MESSAGE FROM OUR CEO’S DESK

Someone starting out in consulting told me recently that they heard they should get really specific on exactly what you want to be doing, and start there. I think that's terrible advice.

If you're like me, and like most entrepreneurs, you have to eat shit first. You take on projects and clients you can do good work for, even if it's not exactly the business you want to build. Because it's rough out there, and it's deeply idealistic to think you're going to land in your dream niche on day one.

I'm 7+ years into consulting now, 5.5+ years into building PFunc. I know exactly what kind of work I don't want anymore, and exactly which leaders I won't work with. But I didn't always have that clarity, I had to earn it.

Here's the shit I used to take:

• Clients who vastly underestimated their challenges and needed a huge lift to fix them. Brutal in the moment, but it forced us to flex our boundaries and build sharper guardrails for next time.

• Clients who were misaligned on values. These companies didn't actually care about their people and just wanted bare minimum HR support. Painful, and they always phased themselves out eventually. But they helped build our business, and now we can tell prospects exactly where we're valuable and where they're better off with a different vendor.

• Clients who expected round-the-clock availability and called it "startup hours," with zero premium attached. It's how we learned to price for urgency instead of just absorbing it.

And now, years into my business, here's the shit I won't take anymore:

• Clients who are rude or unkind to me or my team. No client is worth abuse. We've worked with people who turned out to be genuinely mean, but now we have the standing to plot a graceful exit instead of white-knuckling it until they rolled off.

• Clients who question our integrity to make themselves look better. We save receipts. We send detailed client updates. We use an AI notetaker almost every call, when a client's AI policy allows it. I will dig in, own where our team got it wrong, offer support — and then stand firm where we were right.

• Clients who want us in the room for optics but never actually act on our recommendations. We're not a rubber stamp. If leadership isn't going to value their people or consider what we tell them, we'd rather not be there.

My advice to anyone starting out is you will take shit at the beginning. That's not a sign of failure; that's the job. And the better your work is, the more people will vouch for you, until one day you won't have to take it anymore.

I’m always happy to watch a bad client churn because we have SO MANY GOOD ONES that it just leaves us more time for the clients who are true partners in the work we do. I'm proud that we’ve built real relationships with the vast majority of PFunc's clients today. They value us as much as we value them, and that makes all of the shit worth it.

THE HR BRIEFING 🗞️

THE LATEST NEWS TO KNOW

HR headlines and stories, curated with our perspective. 🤝

WTW’s latest report projects 2027 US salary increase budgets to hold at 3.4% as employers take a cost-conscious approach driven by inflation, tight labor supply, and economic uncertainty.

• ↪️ PFunc’s Perspective: Spreading a 3% raise across your entire workforce disincentivizes your top performers, and doesn’t keep the rest of your team up with inflation. Instead of broad-based raises, use your limited budget with surgical precision, over-indexing on critical roles and using spot bonuses to lock down top talent.

A couple of other trending stories we think you’ll like:

• Bank of America’s 2026 Workplace Benefits Report: With 1 in 3 workers considering a move in the past year, comprehensive benefits give employers a vital edge in retaining talent.

• HR Executive: Nike will pay over $7.5 million for violating equal pay laws by underpaying and under-promoting a female engineer.

COMPLIANCE CHECK

Watch out for these HR compliances going into effect (or hitting deadlines) this month.

• Federal (eff. 7/31) – ERISA-regulated employers must file annual Form 5500 benefit plan reports, detailing retirement and welfare plans.

• New Jersey (eff. 8/1) – Child vlogger protections will expand, defining a minor as "employed" if they appear in at least 30% of a vlogger's paid monthly content.

• Colorado (eff. 8/12) – HB 1207 will require private employers with 100+ workers to submit EEO-1 workforce demographic data to the Secretary of State starting July 1, 2027, even if the federal reporting mandate is repealed.

CHRONICALLY ONLINE📱

Don't burn that bridge just yet! Leiya Williams, a Senior People Consultant at PFunc, drops the real reason the two-week notice is still your best career move.

Join 100,000+ followers across PFunc’s Instagram, TikTok, and LinkedIn, hailed as “one of the best HR accounts online today.” 😉

STAY IN TOUCH 💌

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Join the Talent Network here (it’s free!). Whether you’re actively exploring new opportunities or happily employed but open to the right fit, becoming part of our network boosts your profile when roles align with your experience, skills, and career goals.💡

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Every Tuesday, The PFunc Pulse delivers the HR news and compliance shifts you actually need to know about, without all the corporate fluff. Emma brings her unfiltered take on the trends keeping CEOs awake at night, served with the gritty, practical wisdom of a founder who’s seen it all. Real talk for better people decisions, week by week. (P.S. Do your work bestie a favor and forward this— friends don't let friends do old school HR. 🫢)