Clemans Nelson & Associates

What Clemans Nelson & Associates does

Clemans Nelson & Associates is a 100% employee-owned professional services firm founded in 1976 and headquartered in Columbus, Ohio, with offices in Akron, Cincinnati, and Lima. The firm specializes in labor relations, human resources management, management consulting, regulatory compliance, and training and development for public sector employers — specifically municipalities, counties, townships, and villages across Ohio. Its client relationships are described as long-tenured, with several spanning more than 30 years, reflecting the relationship-driven, procurement-embedded nature of public sector HR advisory work in a single state.

The company bills clients on a professional services basis — hourly consulting, retainer advisory, and training programs — supplemented since 2019 by a payroll/human capital management offering delivered through a partnership with ADP. The ADP channel introduces an indirect revenue component and signals a deliberate broadening of the service surface beyond advisory into adjacent operational services, without requiring the firm to build proprietary technology infrastructure. The introduction of bundled webinar pricing and a branded podcast suggests incremental investment in productized, scalable revenue lines layered on top of the core consulting model.

Clemans Nelson & Associates operates without external venture funding and has remained employee-owned throughout its 48-year history. The firm employs between 11 and 50 people across four Ohio offices, has not disclosed revenue, and shows no evidence of geographic expansion outside Ohio, of M&A activity, or of investment in proprietary AI/ML capabilities. Its growth posture in the recent period — multiple senior hires between 2023 and 2026, the additive ADP partnership, and new content and pricing initiatives — is best characterized as steady, incremental expansion of an existing regional niche practice rather than aggressive scaling.

Name

Clemans Nelson & Associates

Legal name

Clemans, Nelson & Associates, Inc.

Website

https://clemansnelson.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1976

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Clemans Nelson & Associates is a 100% employee-owned public sector consulting firm founded in 1976, providing labor relations, HR management, regulatory compliance, and training services to municipalities, counties, townships, and villages across Ohio from offices in Columbus, Akron, Cincinnati, and Lima.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Public Sector HR and Labor Relations Consulting

NAICS

Human Resources Consulting Services (541612)

SIC

Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYBPAHAGAK

Labor Relations & Employment Practice Advisory

Business & Public Services/Professional Services (Legal, Accounting, Consulting)/Human Capital & Organizational Consulting

Keywords

• Public sector HR consulting
• Labor relations services
• Human resource management
• Regulatory compliance consulting
• Management consulting services

Headquarters

HQ city

Columbus

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. HR and Labor Relations Consulting Services: Professional consulting services billed on a fee-for-service basis including human resource management, labor relations, management consulting, regulatory compliance, and training and development.
2. ADP Payroll Processing and Human Capital Management Systems: Consulting services for payroll processing and human capital management systems through collaboration with ADP, offered beginning in 2019 as part of their service portfolio.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Clemans Nelson & Associates is an Ohio-based professional services firm that provides labor relations, human resource management, management consulting, regulatory compliance, training and development, and (since 2019) payroll processing and human capital management consulting to public sector employers including municipalities, counties, townships, and villages. The firm is 100% employee owned and delivers services through four regional offices across Ohio, supplemented by webinars, podcasts, and customized live and virtual training programs.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Labor Relations Provides resources and support to help Ohio public sector employers reach their labor relations objectives, including collective bargaining negotiations, grievance handling, arbitration, and dispute resolution before state and federal labor relations boards.
• Human Resource Management Professional expertise across multiple disciplines of human resource management, developing personnel systems and providing solutions to minimize risk and maximize time for public sector employers.
• Management Consulting Expert advisory services for unique situations, special projects, and critical initiatives, providing clients with new ideas and an independent, objective perspective.
• Regulatory Compliance Assistance navigating employer regulations from state and federal agencies to ensure compliance and avoid penalties, including rules and regulations from agencies such as EEOC and the State Employment Relations Board.
• Training and Development Quality training programs based on organizational needs, delivered by professionals with hands-on experience. Includes customized training programs via live, virtual, and learning management system self-paced mediums.
• Payroll & Human Capital Management Systems Consulting services for Payroll Processing and Human Capital Management Systems delivered through a partnership with ADP, including Essential Plus Payroll, Time & Labor Management, HR & Benefits Administration, and Talent Management modules for employer clients.
• Webinar Training Sessions Online 60-minute educational sessions on workplace topics including labor relations, human resources, regulatory compliance, performance management, and professional development, sold individually at $85 per attendee or in a bulk bundle of 12 webinars for the price of 10. Approved for SHRM Professional Development Credits.

Named customers4 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• ADPcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2019Through a working agreement with ADP beginning in 2019, Clemans Nelson offers ADP Payroll Processing Services and Human Capital Management Systems as part of their consulting service offerings. This partnership enables them to provide comprehensive payroll and HCM solutions to their employer clients.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Ford & Harrison LLP: Labor and employment law firm with a public sector practice serving government employers — comparable service lines with national reach into the same client segment.
• Fisher Phillips: National labor and employment law firm with a public sector practice serving government employers; competes for the same Ohio and adjacent Midwest public sector client mandates with broader capabilities.
• Littler Mendelson P.C. Largest U.S. labor and employment law firm with a public sector industry practice group; broader portfolio but directly competes for public sector HR/labor mandates that Clemans Nelson serves in Ohio.
• Constangy, Brooks, Smith & Prophete LLP: National labor and employment law firm with public sector industry focus; competes for the same municipal and government employer mandates with broader geographic and practice coverage.
• Ogletree Deakins: National labor and employment law firm with established public sector industry group serving state and local government employers across multiple states — competes for the same municipal client mandates as Clemans Nelson on a multi-jurisdiction basis.
• Jackson Lewis P.C. One of the largest U.S. labor and employment law firms, with a dedicated public sector practice group serving municipalities, counties, and public agencies — overlaps significantly with Clemans Nelson's core offering but at national scale.

Direct peers

• Ice Miller LLP: Indiana and Ohio-based law firm with a public sector and labor relations practice serving state and local government clients; comparable Midwest public sector HR/legal advisory competitor.
• Burke Costanza & Carberry: Indiana-based law firm serving public sector employers with labor relations, employment, and HR advisory services; closely comparable regional peer with a similar niche focus on municipal and county government clients in one Midwestern state.
• Liebert Cassidy Whitmore: California-based law firm specializing in public sector labor relations, employment law, and HR consulting for cities, counties, and special districts — the closest direct analog to Clemans Nelson's public sector HR/labor relations model, just operating in California rather than Ohio.
• Bricker & Eckler LLP: Ohio-based law firm with a substantial public sector practice serving municipalities, counties, school districts, and townships on labor relations, employment law, and HR matters — the most direct Ohio-based legal peer.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/ClemansNelson
• Facebookfacebook.com/clemansnelson

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles11 records

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 Clemans Nelson & Associates