Not your typical HR people.
We make human resources for small businesses simple. People Spark Consulting strives to help you achieve your business goals by helping you be intentional about the kind of culture you want to foster. By creating a strong and intentional culture, improving your hiring process, and providing effective training for managers, you can truly develop an environment for optimal employee engagement, functionality, and productivity.
Our corporate backgrounds and experience transforming complicated and ineffective HR processes inspired us to take a different approach. We understand that each business has unique goals, and our expertise allows us to create a fully customized game plan that minimizes wasteful administrative processes, ultimately saving you time and money.

Kristen Ireland, Principal
kristen@peoplesparkconsulting.com
“The success of a business depends on the success of its employees.” – Kristen Ireland
As a consultant and coach, Kristen focuses on understanding the business and ensuring it achieves its goals by aligning the culture, leadership, people, and processes with business strategies. A thoughtful, innovative, and strategic problem solver, she specializes in compassionately influencing behaviors and providing simple solutions tailored to your needs.
Kristen has more than 20 years of experience consulting and coaching executives, leaders and managers in both for-profit and not-for-profit sectors. In addition to her work experience, she earned both a Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration and an MBA from the University of St. Thomas. Kristen received her Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR) certification from the Human Resources Certification Institute (HRCI) and her Change Practitioner certification from PROSCI.

Erin Mies, Principal
erin@peoplesparkconsulting.com
“My interest in finding simplicity drives my work.” – Erin Mies
Erin believes that businesses do not need more complicated processes. Instead, they need help uncovering their root issues and finding ways to address them. Erin has earned a reputation for understanding a business’ needs and finding creative, practical solutions that allow them to move forward. Her approach is both straightforward and respectful, providing guidance and considerations to improve leadership effectiveness.
Erin’s 15 years of experience has involved coaching and consulting executives, leaders and managers in food and agricultural industries, in both manufacturing and corporate environments. She also specializes in talent acquisition and international HR. In addition to her professional experience, she holds a Bachelor of Arts in Economics and Music from Wittenberg University, and a Master of Human Resources and Industrial Relations from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Erin is certified through the Society of Human Resources Management (SHRM) as a Senior Certified Professional (SHRM-SCP).
People Spark Consulting is a Minneapolis–Saint Paul, MN based consulting company that specializes in transforming business cultures through human resources and people strategies.