In this episode of the Thoughtful Entrepreneur, your host Josh Elledge speaks with the CEO of Next Level Benefits, Lauren Winans.Next Level Benefits is a Human Resources consulting firm. Josh asks Lauren about the origin of Next Level Benefits and she shares how she started the business to fill in the gap of looking for experts that could be available for short term projects. Next Level Benefits is staffed with former corporate HR experts and professionals. Clients are able to have access to HR expertise when needed with support for short term projects, filling in for open positions, and handling consulting and advisory opportunities.Next Level Benefits has expanded from just employee benefits to all aspects of HR. Lauren shares that their clients are all sizes and all industries, she considers Next Level Benefits to be an extension of an existing HR team or a substitute for a company without a large HR presence currently established within.Josh and Lauren discuss the benefits of strategic approaches when managing people. She discusses the decades and depths of expertise of the HR consultants on her team and how they are able to fill in the needs gap and support the human resources side of business. Josh asks Lauren about the team that makes up Next Level Benefits. Lauren shares that their team consists of former corporate HR executives, leaders, managers, and experts within the space. Lauren shares that a majority of team members come from fortune 500 organizations with those types of experiences and backgrounds and how some have worked for non profit organizations. Next Level Benefit’s team experience comes from a versatile array of big brands and companies and brings value being able to leverage those experiences.Josh asks at what size company would HR consulting be beneficial. Lauren expresses that when it comes to employee benefits regardless of the size of the company, it is worth making sure companies are building the right packages so that you can attract and retain talent. She shares how it is critically important to be paying people competitively and offering competitive benefits or people will leave your organization and go elsewhere.Josh asks Lauren what leaders may not realize about the world of benefits today. Lauren shares how from a benefits perspective, employees expect a level of standard from their employers. She discusses health care and the ROI that benefits provide and the impact benefits can have on turn over.Want to learn more? Check out Next Level Benefits website at https://www.nlbenefits.com/Check out Next Level Benefits on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/company/nlbenefits/Check out Lauren Winans on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/laurencwinans/Don’t forget to subscribe to The Thoughtful Entrepreneur and thank you for listening. Tune in next time!More from UpMyInfluence:⭐ We are actively booking guests for our The Thoughtful Entrepreneur. Schedule HERE.🎉 Are you a 6-figure consultant? I’ve got high-level intros for you. Learn more here.🚀 What is your #1 Lead Generation BLOCKER? Take my free quiz here.