HR Annie Consulting

What HR Annie Consulting does

HR Annie Consulting is a Portland, Oregon-based HR consulting firm founded around 2009 by Annie Reed and currently led by CEO Cindy Free, who assumed ownership through a succession plan implemented in 2012. The company delivers customized fractional and outsourced human resource services to small and mid-sized businesses that lack full-time HR staff, structured across three service tiers: HR On-Demand, HR Partner, and Total HR. Core service lines include ongoing HR support, recruitment support, training and leadership development, and career coaching for individual job seekers.

The company's product and technology stack is built around proprietary tools developed or operated as sister companies. PREP is an in-house personality profile assessment used in team dynamics and leadership workshops. TCR Hire is a proprietary applicant tracking system (ATS) offering multi-job-board posting, candidate management, interview scheduling, and integration with Google Calendar and Outlook. BackgroundBrief is a wholly-owned pre-employment screening service that integrates with TCR Hire. The firm also operates an e-commerce shop selling downloadable HR document templates, employee handbook templates, policy templates, webinar recordings, and the $1,000/year HR Helpline Membership.

HR Annie monetizes through a hybrid of recurring subscriptions (fractional HR tiers and HR Helpline Membership), professional services (recruitment, consulting, career coaching), one-time purchases of templates and recorded webinars, and event-based training (Learning Labs at $10-$47, full-day Manager Crash Course 2.0 capped at 20 seats with SHRM/HRCI credits). Marketing is driven by content (blog, LinkedIn, Instagram), events, referrals through the Entrepreneurs' Organization and PHRMA networks, co-developed workshops with Ogletree Deakins and The Boutique COO, and self-serve e-commerce. The company is WBENC-certified as a Women's Business Enterprise, is privately held and bootstrapped, and serves a distributed SMB customer base across the Pacific Northwest and nationally.

Name

HR Annie Consulting

Legal name

HR Annie Consulting

Website

https://hrannieconsulting.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2009

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

HR Annie Consulting is a Portland-based HR consulting firm providing fractional HR support, recruitment, training, and career coaching to small and mid-sized businesses, supported by proprietary tools including the PREP assessment, TCR Hire ATS, and BackgroundBrief screening service.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

HR Consulting Services

NAICS

Human Resources Consulting Services (541612), Employment Placement Agencies and Executive Search Services (56131), Management Consulting Services (54161)

SIC

Services-Management Consulting Services (8742), Services-Employment Agencies (7361)

akta.pro primary industry

Comprehensive HRO (Multi-Process HR Outsourcing) (BPACAKAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

HR Service Delivery, Shared Services & HR Operating Model Advisory (BPACAJAE), HR Technology (HRIS/HCM) Advisory & Implementation (BPAHAGAG), HR Strategy & Operating Model Design (BPACAJAA), Recruiting Administration Outsourcing (Recruitment Support, Scheduling, Onboarding Ops) (BPACAKAG)

Keywords

• Fractional HR services
• Outsourced HR consulting
• Recruitment services
• HR training workshops
• Career coaching services

Headquarters

HQ city

Portland

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Others, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. HR Support Services: Ongoing outsourced/fractional HR services with three tiers: HR On-Demand, HR Partner, and Total HR. These services provide compliance, culture development, and best practices support for businesses that don't need or can't afford full-time HR staff.
2. HR Helpline Membership: Annual membership providing direct phone access to HR professionals for expert guidance, priced at $1,000 per year.
3. Training & Workshops: Revenue generated from workshops, Learning Labs, and training sessions. Events range from $10 Learning Labs to $47 workshops to full-day Manager Crash Course 2.0 programs. Some events offer SHRM and HRCI continuing education credits.
4. HR Document Templates & Products: E-commerce sales of downloadable templates including employee handbooks ($1,000-$1,800), policy templates ($99), interview question banks ($49), recruitment templates ($149-$550), and state addenda ($250).
5. Career Coaching Services: Individual career coaching packages including Career Clarity ($799) and Job Search Foundations ($399) programs for job seekers.
6. Recruitment Services: Full-cycle recruitment, entry-level recruitment, recruitment consulting, bulk recruitment, and employee transition support services.
7. Webinar Library: On-demand webinar recordings covering culture, compliance, and best practice topics available for purchase in their shop.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

HR Annie Consulting provides customized fractional and outsourced human resource support to small and mid-sized businesses through tiered engagements (HR On-Demand, HR Partner, Total HR) covering compliance, culture development, and best practices. The firm complements these consulting services with full-cycle recruitment support, manager and leadership training (workshops, webinars, Learning Labs, Manager Crash Course 2.0), individual career coaching for job seekers, and a digital shop selling HR templates, handbooks, and a HR Helpline Membership.

