The Human Resources Mining & Distribution Co. (HRM&DCo.) is an organization dedicated to locating and validating one-of a-kind products and services in Human Resources and then accelerating the time it takes for such fresh thinking to reach HR. We exist to fill in a major gap that exists in the marketplace for specialty products and services. This gap lies between the unique vendors who typically have limited distribution capabilities and the consultants, brokers and more brand name vendors that are generally conflicted in their business models from bringing such new and unique products and services to the table.



Absent the HRM&DCo., it can take upwards of 5 to 10 years for unique HR products and services to be considered by mid-sized and larger employer organizations.

HR specialties can be found most anywhere in the world. We continue to be amazed at the depth and breadth of fresh thinking for HR that is arising not only in the U.S., but also in Europe, India, South Africa, Australia and elsewhere. These specialty products and services cover the entire HR taxonomy. HR specialties are mostly one-of-kind products and services, but some may be best-in-class. Best-in-class specialties typically arise when a traditional HR product or service has reached the maturity stage and entrepreneurs re-entered the same market to reinvent the existing idea.

HR specialty products and services do not travel an easy road into most employer organizations. There are a variety of roadblocks in the system. Some are caused by the employers themselves and some are caused by conflicts in the business models of those who currently serve as external advisors to HR.

EMPLOYER CONFLICTS                                                                                                                    

For the employer, there are a variety of road blocks to HR specialties. HR departments are bombarded daily with vendor messages to the point where bloated phone and email in-boxes can only be depressurized by “DELETE-DELETE-DELETE”. Also HR must make time to consider fresh thinking but it already has a full pate. In many cases, HR has been blindly downsized to align with HR staffing ratio “efficiency” metrics to the point where there are not enough resources left in HR to even consider fresh thinking so as to increase HR’s overall “effectiveness”. Because in many cases, HR has been made to be only efficient there can be a natural trepidation towards bringing HR specialties to the table of senior management.

HR ADVISOR CONFLICTS                                                                                                                  

For the advisors to HR, there are also various roadblocks to bringing HR specialty products and services to clients. First, there can be financial implications. For advisors who are paid on a product commission basis, the client may ask them to pay for the specialties out of existing but ever dwindling commission streams. This both reduces the advisor’s profits and adds to its vendor management workload - an unwanted “double whammy”. For fee-based consultants who must meet their own personal goals of new business development and billable hours in order to receive their year-end bonus payments, the questions becomes “If I introduce someone else’s product / service to the client, how will this facilitate my meeting this year’s goals”? Most often the answer is “It will not.”

For both types of advisors, their organizations can actually be at odds with the specialty products and services. Some advisors have developed proprietary products that compete with the external specialties such as in the area of HR Metrics or Performance Management. Or, introducing an HR specialty can actually decimate an entire specialty consulting practice as it services would no longer be required. An example here would be a consulting firm’s Rx Consulting Practice that the client would no longer need if the optimal PBM were in place. Moreover, if the HR product or service does not work as purported, the entire client relationship can be put at risk. Finally, HR advisors are expected to be objective on the client’s behalf which is difficult to when a one-of-a-kind idea is on the table for consideration.