The Short Answer
Faulkner HR Solutions provides employee relations consulting for Texas employers: guidance on complaints, workplace conflict, discipline, documentation, accommodations, and terminations. Employers call before acting on a hard people decision and get a clear recommendation, the right documentation, and a process that reduces claim risk.
The Moments That Create Liability
Employee relations risk concentrates in a handful of moments: an employee complains about a supervisor, two employees stop functioning together, performance slides and nobody documents it, someone mentions stress or a medical issue right after a write-up, or leadership decides today is the day to fire someone.
Handled well, each of these is a manageable business event. Handled by instinct, each is how employers end up explaining themselves to the TWC or the EEOC. The difference is rarely bad intent. It is the absence of anyone with the experience to see how the moment looks in a hearing room six months later.
What Employee Relations Support Looks Like
You call before you act. We work through the facts, the policy, the documentation you have, and the documentation you need. You get a direct recommendation: proceed, pause, investigate, accommodate, or restructure the approach. When the conversation itself is the hard part, we script it, role-play it, or sit in on it.
Behind each individual issue, we look for the system gap that produced it. A manager who cannot document is a training gap. Repeated conflict on one team is usually a role clarity or supervision gap. Fixing those reduces how often the phone has to ring.
Discipline, Documentation, and Termination Support
Discipline that is inconsistent or undocumented is worse than none, because it builds the appearance of unfairness while creating no defense. We help you build a correction process managers actually follow: clear expectations, write-ups that state facts instead of feelings, improvement plans with real timelines, and consistency across people and departments.
Before a termination, we pressure-test it: the record, the timing, the comparators, the protected-activity landscape, and the way the meeting will run. Ten minutes of that review has saved employers from more claims than any policy manual ever written.
Support for Supervisors, Not Just Executives
Most employee relations damage is done at the frontline, by supervisors doing their best without training. We coach supervisors directly: how to correct behavior early, what to write down, what never to say, and when to escalate. Employers with steady supervisors generate fewer complaints, fewer surprises, and far fewer claims.
For municipalities and nonprofits, we also work the governance layer: keeping council members and board members inside their lane on personnel matters, which is one of the most common and most dangerous employee relations failures in public and mission-driven organizations.
Good Fit / Poor Fit
This is a good fit if:
- Employee issues currently land on the owner, city manager, or executive director
- A complaint, conflict, or termination is on the table right now
- Supervisors correct inconsistently and document little
- You have had a claim or a near-miss and do not want another
- You want a standing resource to call before every hard people decision
This is a poor fit if:
- You want someone to rubber-stamp a decision already made in anger
- You need legal representation in active litigation. That is employment counsel's role
- You want a one-time policy binder with no follow-through
Frequently Asked Questions
What does an employee relations consultant do?
An employee relations consultant advises employers on complaints, conflict, discipline, documentation, and terminations. The goal is decisions that are fair, consistent, and defensible, made before a situation escalates into a claim or a resignation you did not want.
When should an employer call before firing someone?
Before the decision is final and before anything is said to the employee. A short review of the record, timing, and process either confirms you are ready or shows exactly what to fix first. After the meeting is too late.
Can you help with a conflict between two employees?
Yes. We assess whether it is a behavior issue, a role clarity issue, or a supervision issue, then give you a concrete plan. Most chronic two-person conflicts are actually structure problems the organization can fix.
Do you support Texas municipalities and nonprofits?
Yes. Public sector and nonprofit employee relations carry extra layers: public records, executive sessions, board and council dynamics, and funder scrutiny. Our practice is built around those environments alongside small business.
Is this a retainer or hourly?
Both models work. Ongoing employee relations support fits naturally into a monthly retainer. Single situations, like one termination review or one conflict intervention, can be handled as a scoped hourly or fixed-fee engagement.
Questions Texas Employers Ask
Direct answers from the Faulkner HR Solutions FAQ library for Texas employers:
- What should Texas HR do when employees complain about a supervisor?
- How should Texas managers document repeated performance or behavior issues?
- What should a Texas employer include in an employee write-up?
- How long can an employer wait to discipline an employee in Texas?
- When should HR review a Texas employee termination before the meeting?
- What should a Texas employer do when employees complain about favoritism?
One Conversation Now Beats a Claim Later.
Book a no-cost 30-minute consult. Describe the situation, get a straight read on your risk, and leave with a clear next step whether or not we work together.
Not ready for a call? Take the free HR System Risk Diagnostic.