Case Study
Chown Hardware
One of the biggest reasons Chown Hardware has built its 140-year legacy in the Pacific Northwest is its commitment to taking great care of its employees.
However, when the pandemic arrived in 2020, their team members needed support in ways they’d never imagined.
Leaning on their 20-year partnership with Xenium’s Complete HR + Payroll service, they discovered an endless well of expert support ready to help them reach deeper than ever before
About Chown Hardware
Founded in 1879, Chown Hardware is a fifth-generation, family-owned pillar of the Portland business community. What started as a humble general store has evolved into a leading supplier of premium hardware, lighting, and plumbing fixtures in the Pacific Northwest.
Their team curates a selection of the most beautifully-designed decorative hardware products from around the world. Chown empowers homeowners and commercial buildings to create truly unique, stunning spaces using products built with the highest standards of quality.
20 years ago, during a surge in business growth, they turned to Xenium to relieve the burden of HR and payroll administration.
A Wake-Up Call about What Employees Need
Chown looks after its people. Even though it’s an 80+ employee organization, when you walk in it feels like a 10 to 15-employee business. The family atmosphere is real.
“They do the right thing,” says Chown’s HR Business Partner at Xenium, Toni Reynolds. “They’re always calling us to make sure they’re can do what’s best for their employees.”
Their commitment to treating everyone as family is clear, but as the challenges of the pandemic rolled out, Kyle Chown, the company’s current president, found it was time to dig deeper.
“We were status quo, just doing our work, then suddenly the pandemic opened up this whole new side of HR to think about,” said Kyle. “It brought so much to light that was sort of either in a closet or under the rug. We hadn’t been talking openly about mental health, work-life balance, or how important remote work could be for our team. It allowed us to take a step back, reevaluate who we were as an organization, and build a more positive employee experience for everyone.”
Fortunately, Kyle discovered Chown had barely scratched the surface of the strategies and services Xenium could bring to the table through its Complete HR + Payroll service.
Xenium’s Complete HR + Payroll Service
The Complete HR + Payroll program was developed by Xenium to relieve small to mid-sized businesses of the burdens of HR. It provides a complete management solution for HR, payroll, and, if optioned, benefits administration.
Chown Hardware now has an outsourced, dedicated team of specialists in their corner. They have a dedicated HR Business Partner to manage their overall program, and they also have a Payroll Specialist and Benefits Manager leading the charge for those areas. Whenever tough questions or urgent tasks come up, these three leaders are supported by Xenium’s full team of more than 80 specialists and experts.
HR Business Partner
HR
Xenium takes over critical infrastructure like employee handbooks and keeps them compliant with the onslaught of regulatory changes that seem to happen every day. This was especially helpful as Chown took on the daunting task of reopening their stores during the pandemic. Xenium also developed stronger processes for Chown’s hiring and onboarding.
Beyond the essentials, Xenium helps businesses like Chown build a powerful, supportive workplace culture. Their HR Business Partner was more than ready – and excited – to help Chown evolve its HR response to issues like employee wellness and work-life balance.
Payroll Specialist
Payroll
Chown Hardware has all of their HR and payroll functions united under Xenium’s software platform. The waterfalls of paperwork which accompany any change in an employee’s status are now automated and integrated across all HR and payroll functions. This helps avoid mistakes while offering a convenient, supportive employee experience.
Benefits Manager
Benefits Administration
Parkwood’s leadership team is now free from the burden of benefits enrollment and managing changes in coverage for employees.
We feel like Xenium is a co-worker of ours. When situations come up, positive or difficult, we know we can reach someone, and they’re going to respond in a timely manner. They’ll provide a non-biased perspective and expose different pathways to success we wouldn’t think of on our own.
Kyle Chown, President, Chown Hardware
How Chown Mastered the Balancing Act of Caring for Employees While Growing a Business
Family-owned businesses like Chown all share a deep concern for their employees’ wellness and care, but in trying to provide the best for their team, they run into a deep, seemingly intractable conflict.
- HR, payroll, and benefits need endless amounts of time and energy to maintain, much less transform.
- Meanwhile, one of the things employees need most is for the business to continue to prosper and grow. They need a place to be employed! They also want to feel challenged and inspired as part of a successful team.
So, how does a leader like Kyle Chown deal with the split focus needed to care for employees while growing the business that supports them?
Xenium’s Complete HR + Payroll program covers all things HR, putting an army of caring, compassionate professionals behind the evolving needs of Chown’s employees.
It’s a huge benefit for us, and it makes our life easier. It allows us to put our brain power in our eight-hour day into what we need to do to be profitable and successful so we can continue to offer great support to our employees.
Without Xenium, our stress would go up. Our attention would be distracted, and we’d be focusing on things we’re just not fully equipped to do. I don’t think our business would be as profitable. I don’t think our employees would be as happy. I don’t think we would be able to have the success that we have without a partner like Xenium.
Kyle Chown, President, Chown Hardware
Preserving 140 Years of Family Values through Human Resources
Chown has been known to reinvent itself.
In fact, it was just over 20 years ago when the company made a shift from being a general hardware store to focusing on premium decorative hardware.
Generations ago, Chown’s leadership set core values for the team of treating employees with consideration, dignity, and respect, empowering them, and leading the entire organization to give back to the community.
20 years ago, they aligned with Xenium around these shared values.
Now, Chown is dedicated to evolving its HR program and workplace culture to meet the needs of today’s workforce.
Xenium is passionate about the things that we’re passionate about. They care a lot about the health and the quality of life of their employees. They care as much as we do, and as helpful as their services are to us in management, our employees benefit even more.
Kyle Chown, President, Chown Hardware
The demands of HR and Payroll are endless. We provide a complete solution for both, so you can focus on what you do best - growing your business.