Before I was married my last name was Grass. Yes, like your lawn. When I turned 16 one of my neighbours started a franchise business and ran it out of his basement. That summer I went to work for him as a Telemarketer. Keep in mind this was before telemarketing was as common as it is today so people were not yet annoyed. We literally tore pages out of the phone book and started calling. My opening line was “Hello, this is Sarah Grass calling from Weedman.” Needless to say, I made a fortune that summer!
I left when the season ended to work at a local grocery store and was supervising employees by the age of 18. I quickly learned the importance of having the right people and treating them well. I started studying Human Resource Management at the University of New Brunswick and upon graduation began my career in recruitment at a local call centre. I quickly diversified my skill set in other areas of HR and was managing HR strategy, performance, and employee terminations in my early 20s. I spent the next 10 years working with small privately held companies (including the early days of Eastlink and Bluewave Energy) developing human resource strategy and programs, coaching and training managers and executives, and attracting and retaining great people. Almost a decade was spent in high growth organizations leading the people side of 14 highly successful company acquisitions and employee integrations. Change impacts every employee and every company differently. My job was to anticipate the impact and make it as painless as possible.
After a lengthy stint at a large publically traded corporation, in 2016 I decided to return to my roots and consult for small business. Since then, we have added two team members including a Senior Payroll Specialist to support the payroll and benefits needs of our clients. I love the growth and agility that comes with working with small business and start-ups. We are able to provide a total outsourced solution, both tactical and strategic, by providing expertise and support at a more feasible price point.
The Best Fit
Small businesses and start ups looking to build their HR strategy from the ground up and compete for talent in the market.
Clients looking for solutions to specific issues such as performance management, employee engagement, management effectiveness, etc.
HR Assessment - an assessment of a client's current HR strategy, policies and programs.
Achieve Global - I am a certified Achieve Global trainer in Leadership and Customer Service Excellence. I can facilitate any of their training programs.
Predictive Index - I am a certified Predictive Index Anayst which is a behavioural assessment used in identifying a person's fit to a role, team and/or organization. It provides detail on their learning ability, their aptitude for sales, management style, and how they should be management.
Awards & Accomplishments
Parkland - identified a $850K annual cost during the due dilgence process of a acquisition. Created a solution to help mitigate the impact.
Parkland - Lead the planning of a region wide restructure. While we experienced 30+ lay offs, we were able to avoid another 15 through job sharing programs, voluntary reduced work hours and retraining.
Bluewave Energy - developed a flex time policy that reduced operational costs, increased productivity, and engaged employees.
Bluewave Energy - developed and executed a national rewards program that rewarded employees for process improvement initiatives, outstanding customer service and volunteering in the community.
Bluewave Energy - Designed and implemented management training program that trained approximately 75 managers across the country.
I have had the privilege of working with Sarah on many acquisitions and HR initiatives. Sarah is the consummate professional and takes time to properly prepare and communicate through every step of the project. Sarah has compassion for the folks she works with and ensures that she leads people through change with the right mix of professional knowledge and empathy.Jane Sears Former Regional Operations Manager, Parkland Fuel Corporation
Sarah brings to any organization a wealth of experience, knowledge and compassion. From my perspective, all are key to successful human resource management. While working together, Sarah implemented innovative and effective employee policies and initiatives. Such employee support resulted in a positive team building environment that allowed our company to continue to grow and establish a reputation as one of the sought after companies to work for in the industryKimberly Trimm Regional Operations Manager, Parkland Fuel Corporation
I worked closely with Sarah Mullins for 9 years - initially at a 100 employee company and later at a national, publicly traded company with 1200 employees. Sarah is a solid, seasoned HR professional with a firm understanding of employment law, HR policies and strategies and perspective on best HR practices in large and small companies. Sarah is very customer focused and works closely with internal customers to develop workable policies, practices and implementation. Sarah is very well respected and relied on by employees and managers for her knowledge and practical counsel.Lorraine Williston Former Partner and VP of Marketing & Human Resources, Bluewave Energy
