The Human Resource Department

What The Human Resource Department does

The Human Resource Department, Inc. (THRD) is a private, founder-operated HR consulting firm incorporated in Texas and headquartered in Austin, founded by Chuck Niles, SPHR. The company's sole product is one-on-one HR Consultant Coaching: custom engagements in which Chuck works directly with owners of HR consulting businesses to improve sales and marketing, pricing and proposal writing, referral generation, administration and CRM operations, service delivery, and overall professional image. Delivery is entirely direct, with the founder serving as the only consultant; there is no proprietary technology platform, app, or API, and the engagement is structured as a multi-year custom contract on undisclosed, quote-based fees.

Beyond coaching, THRD operates a second, distinct revenue stream: licensing of its federally registered trademark 'The Human Resource Department®' and the thrd.com domain to other HR businesses across exclusive U.S. territories, with license fees varying by location, size, and term. The company has no external investors, no subsidiaries, no named customers, and no third-party channel partners. The go-to-market is founder-led sales through the thrd.com website, the founder's personal LinkedIn profile, the company LinkedIn page, and direct phone/email outreach.

Firmographics place the company in Austin, Texas, with stated headcount of 1 (a single consultant) and self-reported $3MM in annual consulting-practice revenue cited as part of the founder's credentials. The current website posture — featuring a persistent 'For Sale: Company Name, Trademark, Domain Name' banner — indicates the founder is actively commercializing the brand and trademark assets in parallel with ongoing coaching engagements, suggesting a strategic intent to monetize or transition the intellectual property separately from operating revenue.

Name

The Human Resource Department

Legal name

The Human Resource Department, Inc.

Website

https://thrd.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1999

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The Human Resource Department, Inc. is a single-consultant Austin, Texas HR coaching firm where founder Chuck Niles, SPHR, delivers custom one-on-one coaching to owners of HR consulting businesses, and separately licenses its federally registered trademark and thrd.com domain to other HR businesses across exclusive U.S. territories.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

HR Consulting Services

NAICS

Human Resources Consulting Services (541612)

SIC

Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)

akta.pro primary industry

HR Service Delivery, Shared Services & HR Operating Model Advisory (BPACAJAE)

Keywords

• HR consultant coaching
• HR business consulting
• HR practice growth
• Brand licensing services
• Business coaching services

Headquarters

HQ city

Austin

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. HR Consultant Coaching Services: One-on-one consulting and coaching services for HR business owners to help them grow their revenues and profits, improve service delivery, and increase professional image. Revenue appears to be generated through consulting fees.
2. Brand Licensing: Licensing of the federally registered company name 'The Human Resource Department®', trademark, and domain name thrd.com to other businesses for use in exclusive territories throughout the United States. License fees vary based on location, size and length of term.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

The Human Resource Department, Inc. (THRD) provides custom one-on-one HR Consultant Coaching services to HR consulting business owners, helping them increase revenues and profits through improved sales & marketing, pricing & proposal writing, referral generation, administration, operations, CRM, and client service delivery. The coaching is delivered directly by founder Chuck Niles, SPHR, who leverages 20+ years of Fortune 500 corporate experience and 20+ years of HR consulting experience. The company also offers brand licensing of its federally registered name 'The Human Resource Department®', trademark, and domain name thrd.com to other HR businesses in exclusive U.S. territories.

Product overview

The Human Resource Department® is a consulting firm offering a single core service: HR Consultant Coaching, designed to help HR businesses grow through improved sales, marketing, pricing, operations, and client service delivery. The company also offers brand licensing opportunities for its registered trademark and domain name to qualified businesses in exclusive U.S. territories. The coaching program is led by founder Chuck Niles, leveraging his combined 40+ years of HR industry experience.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• HR Consultant Coaching Custom one-on-one coaching service for HR consulting business owners, led by founder Chuck Niles, SPHR. The coaching covers sales & marketing, pricing & proposal writing, referrals, administration, operations, CRM, and service delivery, designed to help HR consulting companies increase revenues and profits, generate repeat business, obtain referrals, deliver excellence to clients, and raise the professional image of their practice.
• Brand Licensing (The Human Resource Department®) Licensing of the federally registered company name 'The Human Resource Department®', its trademark, and the domain name thrd.com to other HR businesses for use in exclusive territories throughout the United States. License fees vary based on location, size, and length of term.

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Direct peers

• HR.com: HR.com operates a large online HR community and resource hub serving HR practitioners with content, events, and vendor marketplace. It serves the same HR professional buyer and competes for HR business owners' education budget through a digital community model versus THRD's coaching model.
• HR Coach (The HR Coaching firms — e.g., David S. Simmons / The HR Coach): The HR Coach is a coaching practice that helps HR consultants and HR business owners launch and grow their HR consulting practices. It is the closest direct comparable to THRD's 'HR consultant's consultant' coaching niche, operating a near-identical one-on-one coaching business model targeting HR entrepreneurs.

Broad incumbents

• Gallup: Gallup operates a large management consulting and learning practice advising HR leaders on engagement, performance, and talent. It addresses overlapping HR operating-model topics and competes for HR decision-maker attention, though as a much larger incumbent rather than a coach to HR consultancies.
• SHRM (Society for Human Resource Management): SHRM is the world's largest HR professional membership association, offering training, certifications, and learning resources to HR practitioners. It is a broad incumbent overlapping with THRD's HR-business coaching through its educational and professional-development offerings for HR professionals.
• Korn Ferry: Korn Ferry is a global organizational consulting firm offering HR, talent, and leadership advisory services to enterprises. It is a broad incumbent in HR consulting with overlapping capabilities to THRD at the HR-operating-model level, though it serves enterprise buyers rather than HR business owners.
• Mercer: Mercer provides global HR consulting and benefits advisory services to employers. As a major HR advisory incumbent, its HR-strategy and operating-model work overlaps thematically with THRD's coaching focus on HR sales, marketing, and service delivery.
• HRCI (HR Certification Institute): HRCI is the leading HR certifying body (PHR/SPHR/GPHR) serving HR professionals globally. It overlaps with THRD as a credentialing and professional-development ecosystem touching the same HR practitioner/HR business owner audience.

Others

• Workhuman: Workhuman is an HR technology and consulting firm focused on employee recognition and workplace culture. It is adjacent to THRD as part of the broader HR advisory and HR operating-model ecosystem, but delivers through technology and enterprise consulting rather than owner-to-owner coaching.
• Lattice: Lattice is an HR software platform providing performance management, engagement, and people operations tools used by HR teams. It is thematically adjacent to THRD's HR-operating-model focus, addressing how HR teams run, but as an infrastructure vendor rather than an HR business coaching practice.

Emerging players

• Josh Bersin Academy: Josh Bersin Academy is a subscription-based learning and research community for HR professionals, providing courses, research reports, and curated content. It is an emerging player that overlaps with THRD in HR professional development, but distributes content at scale via digital courses rather than one-on-one coaching.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/the-human-resource-department-inc

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 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 The Human Resource Department