Employee Relations Consulting
Conflict, complaints, discipline, terminations. These are the moments that turn into lawsuits when a St. Petersburg or Tampa Bay small business handles them from the gut. I help owners and managers of 5 to 100 employee companies handle the hard conversations fairly, document them properly, and get the team back on track — in the room when it matters, on the phone when it's urgent.
- employees
- 5–100
- for urgent issues
- 1–2 days
- on-site and remote
- Tampa Bay
You probably need this if…
Built for small businesses and other Tampa Bay employers of 5 to 100 people. HR for small businesses →
- 01
An employee has raised a complaint and you're not sure what you're required to do next.
- 02
A manager needs to have a difficult conversation and keeps putting it off.
- 03
You need to let someone go and want it done fairly, legally and without drama.
- 04
Two people on a small team can't work together and it's affecting everyone else.
The hard moments, handled properly.
Scope adjusts to your size and situation — this is the standard engagement.
- Complaint intake and workplace investigations
- Coaching managers through difficult conversations
- Progressive discipline and documentation
- Termination planning, final pay and exit process
- Grievance and complaint procedure design
- Performance improvement plans that actually improve performance
How a difficult situation gets handled.
- 01
Call me first
Before the meeting, before the email. A 20-minute call usually changes what happens next.
- 02
Get the facts
I gather what happened, from whom, and what's documented. If it needs a formal investigation, I run it.
- 03
Decide and document
We settle the right response, from a coaching conversation to a termination, and write it up so it holds.
- 04
The conversation
I prepare you, script it if you want, and can be in the room. Then we make sure the rest of the team is steady.
“Sarah is a joy to work with — always responsive, helpful, and patient. Hiring SBW HR Consulting is one of the best small business decisions we've ever made.”
Do you handle terminations?
I coach you through it and can be in the room, but the decision and the conversation stay with you. I make sure it's fair, documented and defensible, and that final pay and the exit process are handled correctly.
Can you run a workplace investigation?
Yes. I take the complaint, interview the people involved, review the records, and give you written findings and a recommendation. If the matter needs an attorney, I'll say so.
Florida is an at-will state. Do I still need documentation?
Yes. At-will means you don't need a reason, but it doesn't protect you from discrimination, retaliation or breach-of-contract claims, and an unemployment hearing will still ask what happened. Documentation is what wins those.
How fast can you respond?
Urgent employee issues: usually within a day or two, on-site if it's in Tampa Bay. Most situations start with a same-day phone call.
Can you help our managers get better at this?
That's most of the job. I coach managers through real situations as they happen, and I run training on the hard conversations so they stop being surprises.
Often paired with this.
Dealing with a hard situation right now?
Call first. It's usually a shorter conversation than you expect.