HR doesn’t have to be “this is the way we’ve always done things.”

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Skye Mercer, MBA, SPHR, SHRM-SCP

Hello, I’m Skye.

Certified HR Consultant and Leadership Coach.

With over 20 years of HR experience, small businesses and nonprofits hire me to provide…

  • on-demand HR advice,

  • monthly retainer HR consulting services,

  • employee handbooks, and

  • leadership training.

Through working together, you will receive clear, actionable guidance for streamlined, compliant, and people-centered HR practices.

  • Save time and money with advice from an experienced HR consultant.

  • Reduce risk of state and federal compliance issues.          

  • Attract and retain the best employees.

  • Increase employee engagement and productivity.

  • Improve organizational culture.

With HR running smoothly, you’ll have more time to focus on your mission, revenue, clients, and the overall success of your organization.

Personal Highlights

As the daughter of entrepreneurial parents (my dad builds classic cars and my mom is an interior designer), I grew up understanding the unique freedom owning a business gives you.

As a first-generation college graduate, it was clear to me that I wanted to study something that combined both business and people. Attending Western Washington University in Bellingham, WA, I discovered just that: Human Resources (although I prefer calling it Human Relations, People and Org Culture, or just plain HR).

After getting my BA in Business with a concentration in Human Resources, and a Minor in Spanish, I went on to Arizona State University to obtain an MBA.

Throughout my career, I’ve gained diverse experience - from managing national and regional HR for 3000+ employees at a Fortune 500 company - to serving as an “HR Department of One” for a 100-employee organization.

I’ve lived and worked in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Arizona, and now Iowa.

Although I had amazing experiences working for different organizations throughout my career, I felt like something was missing.

So, in 2019 I settled with my husband in Iowa, and started consulting full-time to fulfill my mission of supporting nonprofit and small business leaders with creating positive people strategy, HR programs, and organizational cultures that attract and retain the best employees.

Experienced HR Without the Overhead

These past several years, I’ve had the privilege of consulting with mission-driven organizations such as…

  • Grand Canyon Trust

  • Prism Behavioral Consulting

  • Safe Passage Violence Prevention Center

  • APIC (Asian Pacific Islanders Coalition) Spokane

  • Whidbey Camano Land Trust

  • National Alliance on Mental Illness - NAMI Spokane

I’ve worked with organizations in over half of the United States, including Iowa, North Dakota, Minnesota, Nevada, Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Texas, Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Florida, South Carolina, Virginia, New Hampshire, and more. I am grateful for the opportunity to make a larger impact across so many organizations in different locations.

I am deeply passionate about employee engagement, equity, and inclusion, and I approach HR from a place of continuous learning and openness to different perspectives. I’ve found the most successful organizations implement modern, people-centered approaches to HR, leadership, and organizational culture.

Modern, Compliant, Inclusive HR

You know you are ready for an HR consultant when you…

  • Know HR is important to your organization’s success, but aren’t sure where to start.

  • Feel overwhelmed by having to do it all, HR included.

  • Need experienced HR support, but don’t have the budget to hire HR staff.

  • Want to make sure you are complying with the right state and federal laws.

  • Care about your employees and want to implement equitable, inclusive HR practices.

Through working together, you will…

  • Create a sustainable HR function that supports your organization’s mission.

  • Transform from overwhelm to ease with simplified HR practices. 

  • Develop inclusive, equitable, and compliant HR policies and processes.

  • Create clear and sustainable pay, benefits, hiring, training, and performance management practices.

  • Go from inconsistent or non-existent policies to a solid employee handbook.

  • Reduce federal and state compliance risk.

  • Increase leadership confidence and skills.

  • Shift from doing all-the-things to having access to an experienced HR consultant for advice.

  • Free up time to do more of the work you love doing.

You can have this too.

By working together, you will cultivate a more positive organizational culture where employees stay and do their best work.

Your people strategy and HR programs will attract and retain the best employees.

You will save time, reduce risk, and improve organizational culture, so you can get back to doing the work you love most.

Career Highlights

 

Experience

  • Over 20 years of diverse HR experience, including both in-house and consultative HR for small businesses, nonprofits, and local governments.

  • Small business consulting experience through the Small Business Development Center (SBDC).

  • Multi-state and national experience.

  • Founding Member of the Iowa Nonprofit Alliance

Education & Certifications

  • Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR) certification

  • Society for HR Management Senior Certified Professional (SHRM-SCP)

  • Certified Disability Management Specialist (CDMS); 2013-2023

  • Master’s degree in Business Administration (MBA)

National Recognition

  • Three guest appearances on The Nonprofit Show and an appearance on Business Talk Library.

  • Quoted in Human Resources Certification Institute (HRCI) newsletter.

  • Quoted in ADP Re Think Quarterly article.

Speaking Engagements

  • Four-time Presenter at the Iowa Employment Conference.

  • Presenter at multiple SHRM chapter meetings, the Nonprofit Learning Lab, and with the American Nonprofit Academy.

  • Presenter at various regional conferences, including Central Washington Conference for the Greater Good and the Idaho Nonprofit Conference.

Values-Centric HR

 

Integrity

Being honest, authentic, and trustworthy in our words and actions. Holding ourselves and others accountable to workplace agreements. Consistently doing what we say we’re going to do (or letting people know ahead of time when we can’t.)

Collaboration

Working together leads to more creativity and overall better solutions. Systematic communication, feedback loops, and shared decision-making actually saves time and leads to greater productivity and impact in the end.

Inclusion

Creating work environments that foster a sense of belonging for all, where employees feel welcomed, respected, and valued. Embracing diversity and honoring differences.

 

Equity

Being fair and impartial in HR policies and practices. Equity goes beyond following the law to ensuring fair treatment, access, and advancement for each person in an organization.

Gratitude

Centering appreciation and recognition for others in our work.  Showing genuine gratitude fosters an environment of connection and engagement in working together toward a common goal.

Learning

Being open to learning new ways of doing things. Listening to and incorporating feedback from employees with different perspectives. Recognizing some past HR practices need to catch up to the modern world.

 

What People Are Saying

 

“Skye is my go-to HR professional that I choose to partner with for my firm’s needs. As a nonprofit consultant, I appreciate the knowledge in the nonprofit sector that she carries into her work. Skye has been a tremendous professional resource for my clients and me. She has helped me navigate several Human Resources challenges with the utmost confidence.”

- Jarrett Ransom, Founder & CEO, The Rayvan Group - Phoenix, AZ


“Skye is one of the most professional Human Resource executives I have worked with in my 22 years of employee benefits consulting. She has a way (style) of including all stakeholders and points-of-view that creates a culture where the final outcome is a best fit for the situation. She is very knowledgeable of State, and Federal rules, regulations, and labor relations, that helps keep employers compliant while delivering the best employee benefit program. Any organization that works with Skye is really adding a human resource expert to their team who can find unique ways to improve desired outcomes. If you are working with Skye, you are working with the best.”

-Rich Dickman, Senior Client Consultant, Gallagher Benefit Services, Inc. - Spokane, WA

"It was an honor and joy to work with Skye. She singlehandedly rewrote my sense of what an HR leader can and should do for an organization."

-Ethan Aumack, Executive Director, Grand Canyon Trust, Flagstaff, AZ

 

Ready to get started?

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