top of page
Affirma Wordmark Lockup Coral.png
affirma website hero image AdobeStock_510751558.jpeg

A Boutique HR Consultancy

Lead like

you like it.

At a Glance

What We Do

Why We Do It

We are HR for HR.
We are advisors to people leaders.
We are champions of the workforce.

 


Our practice is rooted in the simple idea that people matter most.

We believe that your practice of leadership starts with affirming who you are—your values, your perspective, and the unique approach you bring to your role. Our mission is to partner with people leaders, providing customized, people-focused HR solutions that are not only strategic but deeply aligned with your leadership goals.


We believe that through commitment and consistent practice, every organization can benefit from:

 

  • Leadership whose intentions are visible and whose impact on the workforce is positive.

  • An employment value that proves that both employer and employee deserve to get out as much as they put into their collective success.

  • An organizational culture that thrives in the balance of empowerment and accountability at all position levels. 

We believe that your practice of leadership starts with affirming who you are—your values, your perspective, and the unique approach you bring to your role. Our mission is to partner with people leaders, providing customized, people-focused HR solutions that are not only strategic but deeply aligned with your leadership goals.


We believe that through commitment and consistent practice, every organization can benefit from:

 

  • Leadership whose intentions are visible and whose impact on the workforce is positive.

  • An employment value that proves that both employer and employee deserve to get out as much as they put into their collective success.

  • An organizational culture that thrives in the balance of empowerment and accountability at all position levels. 

How We Do It

~

Our approach integrates two frameworks at decision-making moments across the employee lifecycle. With this approach, the Affirma team supports Leaders in identifying opportunities to center people and pinpoint areas that require deepened leadership.

AdobeStock_257398114_Preview.jpeg

Our practice is rooted in the simple idea that people matter most.

We are HR for HR.
We are advisors to people leaders.
We are champions of the workforce.

Nourishing Neurological Core Needs

Leaders can keep their people healthy, happy, and in their seats if they are intentional about nourishing their BICEPS. Coined by Paloma Medina, the BICEPS Framework is an equity-centered, social behavior framework that establishes a shared language to better communicate and navigate moments of stress, challenge, conflict, and change, whether internal - within ourselves, or external - with others. 

The six core needs of this framework are:

  • Belonging

  • Improvement

  • Choice

  • Equity

  • Predictability

  • Status

The 4P's Approach

We use the 4Ps approach to analyze the employment experience in detail - from the moment you attract the best talent to how you send exiting employees off to their next endeavor - along the way uncovering ways to embed equity. ​

The framework explores what exists currently and what is possible for the following at each phase of the employee lifecycle:

Policies          Processes          Programs          Practices

Our approach integrates two frameworks at decision-making moments across

the employee lifecycle.

With this approach, the Affirma team supports Leaders in identifying opportunities to center people and pinpoint areas that require deepened leadership.

The 4P's Approach

We use the 4Ps approach to analyze the employment experience in detail - from the moment you attract the best talent to how you send exiting employees off to their next endeavor - along the way uncovering ways to embed equity. ​

The framework explores what exists currently and what is possible for the following at each phase of the employee lifecycle:

Policies   |   Processes   |   Programs   |   Practices

Nourishing Neurological Core Needs

Leaders can keep their people healthy, happy, and in their seats if they are intentional about nourishing their BICEPS. Coined by Paloma Medina, the BICEPS Framework is an equity-centered, social behavior framework that establishes a shared language to better communicate and navigate moments of stress, challenge, conflict, and change, whether within ourselves, or with others. 

 

The six core needs of this framework are:

  • Belonging

  • Improvement

  • Choice

  • Equity

  • Predictability

  • Status

Our Approach

Our Services

Supporting people leaders

Our services are designed to meet the needs of people leaders at the intersection of what they are experiencing today and what's possible for tomorrow and beyond.

 

We support Leaders with the following services.

Through workshops, leadership retreats, and various types of speaking engagements, we help Leaders make equity-centered decisions for their own leadership and ultimately, for the intentional impact they will have on their people.


We focus on leadership development as a major contribution to employee engagement and retention.


Provided as a one-time engagement or retained as a series of engagements, these are offered as fee-based services.

LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT

LEADERSHIP: Affirmed

Designed for emerging, mid-career, and executive leaders, this program offers a holistic approach to leadership development that centers on the human experience.

 

Through skill-building, peer discussions, and tailored frameworks, our leader cohorts gain a deeper understanding of their impact at every stage of the employee lifecycle and their leadership journey. 

The Leadership: Affirmed program is a series of curated retreats offered as

fee-based program.

EXECUTIVE PARTNERSHIP

We serve as active external partners to HR Leaders, Leadership Teams, and Executives (in the absence of HR leadership).


We provide thought partnership and strategic guidance that is both people and equity centered, specifically related to your end-to-end employment life cycle and talent acquisition.


Our executive partnerships are based on ongoing relationships with Leaders and are offered as retainer-based services.

