Actions speak louder than words.

Partnering with you, I peel back the layers of your organization, identify the root cause of your HR challenges and design actionable solutions - ready for implementation.

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Meet Lisa Hoatson, CHRO and Consultant at Lisa Hoatson Human Resources Consulting

About Me

I have over 25 years of experience in Human Resources (HR) and organizational design and development, achieving the level of Chief Human Resources Officer (CHRO).

Having worked in a variety of industries, including hospitality (luxury hotels and resorts, full and quick service restaurants), medical devices and pharmaceuticals, engineering, logistics and freight forwarding and now in HR consulting, I am highly adaptable and resourceful.

I have demonstrated the ability to build strong teams, lead large scale change initiatives and influence both people and decisions. I think strategically and I am not afraid to roll up my sleeves when need be.

I am known for my ability to diagnose organizational problems and design effective solutions. I am business minded, able to make connections by taking a holistic view of the organization and strive to create an environment where people and performance are valued.

I pride myself on my ability to build solid relationships with people at all levels of the organization by demonstrating authenticity and transparency.

I am a strong communicator who believes that actions speak much louder than words.

The Essentials & HR Advisory Services

From establishing foundational processes to strategic advisory services, I deliver efficient HR solutions for your business to thrive.

The Essentials

Core HR Processes

By supporting the entire employee life cycle through recruitment, onboarding, training, performance management, compensation, relations, and compliance, core HR processes serve as a vital engine for business operations, clarity, and growth. When these foundational functions are optimized for maximum efficiency, they not only cultivate a highly positive employee experience but also secure a distinct competitive edge for the organization.

A comprehensive, objective evaluation of your current core HR processes to identify gaps, inefficiencies, align practices with business goals and objectives and ensure legal compliance. Based on the outcome of the audit, I will work with you to develop and implement the essentials for your business needs.
- Compliance with Employment Legislation
- Documentation & Record Keeping
- Policies & Procedures
- Employee Handbooks
- Job Descriptions
- Interview Guides
- Employment Contracts
- Payroll & Benefits Administration
- Workplace Safety
- Onboarding
- Performance Reviews
- Corrective Action Procedures

HR Advisory

Services

HR Advisory services provide expert, scalable guidance to help your business align the workforce with business goals. Services span policy development, legislative compliance, talent management, and conflict resolution, ensuring you mitigate risk while building a strong workplace culture. Whether you need interim HR staffing, on-call advisory, or a comprehensive overhaul of your HR strategy, I am here to help.

- Compliance & Risk Mitigation: Ensures your policies align with provincial and federal employment laws, helping you navigate terminations, leaves, and employee complaints.
- Talent & Performance Management: Assistance in designing effective talent pipelines, succession plans, compensation benchmarking, and leadership development.
- Organizational Design: Advice on restructuring, change management, and building equitable, inclusive workplace cultures.
- Workplace Investigations: Impartial professional to handle allegations of harassment, bullying, or policy breaches.

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Fractional Chief Human Resources Officer (CHRO) Services

In a world of hybrid workplaces, widening skills gaps, and constant organizational changes, fractional CHROs are more important than ever. Since they're not tied to any company specifically, fractional CHROs have the flexibility to jump in and help organizations across industries navigate change and manage their most important assets: people.

A fractional resource is a modern, flexible solution for organizations seeking senior leadership without the commitment and expense of a full-time executive.
A fractional CHRO provides strategic HR leadership to organizations on a part-time, contract, or project basis – rather than as a permanent employee.
For example, I can support your organization with:
- Talent Acquisition: Recruitment, job descriptions, interviewing and onboarding.
- Compliance & Risk Management: Ensuring compliance with relevant labour laws, HR audits, developing handbooks, policies and SOP’s, employment contracts, managing documentation.
- Performance Management: Creating performance review processes and advising on corrective action, disciplinary procedures and termination.
- Culture & Development: Employee engagement initiatives, training and development programs.
- Executive Search: We help you find the next great leader to take your organization to the next level. We deliver results using pre-hire assessment solutions and help you to determine which candidates are right for your company’s culture and the specific role.
- Change Management: We take a structured approach to transitioning individuals, teams and organizations from a current state to a desired future state. We focus on the people side of change – preparing, supporting, and equipping employees to adopt and adapt to new processes, technologies, or structures to achieve business goals and minimize resistance.
- Leadership Development & Succession Planning: A strategic process of identifying and developing hi-potential employees to fill key leadership roles, ensuring business continuity, stability and long-term growth. It involves mapping critical positions, assessing talent, and creating actionable development plans.
- Teambuilding: The ongoing process of fostering trust, communication and collaboration to transform work groups into cohesive high-performing teams. Utilizing comprehensive psychometric assessments to identify strengths and weaknesses of individuals and the greater team, we design custom processes and exercises to improve problem-solving and creativity, goal alignment, organizational vision and mission, enhance performance and improve moral.
Fractional CHROs can be quickly hired and onboarded, bringing their vast experience to make an immediate impact. Meaning, they can be a great solution for organizations of all sizes and industries with different HR needs.
The types of companies that might benefit most from fractional people leaders include:
- Startups and small businesses: They might not have the budget for a full-time CHRO but still need expert HR leadership to build out their processes and hire new talent.
- Growth-phase companies: They might need help restructuring HR policies, managing a rapidly growing workforce, and scaling their HR tools across the organization.
- Companies in transition: Navigating mergers, acquisitions, and reorgs can be tricky. In the face of these changes, companies might require temporary, high-level HR leadership to guide them.
- Businesses tackling specific projects: Need to update systems for compliance regulations? Build a pipeline of successors? Implement a new AI tool? CHROs can help.
- Investment seekers: Organizations looking to attract investors can bring on a fractional CHRO to streamline HR operations and demonstrate their value.

