We recently had the chance to sit down with Shawn Jough, CEO of Strategic HR Advisory to discuss both employee engagement and how her clients, employers, are responding to the recent flurry of executive orders.
Strategic HR Advisory offers fractional HR support for employers, typically between 50-75 employees, that need outsourced HR infrastructure and support. As an external HR practice group, her team provides employee lifecycle management from recruitment to termination, with direct access for employees to call with questions. Their team participates in benefit renewal discussions, assists with 401(k) administration, and helps evaluate and implement appropriate HR information systems.
Her firm also provides a la carte services including employee handbook updates, HR assessments, and their signature “HR Jumpstart” package. Recently, the firm expanded into wage and hour compliance assessments and workplace investigations, and partnering with a licensed investigator to conduct harassment investigations.
Like Aecus Law’s Culture Audits, Strategic HR Advisory conducts employee engagement assessments. Through these assessments, designed to be actionable, Jough emphasizes the importance of following through on the findings: “We always tell them, if we’re going to do something like that, they have to be prepared to make some changes and be careful what you ask for, right? Because the worst thing to do for the culture is to do a survey and do nothing.”
Employer Response to Executive Orders on DEI
Despite considerable public discourse around DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) initiatives following recent executive orders, Jough reports that her clients have remained steady and committed in their approach. “I think I have some clients that are fairly grounded in their beliefs and their culture, and they’re going to uphold their values as a company, and they’re not letting that influence them in how they operate. It’s like diversity is a big part of their culture, honoring that,” she observes.
Rather than abandoning diversity efforts, Jough’s clients are shifting their focus to inclusion: “It seems to be they’re a little bit more calm about it, and it’s just like they’re going to keep doing their practices, which are trying to be fair for everybody, include everybody. That’s been our focus, just adding inclusion. Instead of just diversity, it’s inclusion.”
Jough emphasizes that a key step employers can take to eliminate discrimination in their workplaces is establishing pay scales that create equity across all genders. Though her work in the HR space, Jough has encountered women-run companies that are inadvertently paying male staff higher wages and bonuses. Pay disparity is a deeply systemic issue, where women continue to experience reduced wages from leaving the workforce to raise children. Jough sees the importance of pay equity as both a compliance issue and a culture cornerstone: “It’s not just compliance because it goes to the culture, right? Because inevitably, people find out when you’re paying people differently… Just be consistent and be fair.”
Three Takeaways for Employers in 2025
- I-9 Compliance: In response to increased immigration enforcement by the federal government, Jough recommends auditing I-9 forms, implementing sound verification practices, and considering E-Verify enrollment. “I’ve heard from other attorneys that doing that is a proactive step and will show that you’re making efforts to be compliant,” she explains. Jough notes, this is particularly important for employers in hospitality, construction, and other highly impacted industries.
- Wage and Hour Compliance: Following PAGA (Private Attorneys General Act) reform in California, Jough recommends businesses conduct wage and hour assessments, either internally or with outside assistance. “Doing those assessments and internal audits are going to help fight those claims and help reduce the penalties,” she advises.
- Management Training: Train supervisors and mid-level managers on wage and hour compliance and leave of absence procedures. Jough notes that compliance failures often occur at this level: “It’s always in that mid-tier… level of management, supervisors and stuff. Train them on that and audit your own systems to make sure that they’re not doing that.”