to the job market. And they knew which jobs to keep at current pay levels, and which jobs they should adjust to retain employees. The company was able to better control its salary and merit pay budgets, normally a large expense for any company.

Employees met individually with their managers to understand how they were impacted by the project. In every project, we strive to answer the employee’s baseline question, “How does this affect me?” For the most part, they received a copy of their job description and had no change in their pay. Some employees received increases to bring them in line with market rates, and others who were already high in their salary range placement continued to enjoy the benefit of receiving above market pay until others could catch up with them over time.

Soon thereafter, we implemented salary administration guidelines to help managers understand compensation practices and make better educated pay decisions whether it was for a new hire employment offer, a merit adjustment based on performance, a promotion or an off-cycle adjustment.

Both the compensation and salary administration programs were designed to support objectives of internal and external equity, affordability and administrative efficiency.

We spent time on-site talking with staff and reviewing processes and files to determine the current status on all aspects of Human Resources Management, from their recruiting process to assessing the level of their benefits package, to recommending placing frequently used forms on their shared drive for employees to easily access. No stone was left unturned in this comprehensive review, and we delivered the results to the CEO.

Simultaneously, we began the recruiting process for the new HR Manager. We talked with senior management about the technical competencies they sought in this position, and explored what personal attributes in a candidate would result in a “good fit” with the company. Mostly, we listed to learn what qualities they were really seeking in a candidate.

A job description was written, and a candidate profile was developed. We advertised the job, received and reviewed many resumes, and interviewed the most technically qualified candidates. The CEO and additional staff then interviewed the final three candidates, with interview questions supplied by us.

The quality of all three candidates was so high that the management team had a difficult time determining which candidate to hire. We brought our final candidate back for third interview with a cross-section of the staff, just to make sure she was a good “fit” with the people who were already working there. And she was!

She accepted the offer, and we worked together to develop the business plan for the HR Department, identifying and mapping out deliverable projects for the next year.

We designed an interactive presentation which was centered on the theory of behavioral interviewing, which simply suggests that previous behavior is the best indicator of future behavior. In exploring this premise, questions are asked to dig below the surface and elicit information form the applicant that is meaningful and relevant to the job they desire. Videos, interactive discussion, individual and group exercises were all used to reinforce key elements of the training.

Managers used job descriptions to create questions for candidates, then role-played with other managers to practice techniques learned in the class. One of the materials included in the training was an addendum of questions frequently used in employment interviews. We also covered questions addressing what you can or cannot ask from a legal perspective.

We worked with region and site Human Resources Managers and led a project team to standardize HR practices for North American operations. A strategic plan was developed and each aspect of the implementation and employee communication was carefully crafted; the result was improved employee satisfaction and strong opinion that the company made an effort to promote consistency in programming and reduce administration when possible.

During the tenure of the project it was also learned that personnel data such as hires, promotions, turnover, work related injuries, etc., was not being reported or tracked in a universal manner. We designed a report that could be prepared with data generated by the HR Technology Group, gatekeepers of the human resources information system. The metrics were now available to commonly compare data and action plans could be developed, as applicable, to attend to human resource objectives.