G Contracting: Piecemeal to Professional HR Case Study

G Contracting & Design

Piecemeal to Professional: How myHR Partner Elevated HR for a Booming Construction Business

Pennsylvania-based G Contracting & Design, LLC is a premier construction services provider specializing in custom kitchens, bathrooms, additions, and remodels.

Amidst unprecedented growth, they reached out to myHR Partner in 2022. Since then, we’ve done more than take HR off leadership’s plate. myHR Partner’s dedicated team has put G Contracting & Design’s HR on par with corporate counterparts – with big benefits for leadership and employees.

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The Story of G Contracting & Design

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Since 2012, G Contracting & Design has offered design and craftsmanship services to Pennsylvania’s Lehigh Valley, with a focus on providing positive customer experiences.

For its first decade, the company had fewer than 15 employees – and no appointed HR professional. When HR matters arose, Jonathan Gerancher (owner and CEO), Jim Zane (partner and president), or Jamie Angelus (partner) found answers online or through their insurance broker or attorney.

Then, in 2020, G Contracting & Design nearly doubled its staff in response to demand. Several of their 15+ new hires came from a household-name home improvement retailer. This was a huge win, but it also shed light on G Contracting & Design’s relatively undeveloped HR.

“Our new hires were accustomed to a corporate setting with designated contacts who they could talk to about benefits, 401(K), and other matters,” Jim adds. “They deserved a comparable HR experience with us.”

There were gaps behind the HR curtain, too. For years, G Contracting & Design had shoehorned HR documents into a construction-specific customer relationship management tool, or CRM for short. Key human resources information and employee files were split between the CRM and leadership’s computer drives.

Knowing HR was lacking across the board, Jim searched for “outsourced HR” on Google in early 2022. myHR Partner – headquartered just a few miles away – was among the results.

From the very first conversation, he knew it was a perfect match. “Once I talked to myHR Partner, there was no reason to look further,” Jim remembers.

The Challenge

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Like all myHR Partner engagements, G Contracting & Design’s kicked off with a series of questions designed to dig deep and provide a clear understanding of company history, culture, workforce demographic, and existing HR.

Resulting discussions confirmed the HR opportunities G Contracting & Design knew about – and uncovered a few more:

G Contracting & Design’s benefits packages – health insurance and COBRA especially – needed organizational improvement.
G Contracting & Design’s insurance broker offered little guidance and was often unresponsive. There were years when the broker had even failed to notify G Contracting of open enrollment processes and deadlines. “When our employees had insurance questions, we couldn’t get them answers,” Jim remembers.
New hire paperwork and employee time-off tracking were handled manually and were inefficient.
No standards were in place for employee performance management or offboarding.
Lastly, an employee handbook created three years earlier needed updating to ensure compliance and to add and amend items that were missing or unclear.

myHR Partner’s Process

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myHR Partner worked with G Contracting & Design leadership to pinpoint areas of immediate focus – then got to work.

“Our dedicated myHR Partner team really listened to what we wanted, astutely deduced what we needed, and offered services directly related to those needs,” Jonathan says.

A longer-term plan for G Contracting & Design HR was also discussed.

“We appreciate access to myHR Partner’s à la carte services as needed,” Jim adds. “Even though we prioritized a handful of their services to start, their team showed us what’s possible and what’s available to us down the road.”

myHR Partner’s Solution

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First things first: myHR Partner transitioned all paper processes and relevant digital files onto BambooHR software and populated its employee-specific portals. Employees received secure logins that give them quick access to the details of their plans and coverage. myHR Partner also trained leadership on how to use BambooHR.

“myHR Partner was very patient with us as we supplied the necessary information for BambooHR and learned our way around the system,” Jim says.

Benefits administration was organized, streamlined, and then integrated into BambooHR as part of this shift. On a rolling basis, myHR Partner now handles this specialty for G Contracting, overseeing open enrollment, reviewing carrier invoices, answering employee questions, and running interference with vendors. “Our employees love that now they can get answers to benefits questions when they need them,” Jim says. “Talking with our team, it’s clear that they all notice a huge improvement in how benefits are handled.”

New hire onboarding and employee offboarding were also improved, synchronized, and digitized. Today, myHR Partner performs all pre-hiring necessities for G Contracting & Design including background checks and drug screening, then prepares new hire paperwork and enters all of it into BambooHR. When employees resign or are terminated, myHR Partner conducts exit interviews and oversees necessary paperwork – a key to staying compliant and learning and growing from feedback.

myHR Partner also provides management counsel to G Contracting & Design leadership. When they need assistance with employee matters ranging from performance to discipline to morale, they reach out. Beyond guidance and support, myHR Partner oversees and tracks related processes.

Speaking of employee matters: Employee expectations are now clearly outlined in an updated company handbook that’s compliant with local state and federal laws and in step with industry best practices. Even more, the handbook’s look and feel reflect G Contracting & Design’s culture and vibe.

“myHR Partner had a great process for working together. We got the final draft of the handbook perfect. It was really streamlined and easy,” Jim says, adding, “The handbook was a big step for us as a company and was very well received.”

Last but not least, myHR Partner recommended a time-tested insurance broker. G Contracting & Design made the switch – and hasn’t looked back. “It’s night and day, the difference between our former broker and our new one,” Jim says. The new broker held informational sessions this year for open enrollment and created a Benefits Guidebook for employees – G Contracting & Design’s first-ever summarization of employee benefits plan options and details. The broker also created a website that houses all benefits documents for employees to review.

myHR Partner's Results

The sum total? A smoother, more professional, and compliant G Contracting & Design.

Today, leadership is freed up to focus on other priorities, like business development, marketing, showroom maintenance, and quality control.

Better yet, the staff feels supported. Take benefits: Whether they’re new hires enrolling for the first time or tenured employees looking to make changes to a plan, employees can turn to readily available resources for guidance and answers. Electronic access to benefits plan details, in particular, has dramatically improved communication and efficiency.

“It’s great having the right answers when our employees ask questions. They deserve that,” Jim says. “I’m confident that with myHR Partner’s continued support, we are set up for ongoing success as we navigate any and all HR needs moving forward.”