We were lucky to catch up with Brian Huston recently and have shared our conversation below.

Brian, appreciate you joining us today. Let’s start with a story that highlights an important way in which your brand diverges from the industry standard.

When it comes to human resource issues, most companies don’t reach out to an expert until after it’s too late. We partner with our clients on an ongoing basis and don’t bill by the hour. This allows our clients to reach out early and often. Sensitive HR issues, such as accommodation requests or harassment claims, need to be addressed properly from the outset. HR administrators at smaller companies get peace of mind both that they’re doing the right thing and that the CFO won’t get upset with them for reaching out, it’s a win-win!

Brian, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

My father transitioned from the FBI to human resources. Growing up I didn’t really understand what human resources meant. I remember in high school, sitting on the deck with my dad and asking him about what he did. He explained that in human resouces you’re kind of like a quasi-attorney, it all relates to employment laws.

Later, I went to college and majored in business management with an emphasis in human resources (my univesrity created a seperate business degree for HR right after I graduated). While in school, I planned to get my masters, assuming that would be an MBA. But, I took an employment law class first semester of senior year and everything changed, I loved it! I decided I’d take both the GMAT and LSAT, but honestly I really only studied for the LSAT.

I went to law school and had one of the best experiences of my life. I took every employment law class they offered and wrote law journal articles on the subject. After graduating I worked with my father for over four years before venturing out on my own.

In starting OutrightHR, the focus has always been to let our clients focus on their day-to-day but be prepared to jump in when needed for HR issues or iniatives. All we do is human resources (hence outright) and even for us it’s still difficult to keep up with all the changes – federal, state and local laws effect how companies need to operate and those laws are changing daily. I couldn’t imagine keeping up with those changes if you had other duties on your plate as well, as many small company’s HR Admins do. Generally, when a company has over 400 employees they have a well rounded HR team and access to attorneys and specialist. The smaller companies are in a more difficult position – they still need to comply with the laws and regulations, but they typically don’t have the resources to keep up. That’s where we come in.

Alright – let’s talk about marketing or sales – do you have any fun stories about a risk you’ve taken or something else exciting on the sales and marketing side?

This wasn’t directly a sale pitch, but rather a good example of how we can help. Often entrapenuers and business leaders take actions with great intentions, but without knowing the legal landscape they can get themselves into trouble.

In early 2022 my LinkedIn feed showed me a post I might be interested in that was gaining a lot of traction. It was a CEO in Chicago who wrote a long post about his company’s parental leave policies, both for maternity and paternity. The post had garnered thousands of likes and hundreds of comments, virtually all praising the leader for their generosity.

I sent the CEO a message titled “Paid Parental Leave – Warning” were I briefly explained the rules about parental leave programs.

Essentially, the owner had created legal liability for their company by offering different amounts of leave to new mothers as opposed to new fathers. Their intentions were good, and made common sense, however the EEOC (Equal Employment Opportunity Commission) had numerous cases and anouncements warning that those policies may be discriminatory. The owner’s response was “(S)hocked, angry, but better to be in the know than not…”

This one example of countless times that I’ve helped well intentioned leaders not fall into a legal landmine.

Has your business ever had a near-death moment? Would you mind sharing the story?

I started the company in December of 2018. By 2022 I was ready to hire a few full time employees. I wanted to grow and create a consulting team, not just be a solo-prenuer. Unfortunately, I was naive as to how much buffer I needed to build in, in order to stay solvent and sane.

I hired two full time employees on low margins based on two large contracts. As an HR company I knew I wanted to be generous with my team (something I still firmly believe in). However, when my clients were late with payments I was the one who had to take on that burden. Even worse, one of the clients was operating in a way that I did not believe was ethical. I had to make a tough decision and terminate the agreement with my highest paying client while simultaneously paying a generous salary to my employees. Those next five months were tough, but we got through it. I’ve now learned the true cost of bringing talent on board and the amount of reserves I should have to weather the storm. Things aren’t perfect, but I’m in a vastly more stable and reslient position now, having learned those lessons the hard way.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.outrighthr.com/
• Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/brian-huston-87712967