Elizabeth Wannemuehler

Elizabeth embeds with small to mid-sized companies (from early teams up to 250 employees, often with a mix of hourly and salaried staff) at the moment where founder-led, informal people practices need to become real structure, like a 30-person business getting ready to support 100 or more. She steps in when hiring and momentum are moving fast, but systems, processes, and leadership rhythms have not quite caught up. She gets to work building onboarding, coaching managers, and organizing the everyday HR foundation a business needs for its next stage of growth. A CEO she partnered with for nine years put it simply when she wrapped up: "I need you to know that you've taken such good care of us." Whether she is in the room helping a manager think through a tough conversation or negotiating with a benefits broker, Elizabeth turns informal habits into practical structure that actually holds.

What Elizabeth Does Best

• Building HR before growth creates chaos: She helps growing companies put the right HR foundation in place before scaling strains the team, including onboarding workflows, HRIS adoption, benefits rollouts, and compliance practices built to grow with the business.
• Turning operators into people leaders: Many growing companies have managers who are great at their craft but were never given the tools to lead people. Elizabeth trains and coaches them on setting expectations, building accountability, giving clear feedback, and navigating difficult conversations with confidence.
• Senior HR backup without a full department: She partners with CEOs and leadership teams who need trusted senior HR guidance alongside their team, clarifying people priorities and connecting HR directly to hiring, retention, and business growth.

Recent Engagements

• 70-person high-growth medical waste company, early HR infrastructure stage • Total HR / Extend HR • 1 year, continuing: The company was growing quickly with almost no formal HR in place, and leadership needed an embedded partner to build scalable people processes as headcount climbed. Elizabeth backed up the team as it grew from roughly 40 to 75 employees in a single year, taking over payroll and commissions, launching a structured performance review cycle, coaching managers, and leading the rollout of benefits and a 401(k) plan. Today, the business has steady HR leadership, consistent performance conversations, and a clear benefits roadmap where none existed before.
• Web services company, 15 to 20 developing managers • Project HR / Manager development program • 8 weeks: Newer managers were strong technically but needed practical people-leadership training so they could set expectations and handle tough conversations without escalating everything to executives. Elizabeth designed and led an eight-week manager training series covering accountability, one-on-ones, coaching, feedback, and recognition, complete with scripts and toolkits ready for immediate use. Managers walked away with shared language and practical habits, and anonymous feedback called the sessions engaging and immediately useful.
• 100-person technology company, acquisition and scaling stage • Total HR / Extend HR • 11 months: The company was navigating an acquisition while managing complex multi-state and international compliance updates. Elizabeth handled the acquisition HR integration, refreshed the parental leave policy, and led an FLSA classification update that transitioned sales development roles to non-exempt status to close compliance risk, communicating every step clearly to leaders and employees. Compliance tightened and risk dropped during a stretch when the organization was shifting fast.
• Autism services and direct care organization, mixed clinical and hourly workforce • Total HR / Extend HR • 10 months, ongoing: Operating in a high-turnover direct care environment, the organization faced frequent employee relations issues, inconsistent pay practices, and gaps in compliance tracking. Elizabeth put an OSHA log tracking system in place, resolved complex employee relations matters, and replaced ad hoc anniversary raises with a predictable annual compensation policy tied to cost of living, while addressing state break laws and final pay rules. Compensation and compliance now run on clear structure that leadership can budget for and explain with confidence.

Prior Experience

• HR Director • Commercial and Residential HVAC, Electrical, and Trades Organization (grew from a small business to 100+ employees, mixed hourly and salaried workforce): Led the HR function and team, partnering with executive leadership on total rewards, workforce planning, benefits and payroll strategy, HRIS implementation, performance reviews, manager training, employee engagement, and compliance.
• HR Manager • Commercial and Residential HVAC, Electrical, and Trades Organization: Managed core HR operations including recruiting, onboarding, benefits, payroll, employee relations, separations, compliance, internal communications, and engagement for 100+ employees, earning promotions from Generalist to Manager as the company scaled.
• Executive Administrative Specialist • Commercial and Residential HVAC, Electrical, and Trades Organization: Supported the CEO, COO, Controller, and accounting team on confidential operations, reporting, and executive coordination before stepping into HR leadership.

Education & Credentials

• SHRM-CP
• B.S., Nutrition & Worksite Wellness, University of Southern Indiana • 2015

Outside Work

Elizabeth lives in Westfield, Indiana, just outside Indianapolis, with her husband and their two young kids. Most weekends are a mix of local trails, the farmers market with friends, and cheering on the Colts. She also does custom hand-lettering for weddings and events (banners, chalkboards, wood signs, and event decor) as a favorite creative outlet. Having grown up around business leaders who were skeptical of corporate HR, she learned early that HR only works when it is practical, human, and tied to the business. She does not believe in helping companies out-policy themselves.