In today’s HR world, there's no shortage of think pieces and polished "thought leadership." But if you've been in the trenches—handling compliance audits, late-night shift conflicts, or explaining again why HR is more than onboarding—you know most of it misses the mark.

That’s why my recent conversation with Talitha Beverly, founder of HR Strong, was a breath of fresh air. Her story isn’t built on buzzwords—it’s built on midnight manufacturing shifts, Fortune 100 leadership, and her own journey as a Black woman navigating male-dominated industries. She’s lived the work—and that’s exactly who we need shaping the future of HR.

"People think of HR as secretarial," Talitha said, not out of cynicism—but because she's lived through it. When she started her career, she was supposed to be a brewmaster. Instead, she found herself managing overnight operations, working with unionized teams, and handling the kind of real-time issues that shape great HR professionals.

That operational foundation led her into HR—and eventually, into founding HR Strong, her consulting firm. But that early misunderstanding of what HR is—supportive, yes, but also strategic, essential, and deeply human—still lingers in many organizations.

“Even though there are a lot of thought leaders out there, they’re still so removed from the day to day that it doesn’t resonate.”

One of the most consistent frustrations we both shared: the tech stack. HR teams are expected to act fast, make decisions, and deliver insights. But the tools we rely on? Clunky. Disconnected. Time-consuming.

“I’m spending hours, sometimes days, pulling simple reports across platforms that cost us a fortune. How does that make sense?”

We’ve normalized broken systems—and it’s slowing us down. HRPartner.ai was born out of that frustration and designed to do things differently:

• Real-time, actionable data that leadership can actually use

• Searchable, context-aware answers built on your policies and practices

• Workflows built for HR, not just finance or ops

And most importantly, we’re training our platform on the lived expertise of HR professionals—not pulling from generic models or theoretical frameworks.

Talitha and I also talked about the rise of fractional HR work—a space she and I both occupy. More clients, less overhead, and unfortunately… more repeated questions.

“My clients ask the same things again and again. I want to serve them—but I need something scalable that doesn’t depend on me being in every conversation.”

That’s why we’re building a smart portal—one that fractional HR leaders can brand as their own. It’ll house your knowledge, your workflows, and your language. Clients can access it 24/7, freeing up your time while preserving your value.

Whether you charge for access, bundle it in your retainer, or use it as a differentiator—that’s up to you. But the goal is clear: leverage your brilliance without burning out.

This isn’t just about software. It’s about ownership. Talitha and I both agreed—HR tech shouldn’t be built solely by people chasing profit or scale.

“I want HR professionals as angel investors. People who get it. People who’ve lived it. People who want to build something better—and benefit from it.”

We’re bootstrapping this on purpose. Because when HR builds its own tools, we’re not just buying a platform—we’re creating something that understands nuance, compliance, culture, and care.

This is about empowering HR—not extracting from it.

If you're a fractional, an operator, or a builder at heart, we want to co-create with you.

We’re looking for:

• HR pros who want to share insight for discovery sessions

• Builders who want to test and pilot tools made for the real world

• Professionals ready to help shape a platform—and a movement—that puts HR first

Because here’s the truth: no one’s coming to fix this for us. But if we build together, we can fix what’s broken—and finally create tools that reflect the depth, complexity, and humanity of our field.

Let’s build for us. Let’s build with heart. And let’s make it work.

Interested in learning more about integrating AI into your HR processes? At HRPartner.ai, we are looking for HR professionals to participate in discovery sessions and pilot new AI-driven HR tools. Reach out to explore how your organization can benefit!

Check out: www.hrpartner.ai

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