Client: Free State Growers
Partner: Gró HR Consulting
The Challenge
Free State Growers is a Kansas-based agricultural operation with a team of approximately 50 employees and fluctuating seasonal demands. When they partnered with Gró HR, they lacked an HR system that could effectively support employee management, payroll and tax administration, and performance management.
Payroll was manual and time-consuming—including paper checks—which created inefficiencies and risk. As staffing needs changed throughout the year, leadership also needed support with recruiting, onboarding, and coaching to ensure the right people were in the right roles at the right time. Workers’ compensation costs and safety consistency were additional concerns.
Our Approach
Gró HR partnered with Free State Growers to manage the entire employee lifecycle, from hiring to payroll to ongoing development:
- HR & Payroll System Implementation: Implemented Gusto, replacing manual processes and paper checks with a streamlined, compliant HR and payroll solution.
- Employee Lifecycle Management: Centralized onboarding, employee records, payroll, tax management, and performance tracking to create consistency and accuracy year-round.
- Recruitment & Staffing Support: Built steady candidate pipelines to ensure Free State Growers remains fully staffed to meet customer and seasonal demands.
- Onboarding, Coaching & Growth: Supported leadership with structured onboarding and employee coaching to improve retention, performance, and engagement.
- Safety & Risk Reduction: Implemented safety practices and guidance to help reduce workers’ compensation exposure and long-term costs.
The Results
The partnership delivered operational stability and scalability:
- Efficient, paperless payroll and HR processes across all seasons
- Improved accuracy and compliance in payroll and tax management
- Reduced administrative burden for managers and leadership
- Lower workers’ compensation risk through proactive safety efforts
- Consistent staffing pipelines with better-aligned candidates
- Stronger onboarding and employee development, supporting long-term retention
The Value of Partnership
With Gró HR as a full-service partner for HR, payroll, and recruitment, Free State Growers now operates with confidence—knowing their people operations can flex with seasonal demands without sacrificing efficiency or compliance.
Gró HR helps agricultural and seasonal businesses build people systems that work year-round—so teams can focus on delivering for their customers.