Employee Relations Consulting and Employee Engagement

Two team members have stopped speaking. A manager wants to write someone up. A complaint just landed on your desk about a supervisor. How do you handle it fairly? What do you write down?

That's the everyday work of employee relations consulting. It's often sold as a packaged program of surveys, trainings and policies, when most small businesses need help with the problem in front of them. If it feels like you're dealing with the same people problems again and again no matter what you try, that usually points to a missing process rather than a lack of effort.

Some businesses need help with one hard situation, and others want an HR department they can actually rely on, without having to hire one internally. I work with owners and managers across Colorado, in Colorado Springs, Denver, Pueblo, Fort Collins & Loveland (see the areas I serve), from owners just starting out to teams of about 150, and nonprofits too. My work is always on the business's side, with a process that's fair to everyone involved, and you don't need to have any of it figured out before you reach out.

Who's behind HRish

I'm Allisha McCartney, Founder & HR Consultant at HRish Solutions, based in Colorado Springs. I bring over 16 years in HR and a bachelor's degree in business management, with a concentration in HR management. You can read more about me on the About page.

Employee relations support

Most employee relations issues start small: a missed deadline, a sharp comment, a manager who isn't sure what to say. I help owners and managers deal with them early and consistently.

• Discipline: guidance on write-ups and a progressive discipline framework.
• Terminations: process and compliance guidance, plus exit interviews that tell you something useful.
• Manager coaching: plain guidance supervisors can use mid-conversation.

Sometimes a performance problem is really a role that quietly changed (performance problem or org design?). If your managers want practice with these conversations, see my training for managers.

Workplace investigations

Some complaints are too serious for a quick chat and a handshake. That's when an HR investigation helps: a fair, documented look at what happened before you decide what to do.

I can act as the neutral investigator, including when the complaint is about the owner or a senior leader, or involves harassment or discrimination. Someone from outside the business has no stake in the outcome, which matters most when the people who would normally look into it are too close to it. I can also support an investigation you run in-house.

My workplace investigation services cover the fact-finding and the paperwork:

• Findings: a clear written summary of what the evidence supports, so your decision rests on facts.
• Procedure: written investigation procedures, so the next time someone complains, you already know the steps.

I typically follow an established investigation process, and each investigation still varies tremendously based on what is being investigated and what gets uncovered along the way. Usually I talk to the person who made the complaint first, then any potential witnesses, then the person accused, and everyone is interviewed separately, by video, phone call or in person. Sometimes second interviews are necessary for any of these people, and each interview is documented as part of the process. I provide letters throughout as well, such as an opening letter, status letters if necessary, confidentiality letters and a closing letter.

An investigation can take anywhere from a few days to a few weeks, depending on the nature of the investigation, how many people need to be interviewed and how quickly they can be interviewed. Who gets the findings depends on what the investigation is about. Usually I work with the owner or senior leadership, and sometimes with a manager as well.

All individuals who are part of the investigation sign confidentiality forms. During the investigation, minimal information is shared, and only with those who need to know, while leadership gets basic updates. At the end, the leadership involved gets a written summary, and the details and the investigation file are provided if leadership asks for them.

One example from my work, with no names: a customer accused a team member of inappropriate conduct. I interviewed the customer and the witnesses first, then the team member accused, and a second issue came out during those interviews. The findings were presented to senior leadership, and I assisted with the outcome.

Under Colorado and federal anti-discrimination law, people who make a discrimination or harassment complaint, or answer questions in an investigation, are generally protected from retaliation. Nobody should be treated worse for speaking up or for telling an investigator what they saw.

I'm not a lawyer, and this isn't legal advice. When a question needs an employment attorney, I'll work with one on your behalf, so you're never handling it alone.

The legal facts on this page were last checked in October 2026.

Workplace mediation and conflict resolution

Not every conflict needs an investigation. Two people who can't work together, a manager and a team member stuck in the same argument, a team split into camps: these usually need a neutral third party and a plan both sides can live with.

I offer my workplace mediation services in person or by video. How it runs depends on what the mediation is for: sometimes it's a single session, and sometimes it takes a few sessions. Usually, though, it ends with a written agreement or plan that everyone signs and leaves with.

I also coach managers through a difficult employee situation before it turns into a formal complaint. When mediation happens in person, I come to the place you choose, whether your team is in Colorado Springs, the Denver metro area, Pueblo or Northern Colorado.

Employee experience consulting

Employee experience is everything a team member goes through with your business, from the job posting to the exit interview. Employee experience consulting looks at that whole path and asks where people get stuck, confused or quietly start looking elsewhere. My focus in this work is less about perks and more about the everyday things that make people stay.

I map that lifecycle with you: hiring, onboarding, the first few months, day-to-day management, growth and leaving. You come away with a map of your employee lifecycle and an evaluation of each stage. For example, the map might show a first week where nobody owns the new hire's questions, or a raise process people only hear about if they ask.

The result is an employee experience strategy sized to your business, not a program borrowed from a corporate playbook.

Engagement surveys and employee feedback

An employee engagement survey is only worth running if you're ready to act on the answers. Too many end up as a slide deck in someone's inbox, and the team notices when nothing changes.

I can run the surveys myself or bring in an external survey tool, whichever fits your business. The questions are a combination: some are standard for all surveys and others are custom to your business. Employee listening can include:

• Engagement survey: a fuller survey, generally no more than once a year, and for some teams every other year or every few years, depending on your business and industry.
• Pulse survey: a few short questions between the bigger ones.
• Onboarding survey: a check-in with each new hire, which ties into my Hiring & Onboarding work.
• Anonymous feedback: a feedback channel or a suggestion box, if your business wants one, for things people won't say face to face.
• Stay interviews: I can provide these as well.

Every survey ends with a short action plan, so you can turn what your team tells you into changes they can actually see.

Internal communication

A lot of workplace friction starts as a communication gap: a policy change nobody heard about, or a schedule posted in three different places. I help you build employee communication structures that match your team's shifts, locations and habits: regular meetings with a purpose, one clear place for updates, and a simple way for people to ask questions.

For a growing business, that can become a light internal communications strategy. Rather than a one-size-fits-all kit, I draft the actual communications for you, like policy updates, benefits enrollment reminders and handbook changes, based on your business. Good internal communication won't fix every problem, but it heads off a surprising number of them.