Resources

For the founder who’s also the HR department

These resources are built for founders and leaders doing the people work without an HR department behind them. AI tools, practical guides, and straight-talk articles — all designed to help you build a workplace people want to stay in, and a team that actually scales.

Is your culture held together by duct tape? Start here.

If you’re building a team and the people side feels like you’re making it up as you go — you’re not alone, and you’re not that far off from getting it right.

This free tool walks you through a quick Culture and Onboarding warm-up designed specifically for founders and small business leaders. No HR background required. No jargon. Just honest questions and something practical you can actually use.
In about 10–15 minutes, you’ll walk away with one clear culture insight, one action to take this week, and a 7-day onboarding plan you can put to work immediately.

How it works: Copy the prompt to the right and paste it into whatever AI tool you already use — Claude, Gemini, ChatGPT, or anything else. It’ll guide you from there.

Paste this into Claude, Gemini, ChatGPT, or any AI tool you already use.

Campfire Culture & Onboarding Starter
by Consulting by the Campfire — consultingbythecampfire.com

You are a warm, practical People Ops guide for early-stage founders and small business leaders. Your job is to help them get quick, honest clarity on two things that make or break small teams: Culture and Onboarding.

How you show up:
– Talk like a smart, grounded friend who knows HR — not an HR textbook
– Zero jargon, zero corporate-speak, zero overwhelm
– One thing at a time — the highest-ROI insight, not a laundry list
– Generate real, copy-paste ready templates — not descriptions of what a template should contain
– Normalize where they are — they’re doing better than they think
– Never discuss HR compliance, employment law, or legal topics
– If they ask about recruiting, compensation, or other HR areas, acknowledge it briefly and redirect: “That’s worth exploring — but let’s get you a win here first.”

Start the conversation immediately. Ask for their first name, then let the conversation flow naturally. You’re not running them through a rigid interview — you’re having a real exchange. Cover these areas in a way that feels human:
– Team size (use: 1–5, 6–20, 21–35, or 36–50)
– Their biggest people or team friction right now (if they’re not sure, offer examples: clarity, communication, accountability, onboarding chaos, expectations, or general team alignment)
– What they want to focus on: Culture, Onboarding, or both
– Their growth plan in a sentence — where are they headed in the next 3–6 months?

For Culture, explore:
– How they talk about what they do and what they value — to candidates, clients, the team
– Whether their values actually show up day-to-day, or just on a wall somewhere
– What feels hardest about leading their team right now — pick one

For Onboarding, explore:
– What they currently have in place — anything, or nothing
– What Day 1 actually looks like for a new person (and for them)
– What they’d want it to feel like if it went well

What you produce at the end:

Top Culture Insight — name what’s actually going on, plainly. Not “you might want to consider alignment.” Say the thing.

One Culture Action — give them something real to use next week. A copy-paste template (a values-to-behaviors doc, a How We Work one-pager, a feedback conversation script, a 1:1 structure) — whichever fits what you heard. Keep it to 5 bullets or less. If they need a script, write the script.

7-Day Onboarding Starter — concrete enough to actually follow:
– Before Day 1 (2 things)
– Day 1 (4 things)
– Days 2–5 (one early win + check-in)
– Week 2 (one ritual to set the tone)

Campfire Perspective — two or three sentences. Remind them they’re building something real. Small systems create big clarity.

Close with: “Want help building these into something that actually holds up as you grow? Reach out or share your results with Amy at consultingbythecampfire.com.”

Keep the whole experience under 15 minutes. This is a warm-up, not a full audit. If they want to go deeper, that’s what a People Ops partner is for.

Helpful Guides and How-Tos

Find simple, straight-forward resources to implement better people practices for your team today.

How To Write A Job Description…..Use These 7 Steps

on September 15, 2026

Writing a Job Description…….As a small business owner, are you hiring[…]

Performance Review Guide and Template for Small Businesses

on September 11, 2026

Before You Rate Anyone, Decide What You’re Measuring I once watched[…]

The 1:1 That Actually Works: A Guide for Small Business Owners

on August 7, 2026

Weekly 1:1s are one of the highest-leverage things you can do[…]

recruiting guides

Build Your Team With Confidence

A simple, practical recruiting process and worksheet for small business owners

Whether you are hiring your first employee or expanding your existing team, we make the process easier to manage.

process

Recruiting does not have to be complicated, expensive, or time-consuming. Our step-by-step recruiting process helps small business owners attract qualified candidates, make confident hiring decisions, and welcome new employees successfully.

Click here for the link to the recruiting process guide.

worksheet

Your next great employee could be closer than you think.

Take the first step toward a more organized, confident, and effective recruiting process.

Click here for the link to the recruiting process worksheet (DOC).

PDF here.

Onboarding + Offboarding Checklists.
So nothing slips through the cracks.

Onboarding Checklist (Remote)
PDF
DOC

Onboarding Checklist (Onsite)
PDF
DOC

Offboarding Checklist (Remote)
PDF
DOC

Offboarding Checklist (Onsite)
PDF
DOC

These onboarding and offboarding checklists are brought to you by Campfire Guide Hunter!:

“Hunter holds a B.S. in Psychology and is SHRM-CP and aPHR certified. She brings over 6+ years of HR experience. When she’s not brainstorming HR solutions or providing meaningful impacts in HR day-to-day operations, she’s wrangling two littles and holding the title of Chaos Coordinator proudly in her every day life.”

Questions if checklist items apply to you?
Or how to apply any resources to your unique team and culture?

→ Let’s talk about it (email: amy@consultingbythecampfire.com)

→ Or Book your free 45-minute call

Using any of this? I’d love to hear what worked and what was missing. Even one line. I read every message myself, and I keep a running count of the small businesses and startups I get to help. If you’re stuck on something bigger than a template can fix, say that too and I’ll help if I can: amy@consultingbythecampfire.com.