Advisory Retainer
$6,500 / month
For founders and execs who want principled guidance on tap.
- Up to 2 standing calls / month
- Asynchronous reviews (docs, comp bands, comms)
- On-call input during cycles or sensitive changes
Micah Keawe — Founder & Principal HR Consultant
Actually good HR, designed.
I help founders and executives build principled people systems: fair compensation, clear promotions, and headcount planning that scale with trust.
What Actually Good HR Means
Actually good HR means nobody gets blindsided. It’s a culture of clarity. Crisp communication, shared expectations, and as few surprises as possible.
We live in constant disruption. Companies scale, pivot, and innovate, but too often run copy-paste HR playbooks. If you aim to be best-in-class, your People Ops should be too. Start with these four essentials:
Facilitate real conversations.
Automation handles noise; humans handle nuance. HR’s job is to spark clear, honest dialogue across levels and keep it flowing.
Automate the grind.
Spreadsheets shouldn’t eat 70% of anyone’s job. Automate workflows and data pipelines so humans do judgment, not drudgery.
Set expectations that stick.
Trust comes from clarity. Roles, growth paths, and goals should be simple, transparent, and repeatable. No guessing.
Build processes worth bragging about.
If it’s worth doing, do it exceptionally. Product teams don’t ship “that’ll do.” Neither should HR.
How I Work
Discovery & Audit
We start with a focused diagnostic: org goals, current practices, and the real constraints. I review your plans, comp data, and workflows; you get a short readout with risks and fast wins.
Design & Decision
Together we choose an approach that matches your stage. I draft the system in plain English (and sheets, if needed) with options and trade-offs. You approve the path before we ship.
Implementation & Enablement
I operationalize the decision: docs, comms, and tooling. We run a lightweight pilot where useful, train managers, and hand off a package you can run without me.
Pricing
Invest where it matters.
People systems are foundational. When they’re built intentionally-aligned, documented, measurable, they become assets, not burdens. I price to deliver that level of craft.
Models shaped by outcomes.
Fixed-project work, retainers for ongoing alignment, and outcome-based approaches for high-impact projects. You’ll always know what’s included and what to expect.
Flexible for early teams.
For companies under ~$1M revenue, I adapt the scope and deliverables to deliver strong HR foundations without compromising quality.
Here are the main ways I work with teams:
Project Sprints
$8,000–$18,000 / sprint
Fixed-scope, outcomes-driven. Typical: compensation refresh, promotion framework, or headcount planning playbook.
- 2–5 weeks per sprint, defined deliverables
- Drafts in plain English + working templates
- Leader and manager enablement materials
Fractional People Ops Lead
$9,500–$16,000 / month
Hands-on ownership when you need an experienced operator to run the function while you hire.
- 1–2 days / week embedded
- Own key cycles: comp, promo, and planning
- Stand-up processes, vendors, and dashboards
“Micah has a rare ability to design people systems that are principled and pragmatic.” — VP People, Series C startup
About
Former People leader at OpenAI. Operator at heart. I treat HR like product: design the system, test it against real constraints, write it in plain English, and ship it. No theater, just outcomes.