Case Study: HR Transformation + Process Optimization

A rapidly growing organization needed its HR infrastructure to catch up with its workforce. After growing from approximately 100 to more than 500 employees, the organization turned to Smith + Howard to modernize HR operations, strengthen compensation practices and build a more scalable foundation for continued growth.

The Challenge

Rapid growth had outpaced the organization’s HR infrastructure.

A lean HR team was supporting a significantly larger workforce while many core processes across payroll, recruiting and HR operations remained manual. What had worked for a smaller organization was no longer built to support the scale or complexity of the business.

The strain created inefficiencies, increased administrative burden and introduced greater compliance risk. At the same time, the organization’s compensation structure had not been updated in several years, raising concerns around pay equity, retention and market competitiveness.

With continued growth ahead and an upcoming leadership transition, the organization needed to modernize its HR function without disrupting day-to-day operations.

Our Approach

Smith + Howard focused on building an HR operating model that could scale with the business.

Our Human Capital team assessed the organization’s HR operations, technology and team structure to identify gaps in efficiency, scalability and compliance. We then designed future-state workflows across payroll, benefits, recruiting and performance management. We also expanded the use of existing HR technology to automate manual processes.

The engagement also included a comprehensive compensation study using market data and benchmarking. We evaluated pay equity and role alignment and developed an updated salary structure and job-leveling framework. We also modeled the financial impact of proposed changes and recommended enhancements to the broader compensation program.

To strengthen the function for continued growth, we also helped align the HR team structure, implement an applicant tracking system, improve recruiting workflows and strengthen benefits administration and compliance processes.