The economic development nonprofit Kinexus Group of Southwest Michigan today announced the acquisition of a for-profit human resources company based out of Grand Rapids.
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Making the announcement to employees today, Kinexus Group CEO Todd Gustafson confirmed the group has purchased HR Collaborative, a human resource management and consulting firm.
“Employers have been sharing with us for a long time that there’s a need for specific human resource subject matter expertise in their companies. When we see a gap, we gather the resources to collaboratively solve the issues.”
Gustafson said the acquisition comes at a time of need where employers are facing an unprecedented amount of labor and skill shortages across every sector and every region in the country, especially Michigan, where the population is declining, aging and is less educated resulting in a bottom ten state in these critical economic indicators.
“Employers, especially small-to-midsized companies with limited resources and capacity will now have access to some of the best workforce experts and human resources professionals in the nation.”
In a presentation to the Kinexus Group board of directors, the founder and president of HR Collaborative, Beth Kelly, explained that her company helps other companies “build and accelerate” their HR function, provides HR staff for companies on an interim or long-term basis, and takes on project management of HR initiatives like company restructuring.
HR Collaborative has been in business for ten years, they have approximately 20 employees, and the firm will remain in its Grand Rapids location.
The Kinexus Group and HR Collaborative team responsible for making the acquisition happen.
Gustafson said the move has been in the works for the last 12 months and will help the Kinexus Group achieve its ongoing mission. He said his group has formed a new subsidiary, Kinexus HR, a for-profit team that technically acquired HR Collaborative for an undisclosed amount.
Kinexus Group is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, using public and private sector funding sources to work with area business and workforce stakeholders. The Kinexus Group operates Michigan Works! Berrien, Cass, Van Buren, Youth Solutions, Bridge Academy, Benton Harbor Youth Build, Market Van Buren, and the Manufacturing Growth Alliance.
Kinexus Group describes itself as, “A family of organizations committed to inspiring positive economic change one person, one business, one community at a time. Our nonprofit pinpoints challenges and issues that keep our state from thriving, and addresses gaps in workforce, community and business development.”
