Chime
2023–2024A performance model scaled to 1,400 employees
Scaled a redesigned performance-management model from a 200+ employee group to all 1,400 employees.
Manager, People Partner · Company-wide performance management.
Read the exampleMike Winkler · Chicago
HR business partnering and practical systems work.
I help HR teams with organization changes, performance, and Workday processes through project consulting and one-on-one HRBP coaching.
16 years in HR. 10 years as an HRBP. Workday HRIS experience.
Book a conversation
See my work Start with 30 minutes.
HR work I’ve led
Selected work from my employment experience.
Chime
2023–2024Headcount decisions made with Finance
Built a structured headcount model with Finance and rebuilt career ladders and competency frameworks for Operations & Member Experience.
A 500–600-person portfolio across Risk and Operations & Member Experience.
Read the exampleCB2 · Crate and Barrel
2019–2021Organization design and store compensation
Redesigned roles, career paths, and reporting lines for 130 Photo Studio Operations associates and built the first formal store-compensation structure.
Brand-wide HR leadership across stores and corporate operations.
Read the exampleCareer examples and figures are documented in my LinkedIn experience.
How I can help
Project work for HR teams
HR process review
Usually 1–2 weeks
Work through a people or process problem with the HR team and managers involved, then decide what needs to change.
- Output
- A process map and a short list of changes to make first, including whether AI would help.
Workflow redesign
Usually 2–4 weeks
Redesign how the work gets done: who provides the information, who approves, and who finishes the task.
- Output
- A new process map, a review template, approval rules, and tests for likely mistakes.
AI pilot review
Usually 1–2 weeks
Check a pilot before more people start relying on it.
- Output
- A written review of the results, required fixes, and whether to expand, change, or stop.
We agree on scope, timing, and a fixed project fee before starting. These time ranges are a guide, not a commitment before we have discussed the work.
One-on-one coaching
I do not build tools that make employment decisions. Read the scope and limits.
How I test AI-assisted HR work
Independent work · HR Mission Control · Private prototype
A source title changed. The system opened a duplicate case.
I built HR Mission Control to track public compliance updates through review and follow-up.
In one test, changing a source page’s title opened a duplicate case. The earlier review and owner were still attached to the first record.
I changed how it identifies the issue and added a test for the mistake.
Explore a fictional HR case
Look closer
Source attached
The source-provenance card keeps the public URL in the packet. A reviewer can open the original instead of relying on the summary alone.
Gaps called out
The yellow card says data classification has not been captured. A second warning flags missing competing interpretations. Both gaps remain visible before a decision or execution.
Person still decides
Human decision is a separate step before Execute and Verify. The packet prepares a review; it does not approve its own conclusion.
64/64 repeatable checks passed in the local test suite on . These are prototype checks, not evidence of production reliability or client results.
Local test results and their limits
The checks use public or made-up data.
- 64/64 · Repeatable checks passed
- The same expected behaviors held across the local test suite.
- 10/10 · Known items found
- The workflow found every item in a small source set I had already checked by hand.
- 240 · Local requests completed
- The prototype completed 240 requests without a failure during a five-minute test.
Made-up example · No employee data
When two policies disagree
A manager attaches an older policy. The shared library has a newer version. Here is where I would stop and check.
Shared policy libraryNewer policyLater effective date
Hold
The versions conflict.
Check which version applies before drafting a response.
Human review required
The policy owner confirms what applies. Nothing is sent automatically.
The brief the policy owner reviews
- Source
- The current policy library and the older PDF attached to the manager’s question.
- What we know
- The documents give different instructions and have different effective dates.
- Still missing
- When the expense occurred, which employee group applies, and whether an exception was approved.
- Who decides
- The HR policy owner confirms which version applies, corrects the draft, or gets further advice.
- Approved action
- Send the approved response. Ask the owner of the manager resource to replace its stale link if needed.
- Completion record
- Keep both versions, the unanswered questions, reviewer’s correction, sent date, and confirmation that the link was fixed.
Recent writing
All articlesAI Definitions for HR, Part 2
Follow a policy review to understand tools, APIs, MCP, scheduled tasks, workflows, agents, and harnesses—and where human approval belongs.
Explaining Tokens to HR Who Are Too Afraid to Ask
Tokens become less abstract when an allowance or spending limit appears. This guide explains what the meter is counting and how to stop paying for work you will not use.
HR should help design the work AI changes
Software developers reporting into HR sounds strange until you look at the work ahead. HR needs to help design what people and AI will each do.
Before we talk
Can you help with HR work that does not involve AI?
Yes. HR consulting and HRBP coaching are central to my work. We can work through an organization change, a performance issue, or a difficult conversation. We do not need to add AI or a new tool.
Can I book just one AI coaching session?
Yes. Sessions are $150/hour. Email me with what you want to work on, and we’ll agree on a session length before scheduling.
What happens on the first call?
Tell me what is happening and what you have tried. I’ll ask questions and suggest how I could help. We agree on the scope and fee before any paid work starts.