Performance problems don’t come from bad people — they come from unclear systems
That’s Where I Come In.
Who I Work With
I partner with founders and leadership teams at growing companies who feel the strain of people problems but don't yet have the in-house HR depth to fix them.
Most of my clients are between 20 and 300 people. They're past the "we'll figure it out" stage and into the "this is starting to cost us real money and good people" stage. That's the sweet spot for the work I do.
“Sara’s absolute superpower is saying the hard thing. She is brilliant at navigating difficult conversations with grace and empathy - a skill that most people don’t have. She handled all of these dialogues for us with both Manager and Employees, and helped to facilitate them. How she both gets the point across and holds a safe space for people is genius. She seems to always know what to say and the questions to ask in these dialogues.”
How I Can Help You
Fractional HR
for Founders
Ongoing partnership for companies who need senior HR judgment without a full-time hire. I sit alongside your leadership team, handle the complicated stuff, and build the systems that make HR less of a fire drill.
Performance System
Design
Build the performance management system that actually fits your company, from clear expectations to manager training to a review process that doesn't take six months to run. No bloat. No theater.
Manager Coaching and Training
One-on-one coaching for managers stuck on hard conversations, plus group training that teaches people leaders to give feedback, address performance, and lead with consistency.
AI Skills Packages for People Leaders
The Performance Play
The hardest conversations don't come with a script.
Seven AI-powered skills for the full arc of a performance case: the manager who's avoiding it, the diagnosis of skill versus will, the conversation that goes sideways mid-meeting, the PIP that has to hold up, and the termination that has to be handled right the first time.
The Coaching Play
You can't sit in every 1:1. This is the next best thing.
Six AI-powered Claude skills that coach managers through the conversations that decide whether they're any good at the job. Feedback built on facts instead of adjectives. Expectations written down where the employee can actually reach them. Career talks that are honest rather than hopeful. And a practice room for the conversation they've been avoiding.
The Investigation Play
You don't get a second try at the first interview.
Seven AI-powered Claude skills that carry a workplace complaint from intake to close-out with the discipline of a certified investigator. Intake conversations that never promise confidentiality you can't deliver. Witnesses interviewed in the order that protects the case, not the one that feels efficient. Notes written the same day, in facts instead of verdicts. And a second set of eyes before you act on the case you've been carrying alone.
The Restructuring Play
You don't get to run a layoff twice.
Eight AI-powered Claude skills that carry a reduction in force from the business case to the last signed release. Criteria built and dated before any name gets attached. A legal calendar built backward from the real deadline, not forward from the date leadership wants. Notifying managers who walk in rehearsed instead of improvising. And the ninety days after notification day, tracked as carefully as the day itself.
Why Companies Choose to Work With Me
Leading a growing company comes with people challenges that don't always look like HR problems at first. They show up as inconsistent management decisions, unclear expectations, and performance issues that quietly grow over time.
I partner with founders and leadership teams to bring clarity and structure to how people are managed. With nearly two decades of experience across high-growth tech and complex organizations, including Target, Cisco, AppDynamics, and DataRobot, I help leaders navigate hard situations, strengthen manager capability, and build simple systems that support consistent performance as the business scales.
My role is not to add bureaucracy. It's to translate complex people challenges into clear, actionable approaches that protect the business while helping people do their best work.
“I’ve had the pleasure of working with Sara at multiple companies, and she is one of the most trusted HR leaders I’ve worked with. She has a rare ability to design practical performance frameworks, coach managers through tough situations, and handle the most sensitive employee matters with sound judgment, empathy, and discretion. Any growing company looking to build a strong, accountable culture would be lucky to have her as a partner.”
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