BENTON HARBOR, Mich. – An acquisition was announced today that will bring HR professionals and workforce experts together to offer an array of services to support employers across Michigan in a big way. The team at Kinexus Group announced today that they have officially acquired HR Collaborative, a
west Michigan-based, women-led community of fractional HR professionals, to meet unmet demand and to serve more employers than ever before.

“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. 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,” said Todd Gustafson, President and CEO of Kinexus Group. “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.”

HR Collaborative, a Top 50 Michigan Company to Watch Awardee, was launched by Beth Kelly in 2013, who has successfully driven change in the HR space for more than 40 years. HR Collaborative’s mission is simple: To make work better by filling in the HR gaps organizations have today and helping them build more sustainable people practices for tomorrow. With clients across Michigan and the Midwest, the company shares the excitement of being part Kinexus Group, one of the Nonprofit Times’ Best Places to Work in the nation for six consecutive years.

“We are thrilled to be part of Kinexus Group’s family of organizations and could not be more excited to share the news. The HR Collaborative community will expand to include a broader network of employers with similar needs and interests in the human resource field,” said Beth Kelly, President and Visionary at HR Collaborative. “Our clients will have the opportunity for expanded access to a suite of training and development subject matter experts and resources. Most importantly, our team of professionals, along with our clients, will have the benefit of knowing that the profits generated from HR Collaborative will be reinvested in a bigger purpose to make the lives of people in Michigan better. Being part of Kinexus Group also furthers our mission by providing our team a set of tools and resources to help our clients
grow, develop and train talent so their companies thrive.”

In addition to serving demand, the acquisition further diversifies Kinexus Group’s overall revenue, provides a reliable and flexible funding source without limited growth potential, to support the mission of Kinexus Group and its subsidiaries: Youth Solutions, Michigan Works, Market Van Buren and Manufacturing Growth Alliance.

“The decision to acquire HR Collaborative is in alignment with the guideposts that the Kinexus Group Board of Directors set years ago,” said Kinexus Group Board Chair, George Saleeby. “The team at Kinexus Group has always had a creative approach to solving complex challenges, we’ve been known for our diversified funding model, and our ability to meet unmet demand through our family of organizations and adding HR Collaborative will allow us to do more of that.”

“Kinexus Group will have more money and expertise to invest in our mission. This acquisition will help us bolster our efforts to educate, train and connect at-risk youth and adults to long term, sustainable jobs and careers. It will help us assist companies in their pathways for growth through the adoption of innovation, technology and best practices of talent recruitment, retention and development. As a result, entire communities will see value in this acquisition. We are excited to add the HR Collaborative team to our family of organizations to bring the best of the best to employers across Michigan and beyond,” added Gustafson.

The acquisition is effective today, March 1. For more information about HR Collaborative, visit
hrcollaborative.com.

About Kinexus Group
Kinexus Group is an organization that invests its time and resources into inspiring positive economic change one individual, one business, and one community at a time. For more information, visit www.Kinexus.org, follow us on Twitter @KinexusGroup or “like” us on Facebook @KinexusGroup.

About HR Collaborative
HR Collaborative is a West Michigan-based, women-led community of fractional HR professionals. They make work better for organizations by filling in the HR gaps they have today and helping them to build more sustainable people practices for tomorrow. For more information, visit hrcollaborative.com.

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