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My Process

Step 1: Foundation

Every project begins with a comprehensive Intake & Pre-Consulting Session. This allows me to dive deep into your company culture, organizational structure, and distinct operational dynamics. By uncovering your actual needs right from the start, I can identify effective solutions perfectly aligned with your business goals.

Step 2: Blueprint

Following our session, I will develop a detailed Proposal and Statement of Work that outlines exactly what the project will look like, how long it will take, who should be involved, whether interviews are needed and the specific resources required. This ensures complete alignment on deliverables before any work begins.

Step 3: Implementation

With the roadmap in place, we move into Project Execution. Depending on your business needs, project delivery can be executed seamlessly on-site, remotely, or through a hybrid approach. This flexibility ensures that the execution is efficient, minimally disruptive, and fully integrated with your daily operations.

Step 4: Delivery

The final phase focuses on delivering a Seamless Handover to support your long-term success. This may include training key people within your organization to manage new processes independently and providing the tools your team needs to be fully equipped, confident, and empowered to sustain results.

Step 5: Ongoing Partnership

Our collaboration doesn't end at handover; I conduct a dedicated Post-Deliverable Check-In to ensure your new processes are working seamlessly in practice. This follow-up allows us to evaluate system performance, address any fine-tuning your team might need, and discuss additional services or ongoing support as your business continues to evolve.

Benefits

Ideal for Startups and Businesses of all Sizes

Cost Effectiveness

Access senior-level HR expertise for a fraction of a full-time salary, saving on benefits and overhead.

Flexibility

Services scale with your business; services can be adjusted as your needs change.

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Strategic & Operational Support

Ranging from developing company policies and SOPs to navigating complex employee issues.

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Speed

Quick implementation allows for immediate support, often within days of engagement.

“Lisa, is a well-respected, trusted resource. When I worked with her, Lisa was someone that you could rely on for honest, objective feedback as well as guidance in difficult transitions. Lisa has the ability to balance effectively between development of people, proactive measures to ensure labour stability, and consciousness towards bottom line costs.”

Carol D. Greenwood
Vice President @ TIAO | Operations, Partnerships, Business Development, Revenue Generation
“Lisa is a dynamic and business-oriented HR professional. She knows how to successfully balance business and human resource needs to achieve optimal solutions. She has a strong vision and the talent to make that vision a reality. I highly recommend her.”

Lauren Bernardi
Principal, Bernardi Human Resource Law
“What you see is what you get, straight to the point, no fluff. Strong manager, thinks out of the box, proposed a great re org structure for the company which was adopted and is still in place 4 years on. Good with details and very thorough... plus usually gets it right first time.”

Michael Singer
A retired GM Extraordinaire. A bringer of wit and humor to the work place.
“Lisa is one of the finest HR professionals that I have worked with in my 25 years in hospitality. She is always available to the team and is open to new ideas. Lisa has great insight and can give you the pros and cons of how to deal with delicate situations. Her training sessions are very invigorating and inspiring.”

Janak Bhawnnani
Chief Operating Officer
“Lisa is a business person first and then a Human Resources professional, who takes a genuine interest in the operations. Lisa is a strategic thinker who is able to take a long-term view of the organization. She is passionate about leadership development and through her facilitation of psychometric assessments, was able to support me with a robust professional development plan.”

Pablo Villa
Director of Operations, JW Marriott The Rosseau Muskoka Resort & Spa
“In a difficult environment Lisa navigated tricky situations with professional poise and a skillful determination. An experienced HR Director with a wide range of talents, she was a joy to work with.”

Michael Johnstone
General Manager, Naturally Pacific Resort