GShoot.JPG

Ashleigh Paschal

Executive Support

Pulliam Headshot 2.png

Jamie Pulliam

Operations Management

Tia45277edits.jpg

Tia B. Coachman

Founder & CEO

Small team. High touch. Lasting impact.

Pleased to meet you!

Affirma was born with the intention of focusing on leaders' growth through awareness, empowerment, partnership and accountability. Our team is committed to guiding leaders and their team through the ebb and flows of learning, reimagining, and adopting new ways to take care of the people in their workforce so that they can bring the best of themselves to the work of their organization.

Screenshot 2024-09-30 at 2.01_edited.jpg

Leadership: Affirmed

Whether you have just started leading people or you're reflecting on your leadership legacy, you are invited to join a cross-industry cohort of your peers to hone your leadership practice together. 

Coming Winter 2025

Executive Leaders

Emerging Leaders

Experienced Leaders

Our Partners

new+logo (1).png
GIPNW logo.png
secondary-logos_CMYK_sm-light-bg.jpg
City of Portland.jpg
WPO logo.png

Working With Us

We begin with a relationship and move forward when there are aligned needs. 

Discovery

1. Reach out and let us know what's on your mind. 2. We will meet and have a casual chat about your needs and ideas. 3. We'll also share a general idea of how our approach might align.

Alignment

When it makes sense, we’ll create a proposal based on the details we discussed in Discovery. This usually means: 1. We send you a proposal via email 2. You review at your leisure 3. We discuss and revise together as needed

Action

Once we have things dialed, we'll sign the scope and hop on a call to schedule our work. That's all there is to it!

We believe in the connection between the workforce and business trajectories.

" Working with the Affirma team made me a more conscientious leader when it came to deeply understanding the complexities of leading, serving, and even reporting to various personality types. That level of understanding enabled me to lead with more empathy and less frustration; more compassion and less confusion, and more awareness of my team’s core needs and how to best serve them. I can honestly say, I am a better leader as a result of the coaching and training I received from Affirma. "

 

- Tracy Ross, COO

When work gets in the way of deepening relationships with your team and peers... 

Have your leadership development goals fallen to the bottom of your priority list?

 

Not sure where to start?

Start here.

Use this space to write a brief overview of a product or service, focusing on how users can benefit from it.

Reach New Heights

LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT

Through workshops, leadership retreats, and various types of speaking engagements, we help Leaders make equity-centered decisions for their own leadership and ultimately, for the intentional impact they will have on their people.


We focus on leadership development as a major contribution to employee engagement and retention.


Provided as a one-time engagement or retained as a series of engagements, these are offered as fee-based services.

AFFIRMED LEADERSHIP

This is your description paragraph

EXECUTIVE PARTNERSHIP

This is your description paragraph

It's imperative for Leaders to understand that the overall employment experience is dictated by the quality of their own leadership practice… in fact, employee engagement and retention critically depend on it.

- Tia B. Coachman

Our Service Areas

Supporting people leaders

Because every business is different, we cater our services to your specific needs. Always focusing on the pieces of the employee lifecycle that need an evolution. Within this, we have a few options to best meet your needs:

Through workshops, leadership retreats, and various types of speaking engagements, we help Leaders make equity-centered decisions for their own leadership and ultimately, for the intentional impact they will have on their people.


We focus on leadership development as a major contribution to employee engagement and retention.


Provided as a one-time engagement or retained as a series of engagements, these are offered as fee-based services.

LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT

Programs

We serve as active external partners to HR Leaders, Leadership Teams, and Executives in the absence of HR leadership.


We provide thought partnership and strategic guidance that is both people and equity centered, specifically related to your end-to-end employment life cycle and talent acquisition.


Our executive partnerships are based on ongoing relationships with Leaders and are offered as retainer-based services.

AFFIRMED

LEADERSHIP

We serve as active external partners to HR Leaders, Leadership Teams, and Executives in the absence of HR leadership.


We provide thought partnership and strategic guidance that is both people and equity centered, specifically related to your end-to-end employment life cycle and talent acquisition.


Our executive partnerships are based on ongoing relationships with Leaders and are offered as retainer-based services.

EXECUTIVE PARTNERSHIPS

Which areas of your Retention Ecosystem are most challenging at the moment?

Wondering where to start?

When work gets in the way of deepening relationships with your team and peers... 

Working With Us

We begin with a relationship.

Together, we'll explore the challenges, conflicts, and/or changes that you or your team are currently experiencing.

 

And together, we'll figure out ways for you to navigate these moments while showing up as your best self.

Discovery

  • Reach out and let us know what's on your mind.

  • We'll meet to discuss what you're experiencing, what's keeping you up at night, and how your leadership is being impacted by it all. 

  • We'll also discuss how Affirma's approach might support your needs and ideas. 

Alignment

  • Next, we’ll create a proposal based on what we discussed in Discovery. 

  • Via email or call, we'll work together to find the best path forward. 

Getting Started

  • Our services are bespoke so that we can meet you exactly where you are. 

  • Our first step will always be about understanding the people involved. 

  • Our next step will be to apply our frameworks, as appropriate, so that we can create solutions together.

bottom of page