Performance & conduct
Addressing missed expectations, recurring behavior, accountability gaps, or a performance conversation that has been delayed.
Examples: coaching language, expectations, documentation sequence, and next-step options.
Fixed fee · No retainer · Practical answers
Your people problem needs a plan—not another sleepless night.
The HR Fire Drill gives small-business owners and managers focused, senior-level HR guidance for one urgent employee-relations problem. You leave with the language, documentation steps, and decisions needed to move forward confidently.
- Private 60-minute session
- Action plan within 48 hours
- One week of email support
Built for: founders, business owners, executives, and people managers without immediate in-house HR support.
Best for: one defined issue that needs thoughtful action in days—not a months-long HR project.
What we cover
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Focused help for the moments when the next move matters.
We work through the facts you know, identify the questions still unanswered, and turn the situation into a practical sequence of actions.
Employee conflict
Stabilizing conflict between employees or between a manager and employee before it damages the wider team.
Examples: conversation structure, boundaries, manager response, and follow-up checkpoints.
Retention & resignation risk
Responding when a valuable employee is disengaged, threatening to leave, or raising concerns leadership cannot ignore.
Examples: stay-conversation questions, response options, and short-term stabilization steps.
Potential termination
Thinking through the HR process, documentation gaps, communication plan, and escalation questions before a decision is made.
Examples: readiness assessment, meeting plan, operational checklist, and when to involve counsel.
Manager missteps
Helping a manager recover from poor communication, inconsistent treatment, unclear expectations, or an avoidable escalation.
Examples: repair language, coaching steps, role clarity, and accountability.
Employee complaints
Planning an appropriate first response to a workplace concern while preserving facts and avoiding premature conclusions.
Examples: acknowledgment language, immediate safeguards, fact preservation, and escalation path.
How it works
From urgent problem to clear next step.
No long onboarding process. We collect only the context needed to understand the issue and make your working session useful.
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Book and brief
Complete secure payment, submit a short high-level intake, and choose your session time. Do not send employee names, medical details, financial information, or confidential documents through the form.
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Work through the issue
Spend 60 focused minutes with Michelle Mendez examining what happened, what has been documented, what outcome you need, and what risks or unknowns should shape your response.
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Receive your plan
Within 48 hours after the working session, receive a prioritized written plan with recommended steps, useful scripts, documentation guidance, and escalation points.
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Act with backup
Use one week of email support for reasonable clarification questions as you put the plan into action. If the scope grows, we’ll recommend the right form of additional support.
Clear boundaries
What the HR Fire Drill does—and does not—include.
A tight scope protects the speed and usefulness of the engagement. You will always know what is included before we recommend anything further.
Included in your $495 engagement
- One defined employee-relations or people-management issue
- Practical HR process and communication guidance
- Preparation for a difficult workplace conversation
- Suggested talking points, scripts, and questions
- Guidance on what to document and in what sequence
- Identification of gaps, escalation risks, and decision points
- A written action plan and seven days of clarification support
Not included in the Fire Drill
- Legal advice, legal opinions, or attorney-client representation
- A formal workplace investigation or witness interviews
- Emergency response involving immediate danger or threats of harm
- Therapy, crisis counseling, or medical guidance
- Payroll, benefits, tax, immigration, or insurance administration
- Drafting a full handbook, policy suite, or separation agreement
- Ongoing case management, meeting attendance, or implementation
- A company-wide HR audit or multiple unrelated issues
When the issue needs a different expert:
We will say so directly. If your facts suggest an employment-law question, a safety emergency, a formal investigation, or another specialized need, we will help you identify the right next step rather than stretching this service beyond its proper role.
The straight-answer promise
Advice we can stand behind—or an honest redirect.
If we determine that ValuedHR cannot genuinely help with the issue, we will decline the engagement and refund the fee before delivering an action plan. If the situation requires an employment lawyer or another specialist, we will tell you plainly. The decision to decline and refund remains ValuedHR’s so the promise stays honest.
Frequently asked questions
Before you book
Clear expectations make urgent work calmer. Here are the questions clients most often ask.
When does the 48-hour turnaround begin?
The 48-hour action-plan window begins after your completed 60-minute working session, once we have the context needed to prepare useful guidance. It does not begin at checkout or when the intake is submitted.
What happens immediately after I pay?
Stripe redirects you to a short intake form. After submitting it, you choose a time for your private working session. The intake asks for high-level operational context only—please do not include employee names or sensitive personal information.
Is this legal advice?
No. ValuedHR provides HR consulting, not legal advice, and the engagement does not create an attorney-client relationship or legal privilege. When the situation calls for an employment attorney, we will tell you directly and recommend that you seek qualified counsel.
Can I bring more than one problem to the session?
The Fire Drill is designed around one defined problem. We can consider related facts and consequences, but unrelated issues may require a separate engagement. If the situation reveals a broader pattern, we will explain the most efficient next option.
Will you tell me whether I should fire someone?
We will help you assess the HR process, available facts, documentation, alternatives, communication needs, and reasons to involve legal counsel. The final employment decision remains yours, and we do not provide a legal determination about whether a termination is lawful.
Can ValuedHR speak to the employee or attend the meeting?
Direct employee contact, meeting attendance, investigations, and ongoing case management are outside the Fire Drill’s fixed scope. If hands-on support is appropriate, we can discuss a separate project or ongoing HR engagement.
How private is the session?
We handle the information you share as private business information and limit collection to what is reasonably needed to provide the service. HR consulting is not protected by attorney-client privilege. Do not submit unnecessary medical, financial, identity, or similarly sensitive information through the intake form.
What does the week of email support include?
It covers reasonable clarification questions about the delivered plan as you begin using it. It does not add new issues, rewrite the scope, provide real-time emergency support, or include ongoing case management.
What if the issue is urgent or someone may be in danger?
The HR Fire Drill is not an emergency service. For immediate danger, threats of harm, or a medical emergency, contact the appropriate emergency services and follow your organization’s safety procedures. Seek qualified legal counsel when urgent legal action may be required.
What if I need more support afterward?
We will recommend the right next step based on the actual scope—such as a defined project, ongoing fractional HR support, or another specialist. If you continue into a ValuedHR retainer, the $495 Fire Drill fee is credited toward your first month.
One problem. One plan. Real momentum.
Stop rehearsing the conversation in your head.
Bring the issue to a focused working session and leave knowing what to do, what to say, and what to document next.