Your platform or ours
We can bring the HRIS and payroll technology as part of the service, or operate inside the systems you have already invested in. Either way, you keep ownership of your data.
NorthStar People & Payroll Group
Payroll & HR Outsourcing Built for Growth
Global Expertise. Operational Excellence. Lasting Impact. NorthStar acts as your external HR and payroll department for small and midsize companies. You keep sole employer status and your own FEIN. We take on the ownership of the operation, the controls, and the accountability of the services agreed to.
What we take on
- Payroll processing, tax filings, and year-end
- Multi-state and multi-country coordination
- HR administration and employee lifecycle
- Compliance, controls, and audit readiness
- Manager and employee helpdesk support
- Payroll leadership
A true partnership
We operate as an extension of your team — your HR and payroll department, accountable for the work
You remain the employer
No co-employment. You keep sole employer status and your own FEIN
Your technology or ours
We bring the HRIS and payroll platform, or we run in the systems you already own
Flexibility
We meet you where you are — not where a bundle says you should be
There is no single package to buy into. Keep the technology you already run, or let us recommend and bring a platform that fits how you operate — the choice is yours. From there, engagements are built around the work you actually want handed off and the pace you want to move at, from a single ad-hoc project to a fully managed HR and payroll operation.
All of it, or just payroll
Hand off the full stack — HRIS, payroll, HR administration, and support — or only the piece you need. Payroll-only engagements are a full offering, not a downgrade.
Ad-hoc or fully managed
Project-based help for an implementation, a year-end, an audit, or a gap in leadership — and ongoing managed delivery when you are ready for it. Scope can expand as you grow.
Services
Everything an internal HR and payroll department does
Take on one function or the whole operation. If payroll alone is the answer, we run payroll. If you need HRIS, HR administration, and payroll together, we take all of it. Scope is agreed in writing and delivered against documented processes, defined service levels, and named accountability.
Payroll Outsourcing
End-to-end payroll processing, tax filings, reconciliations, and year-end, run to a defined service calendar and accuracy standard.
HR Outsourcing
Onboarding and offboarding, employee data integrity, policy maintenance, and manager and employee helpdesk support.
Multi-State & Global Payroll
Multi-state registrations and multi-country coordination, with in-country partner oversight and one point of accountability.
Payroll Compliance
Statutory filings, tax registrations, wage-and-hour and leave administration support, and audit preparation.
Payroll Governance
Documented controls, segregation of duties, approval frameworks, and SLA and KPI reporting you can take to a lender or buyer.
Payroll Implementation & Transition
Structured onboarding onto a payroll platform or transfer from your current provider, with data migration, parallel runs, and a documented cutover.
Payroll Leadership
Experienced payroll and HR operations leadership for your function, to steady a team, own the cycle, and lead change.
Shared Services Design
Service catalog, case management, knowledge base, and dashboards, so people operations run on process instead of memory.
Outcomes
Payroll should be the least eventful part of your month
NorthStar is for companies where payroll and HR admin have outgrown the person currently holding them together. Our mandate is to take that work off your desk and keep it off.
Talk to Our Team- You keep control
- We are your vendor, not a co-employer. You remain the sole employer of record and keep your own FEIN, policies, and benefit relationships.
- Risk reduction
- Fewer errors and off-cycle corrections, current registrations, and defensible documentation in every state you operate in.
- Capacity without headcount
- Expertise and throughput of a full HR and payroll function without hiring one, so your team stops doing transactional work.
- Room to scale
- A delivery model that absorbs growth, new states, new entities, and diligence without being rebuilt each time.
Compliance & Governance
Controls that hold up to audit, diligence, and a growing footprint
We operate payroll inside a governance framework, not around one. Every cycle is evidenced, every exception is documented, and every jurisdiction you employ in is tracked.
- Statutory and tax filing calendars maintained per jurisdiction
- Multi-state registrations, wage-and-hour, and leave administration support
- Documented controls, approvals, and segregation of duties
- Audit-ready evidence trails and reconciliations
- Data privacy and confidentiality safeguards
- Service catalog, case management, and knowledge base
- SLA and KPI reporting to owners, finance, and HR
How We Engage
From discovery to steady-state delivery
Every engagement starts with discovery: understanding how payroll and HR administration actually run today, what is exposed, and what should move to us first. You receive a recommended scope and service model before any commitment.
01
Discovery
A structured conversation about your payroll and HR operations, controls, systems, and exposure, followed by a recommended scope of service.
02
Design
We define the service model, controls, calendars, and system of record, and agree exactly what we run and how it is measured.
03
Transition
We take over the agreed payroll and HR functions with structured knowledge transfer, a parallel run, and a written service model.
04
Operate & Scale
We run the function to agreed service levels, review it with you on a set cadence, and scale it as you grow.
Leadership
Senior ownership of every engagement
NorthStar is led directly by its founder, with senior accountability from assessment through steady-state delivery.
Ken Adamek
Founder & CEO
With over 25 years at the forefront of HR and Global Payroll technology and process innovation, Ken Adamek has become one of the industry's most trusted advisors. His deep expertise spans global payroll, HRIS implementations, and strategic HR transformation.
Ken has guided Fortune 500 companies and high-growth startups alike through complex HR technology decisions, consistently delivering solutions that exceed expectations and drive measurable business outcomes.
Start the conversation
Tell us where payroll and HR administration stand today. We will come back with a recommended scope and the delivery model that fits your company.
Global Expertise. Operational Excellence. Lasting Impact.