Exploring Life & Business with Lyndsey of Northstar HR LLC

Today we’d like to introduce you to Lyndsey.

Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
HR chose me, as is true for many in the field. I started 14 years ago at an insurance carrier, learning a lot regarding benefits administration and design. When my father passed away unexpectedly in 2012, just 32 days after he was forced to retire after 26 years of service, I saw the real life impacts of how companies treat their people. I saw how benefit program designs really matter, and how humans supporting humans was (and still is) the missing piece in the working world.

This was happening at the same time as I became the go-to person for all my coworkers for their problems with management. I became the voice of the front line employees, helping manage issues as they arose. Discovering this skill, along with the impacts of my father’s passing, landed me in HR.

I’ve always been good about being able to learn just about anything, as long as it doesn’t involve a car. I focused my efforts on learning as much as I could about as much as I could, and after 13 years in Corporate America, I started my own HR consulting firm in January 2025.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Is anything involving humans ever smooth? Some days it’s the challenge of wanting to tell people to grow up at work, especially when I end up involved in petty drama. I’ve learned to control the eye roll when silly stuff is brought to me, like someone’s shoes are too loud on the floor. (Yes, that’s a real complaint HR people deal with.)

Other days its the challenge of dealing with really complicated stuff, like harassment complaints. Learning to remain neutral and putting one’s personal beliefs regarding a situation aside is really hard.

And some days are really emotional, like the death of an employee. HR people are humans too and we struggle with these things just like anyone else. We typically are asked to be the ones to share hard news like this, and it’s just as hard for us to do it as it is for folks to hear it.

Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Northstar HR LLC?
I founded Northstar HR to be a voice I feel like is missing in HR today. So many HR folks get stuck in this sticky place of wanting to advocate for change yet fearing for their job. So many people feel like it someone has to “win” in every situation and that’s not the case. Really good HR is when both sides feel like they got what they needed, which may not always be what they initially wanted.

Northstar HR specializes in Fractional HR, which is the new age fancy term for outsourced HR. We partner with Arizona businesses who don’t have in-house HR and AZ businesses who have an overwhelmed HR department of one. Our focus is on building out or strengthening HR frameworks within a business to not only support compliance, but also people as humans. We want to make the workplace easier by aligning expectations and communications to ensure clarity.

We also have a specialization in the HR elements of the merger and acquisition process, representing the people elements of combining two businesses together. Companies spend a great deal of money on these transactions, yet often leave the people elements to the very end, if they get addressed at all. The real value in most companies is their people and the customer relationships they own. We have a very intentional process for evaluating, planning, and executing these business integration projects to ensure retention and clarity for all parties involved.

We all have a different way of looking at and defining success. How do you define success?
Success is such a personal thing, and everyone’s definition is very different. For me, success is about lifestyle and not really focused on money. It’s about being able to honor my body when needed, to travel the world, and be fully present for family and loved ones. Yes money is a piece of being able to do these things, however it’s not where I personally focus.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.northstarhraz.com
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@NorthstarHRAZ

Image Credits
First photo: Nik Rubio with The 1992 Archive, Phoenix Women’s Club
Second photo: Sara Bishop