Product overview

HR Annie Consulting offers a comprehensive HR services portfolio consisting of core HR support services (outsourced/fractional HR with three service tiers: HR On-Demand, HR Partner, and Total HR), recruitment support including their proprietary TCR Hire applicant tracking system, training services with workshops and webinars, career coaching, and BackgroundBrief pre-employment screening. The company also offers an extensive digital product catalog including HR document templates, employee handbook templates (compliance-only, all-inclusive, and restaurant-specific), recruitment templates, pre-employment due diligence tools, PREP Profile assessments, and HR Helpline membership. The product ecosystem is tied together by their learning events including Learning Labs, the HR in 90 monthly program, and Manager Crash Course 2.0.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• BackgroundBrief: Background check and pre-employment screening service powered by HR Annie Consulting.
• TCR Hire

Products and services

• HR Support Services Outsourced/fractional HR services delivering customized human resource assistance ranging from one-off projects to full-time HR support, available in three service tiers: HR On-Demand, HR Partner, and Total HR. Designed for small and mid-sized businesses that lack or cannot afford a full-time HR staff, covering compliance, culture, and best practices.
• Recruitment Support Comprehensive recruitment services for SMB clients including full-cycle recruitment, entry-level recruitment, recruitment consulting, bulk recruitment, employee transition support, and access to the proprietary TCR Hire applicant tracking system.
• Training Services Training programs for managers, HR professionals, and business owners delivered as live workshops, webinars, and online learning covering leadership development, HR compliance, DEI, workplace culture, and management skills. Includes accredited SHRM and HRCI continuing education programs.
• Career Coaching Services One-on-one personalized career coaching for job seekers at any career stage, including structured packages such as Career Clarity ($799) and Job Search Foundations ($399) covering job search strategy and interview preparation.
• TCR Hire Proprietary applicant tracking system developed as a sister company, enabling multi-job-board posting, candidate management, interview scheduling, document storage, and BackgroundBrief integration.
• BackgroundBrief Pre-employment screening and background check service powered by HR Annie Consulting, offering background check policies, templates, and verification services for employers.
• HR Helpline Membership Annual membership providing direct phone access to HR Annie consultants for expert guidance on HR issues, priced at $1,000 per year.
• Employee Handbook Templates Customizable employee handbook templates and state addenda available in compliance-only, full compliance-and-culture, and hospitality-specific variants, priced from $1,000 to $1,800 plus addenda.
• Employer Recruitment Templates Guides and customizable templates for recruitment including job ads, reference checks, offer letters, interview templates, and question banks, priced from $49 to $550.
• Webinars On-demand webinar library covering culture, compliance, and best practice topics for all organizational levels, available for individual purchase through the e-commerce shop.

Quantifiable outcome

• Small cohort sizes (20 for Manager Crash Course, 45 for HR Analysis Workshop) ensure meaningful connection and one-on-one time
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers9 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration4 records

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, core and minor.

• Ogletree DeakinsflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerLabor and employment law firm whose expert Ken Rock partners with HR Annie for their annual Legal Update Learning Lab. Ken provides expert guidance on employment law changes, court decisions, and agency actions impacting small to mid-sized employers.
• The Boutique COOcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerStrategic partner for the HR Analysis Workshop, combining expertise for a private hands-on working session built around three-part HR analysis covering compensation, compliance, and culture.
• BackgroundBriefcoreTechnology or IntegrationPowered by HR Annie, BackgroundBrief provides pre-employment due diligence services including background check policies and templates. Integrated with TCR Hire ATS.
• TCR HirecoreTechnology or IntegrationSister company and proprietary Applicant Tracking System developed by HR Annie. Provides end-to-end recruitment management including multi-job-board posting, candidate management, interview scheduling, and BackgroundBrief integration.
• PHRMA (Portland HR Management Association)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPHRMA is the monthly lunchtime program featuring HR Annie content. HR in 90 sessions are presented through this partnership, reaching HR professionals in the Portland area with practical learning and connection.
• EO (Entrepreneurs' Organization)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorEO network drives referrals to HR Annie services. Company participates in EO events and the network serves as a key marketing channel.
• Consistent Image Web DesignminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerWebsite design and development partner credited for the HR Annie website (noted in footer).

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Paychex: Large HR, payroll, and benefits outsourcing provider serving SMBs. Comparable to HR Annie through its HR services and compliance offerings, though Paychex is far more scaled and productized.
• Insperity: Major PEO and HR outsourcing provider serving SMBs with full-service HR, payroll, benefits, and compliance. Comparable to HR Annie in serving businesses that lack full-time HR staff, but at much larger scale and broader scope.
• TriNet: PEO providing full-service HR solutions to small and mid-sized businesses, including HR consulting, compliance, benefits administration, and payroll. Overlaps with HR Annie's fractional HR and outsourced HR services for SMBs.
• ADP TotalSource: PEO division of ADP providing outsourced HR, payroll, benefits, and compliance for SMBs. Comparable business model to HR Annie's outsourced HR model, but at enterprise scale.

Emerging players

• Gusto: Cloud-based HR, payroll, and benefits platform aimed at small businesses. Competes indirectly with HR Annie by automating many HR administration tasks that SMBs would otherwise outsource.
• BambooHR: HRIS focused on small and mid-sized businesses, with features for applicant tracking, onboarding, and performance management. Adjacent to HR Annie's TCR Hire ATS and HR support services.
• Justworks: PEO providing automated payroll, benefits, HR tools, and compliance support for SMBs. Comparable in serving the same SMB segment that HR Annie targets with fractional HR services.
• GoCo: Cloud HR, benefits, and payroll platform for SMBs with built-in HR support. Overlaps with HR Annie in serving small businesses that lack dedicated HR staff, though anchored by a SaaS rather than a consulting model.

Regional players

• OneSource HR Solutions: Regional HR outsourcing and consulting firm offering fractional HR, payroll, and compliance services to SMBs. Closest comparable to HR Annie in business model and SMB focus, although operating in a different geography.
• Cardinal HR Solutions: Small HR consulting firm providing outsourced HR support, compliance, and recruiting services to growing businesses. Direct comparable to HR Annie in scale, service model, and SMB target market.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/hr-annie-consulting
• Instagraminstagram.com/hrannieconsulting
• Xx.com/hrannie_

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about HR Annie Consulting