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Solo HR, manuscript cover

HR department of one

Solo HR

The Casework Field Manual: 20 Decisions, Coloring Plates, and Practical Tools for an HR Department of One

By Jon R. Orozco

Move competing requests out of your head and into a visible case queue with priorities, owners, and next steps.

Coming to Amazon

The paperback is being prepared for release. A purchase link will appear here when the Amazon listing is available.

Try a sample situation

Who this is for

Solo HR practitioners and small-business people operations leads.

Payroll needs an answer. An employee raises a concern. The owner wants a policy today. You are the only HR person, and every request feels urgent.

The current manuscript includes 20 practice situations, reflective coloring plates, worked debriefs, and 16 practical tools.

Why this book exists

An HR department of one needs a way to make priorities and capacity visible. This manual gives you practice in triage, casework, escalation, and asking for the support the work requires.

What you’ll practice

  1. 01Triage Before the Queue

    Sort urgency, open a usable intake record, make capacity visible, and assign the next action before requests pile up.

  2. 02Everyday Employee Relations

    Most of the job is talking and listening. This part covers open doors, rumors, conflicts, attendance, and the paper trail.

  3. 03Policies, Pay and Paperwork

    The unglamorous work that keeps people paid and protected. This part covers handbooks, time off, payroll, benefits, and fair pay.

  4. 04Hard Cases

    The cases that keep you up at night. This part covers complaints, investigations, endings, difficult managers, and your own limits.

Try a sample situation from the book

Three requests before nine

Payroll reports missing hours, an employee reports a threatening message, and the owner wants the handbook refreshed today. You are alone. The request that sounds loudest is not necessarily the most urgent.

Check what your first triage pass should establish.

  1. Immediate danger and the emergency response route.
  2. Time-sensitive pay or reporting obligations.
  3. Who is qualified to handle each issue.
  4. The next action, owner, and due time.
  5. What routine work can move after leadership agrees.
Make your call, then read the field note

Address immediate danger through the emergency route. Then involve the appropriate pay and case support. Negotiate the routine request instead of silently carrying all three.

A threatening message calls for an immediate safety check and the emergency route if danger is present.

Missing worked hours need prompt payroll coordination and specialist review of applicable timing.

Ask leadership to move the handbook deadline or assign support. Record the agreed priority rather than promising all three.

Try this next: Write your emergency, payroll, and counsel contacts in an approved reference sheet.

Practice with fictional details. This excerpt offers general education, not legal, financial, or clinical advice. Use approved workplace processes and qualified support for real cases.

Tools you can return to

  • Your next 30 casework days
  • Case intake sheet
  • Open cases
  • Handle it, escalate it, or call counsel?
  • Policy review tracker
  • Conversation notes
  • Coach a manager
  • Manager coaching log
  • HR-of-one bingo
  • Offboarding checklist
  • Twelve weeks of habits
  • Weekly HR review
  • Monthly file audit
  • Owner capacity briefing
  • When I am away
  • Next year plan

Put the practice to work

Choose one situation that resembles the work you face. Make your call, compare it with the worked example, and identify what you would change. Take one useful move into your next assignment, conversation, or team discussion.

Read: Solo HR: triage the casework before the queue takes over →Discuss a team learning session →

A book supports practice. For an active workplace issue, follow your organization’s process and seek appropriate professional guidance.

Keep exploring

Write It Down

Turn vague employee notes into factual records with context, the employee’s account, and a clear follow-up.

Promoted Over Your Peers

Move from coworker to supervisor with clear boundaries, consistent work decisions, and conversations you have practiced.

The Decision Field Manual

Move a stalled decision toward a clear call: name its owner, weigh the stakes, and record the reasons and next actions.