Common questions we get asked
Here’s what we do, when another resource may be a better fit, and what to expect from the first conversation. If yours isn’t here, ask us directly.
Working with us
What the practice is and how an engagement actually starts.
What does Third Voice Consulting do?
Third Voice is an HR consulting practice in Chico, California. We work with growing organizations and their leaders on HR strategy and organizational development, employee relations and performance management, HR operations and California compliance, and the difficult conversations that sit underneath most of it.
Who do you usually work with?
We work with organizations that have outgrown informal HR practices, including their HR teams and business leaders. We also support individuals preparing for difficult workplace conversations.
Do you only work with organizations in Chico?
No. We’re based in Chico and work throughout the North State, across California, and remotely. California employment law is our home ground, and most of what we do travels well beyond it. We have experience and work in other states as well.
How does an engagement start?
With one message and a conversation. There’s no proposal deck and no onboarding period. You tell us what’s happening, and we tell you honestly whether we’re the right people for it.
What if you’re not the right fit?
If we’re not the right fit, we’ll let you know up front and connect you with a better resource.
Can we bring you in for a single conversation?
Yes. Some of our work runs for months and some of it is one call before a meeting on Thursday morning.
Who will we actually be working with?
Denise or Amy. There’s no account team, and nothing gets handed off to a junior consultant after the first meeting.
Services and areas of expertise
What we take on, what we don’t, and who we’ll point you to instead.
Do you provide legal advice?
No. We are HR and business partner practitioners. We work alongside employment counsel and will tell you plainly when a question belongs with a lawyer rather than with us.
Do you handle payroll or benefits administration?
We’re not a payroll or a benefits broker. We’ve built payroll, compensation, and benefit structures from the inside, so we can advise on design and on the systems around them, but we don’t run them for you.
Do you do recruiting or place candidates?
Not as a search firm. We do work on the structure a role sits in, the job description, the hiring process, and the decision itself.
Can you conduct a formal workplace investigation?
We help you plan and run a fair internal process and prepare the person conducting it. Some complaints call for an independent investigator or employment counsel instead, and we’ll say so when we think that’s where you are.
Do you deliver training for the entire staff?
Yes. We offer compliance and legal training for teams and managers, both on site and remotely.
Pricing and projects
How engagements are priced, structured, and run.
How are you priced?
It depends on the scope, and it goes in writing before anything starts. We’d rather understand the work first than quote a number that has to change later.
Do you work on retainer or by project?
Both. Some clients keep ongoing access for the questions that come up week to week. Others bring us in for one defined piece of work and we close it out.
Do you meet in person?
In the North State, often. Elsewhere, by video. Some of this work genuinely goes better in a room, and we’ll tell you when we think it’s one of those.
How quickly do you respond?
Messages go straight to Denise and Amy rather than into a queue. If something is happening this week, say so and we’ll tell you honestly what we can do.
Is a first conversation an obligation?
No. It’s a conversation about what’s happening and whether we can help. There’s no obligation on either side.
Questions about a specific piece of work
Each service page carries its own set: what it covers, how long it takes, and where it stops.
Still not sure whether we’re the right people?
Ask. We’ll tell you honestly, and if the answer is no we’ll point you somewhere better.