We could tell you we’re the leading human capital consulting firm in Greater Washington. We could tell you we have unparalleled knowledge of the market, a deep bench of certified, subject matter experts who are trusted Helios HR employees (not 1099s), and a wide range of flexible, on-demand services. We could tell you we become an integrated part of your business and culture while leveraging the expertise of our team. And while all of these are true, what really sets us apart is who we are.
We hire and retain people with heart. People who don’t mind rolling up their sleeves or having difficult conversations because they genuinely want to make a positive impact. People who want to constantly grow, learn, and develop while lifting others up. Demonstrating care is in our DNA and starts with our founder and CEO, Kathy Albarado, who gets excited about growth because it means we can help more people. We volunteer, serve on boards, teach HR professionals, coach leaders, and we have fun!
The more you share, the more informed our proposed solution will be. We start most conversations by asking you to tell us about your business such as your industry, headcount, history, culture, current infrastructure, etc. We ask for transparent communication about the challenge(s) that led you to reach out to Helios, and what you’re seeking in a HR consulting, outsourcing or recruiting partner. Throughout our dialogue, we will ask clarifying questions to help us determine if we could be the right partner for you to get to your desired goals and how we would propose the engagement.
How long has Helios HR been in business?
Helios was founded in September of 2001.
What type of clients do we work with?
A typical client for Helios is a mid-size business ranging from 50 to 5,000 employees. Due to our proximity to DC, we largely support government contractors, nonprofits/ trade associations, and high-growth companies.
After gaining an understanding of your business needs, culture, and the timeframe, we will collaborate on how we could best approach the engagement for success. This will be evaluated based on our past performance, team expertise, and availability. From there, we will propose a plan of action on how we would approach the solution for you to review and provide feedback on before establishing the formal contract.
The challenge(s) we need to overcome feel extensive and more than we may be prepared to commit to upfront. How can Helios help us incrementally?
More than anything, we value the relationships we build with our clients and aim to serve as true partners in achieving your goals. For some clients, mapping out a large engagement with multiple projects defined up-front is preferred and for others, we approach our partnership one project/milestone at a time. With Helios you get the solution and approach that fits your unique needs.
How do we identify the consultants who will support our engagement? Do you send me several resumes to review?
Different from a traditional staffing agency, Helios team members are W-2 employees allocated to our client engagements. When we look for the right resource for your business, we are not simply pairing you with a resource who is currently unemployed and looking for their next job. Helios uses a combination of factors to piece together the right team for each engagement. Relevant experience, consultant level of expertise, and resource availability are equal drivers in the decision. Helios puts forth the best team to support the engagement discussed.
Once we are aligned in the approach forward, the next step is to finalize a formal agreement. In many cases, we will recap our understanding of your challenge and our proposed solution to ensure we’ve captured the intent of the partnership accurately before moving to a formal agreement process. Once an agreement is signed the engagement launch meeting is scheduled.
How long does it take to get an agreement in place?
Once aligned on the partnership approach, most often confirmed via email, Helios can quickly put together a formal agreement for review. The timeline to finalize depends heavily on your internal review procedures. For many clients, we have had an agreement drafted and fully executed as quickly as within a day or two of having our initial conversations.
How quickly can we get started?
Our timeline to start an engagement depends on a number of factors, including: the type of work to be performed, your timeline/needs, and our consultant(s) availability. We are often called to support clients who have an immediate need and are able to very quickly provide service, in some cases this has been the next business day following our initial conversation (assuming an agreement is finalized).
If we like the consultant we are partnered with, can we hire them?
While the temp-to-term model can be enticing, our business model is dependent on our ability to support client engagements with the people we work hard to hire and retain. It would be detrimental to us internally, and our client community, if our employees were continuously cycled out of Helios to join our clients directly. In all of our engagement contracts, we have clear non-solicitation language.
From the moment we first connect, you can expect regular communication to ensure we remain aligned. Whether during the contract review, the engagement launch or at any point along the way, we ask that you openly share opportunities, challenges, and feedback with us. With this transparency, we can provide optimal recommendations, guidance, and support for you and your business. Earning your trust is a large part of being a reliable partner to help you move your business initiatives forward.
How do we stay informed throughout the engagement?
The communication approach varies based on the type of engagement and how each client prefers to communicate with our team. In all cases, it is our goal to keep you apprised of engagement highlights and challenges, working together to keep agreed upon initiatives on track. We schedule regular touch-base meetings and email progress recaps with engagement updates. The specific communication approach for each client is determined at the engagement launch meeting.
What if we get started and we decide it’s not the right approach for us?
We can always make adjustments to the engagement as it relates to scope, approach, the team, timeline, etc. If for whatever reason you decide not to continue the engagement, it’s easy and flexible to end the contract with us.
COO | Tsymmetry, Inc.
COO | Tsymmetry, Inc.
If you think we could be the right partner to help solve your current talent challenges, we’d love the opportunity to have a conversation. Fill out the form below and you can expect to hear from us within the next business day.