Case Study
(African Youth and Community Organization)
What began at AYCO (African Youth and Community Organization) as a sports and mentorship program in 2009 has grown into a thriving, comprehensive program meeting the needs of immigrants transitioning into life in America.
AYCO is now headquartered in a stunning new community center in Portland, and they are positioned to expand their programs to other states beyond Oregon.
With a staff of 30 and no less than 600 youth being served every day, AYCO sought support three years ago to strengthen their HR practices. However, it was imperative to find a partner who would step carefully into the work of caring for an immigrant community made up of those who have survived war, displacement and unimaginable hardships.
They needed a HR partner who could deliver more than consulting services. They needed a partner who could understand and share the organization’s sense of mission and purpose.
About AYCO
AYCO’s mission is stated with beautiful clarity. They help the people they serve to:
Settle the past, engage the present, and hope for the future.
Their robust offering of programs and services are designed to offer complete support for immigrants, who, having overcome incredible challenges, now face the overwhelming task of beginning a new life in a new culture.
AYCO sponsors programs for:
Xenium’s Custom HR Services
How Xenium’s Custom HR Service Wraps Support Around AYCOs Staff
AYCO’s leadership and staff are supported through our Custom HR service. The Custom HR program wraps tailored support services around your team. It’s the perfect program for businesses and nonprofits who don’t need payroll support but do need support in building their HR foundations, navigating times of growth and change, or simply augmenting the skill sets of existing staff.
Working with Xenium has given AYCO access to enhanced resources and knowledge. Their internal team now has the support of a team of more than 80 HR specialists and experts.
AYCO’s customized HR services are managed by a dedicated HR Business Partner at Xenium and backed up by our entire staff.
“I think Xenium employees, the people that we work with, are thinking about the same things as a nonprofit. They think the same way about developing human potential. They speak our language in that they understand where we’re coming from, and they’ve always been there for us.”
Jamal Dar, Founder & Executive Director of AYCO
What the Custom HR Experience Looks Like
Because Xenium truly creates a custom set of services for each organization, the experience is different for each team, but there are consistent themes that emerge.
Leadership teams invite Xenium to help sort out specific issues but then discover they have gained much more. They have gained a true partner who invests in their success and serves as an extension of their team.
Responsive Support
One of the main values Jamal Dar, Founder and Executive Director of AYCO, notes about Xenium’s service is the consistent support around the many HR issues and questions that pop up from day to day.
Jamal notes many times when their HR Business Partner from Xenium, Kyle Hadeed, responded to the need for new handbook policy language within hours of the email being sent.
“They’re very responsive, within hours, to be honest with you. Sometimes even your own board will not respond to you the way they respond to you. And it’s not about the system, but it’s the relationship, and we’re grateful for this partnership.”
– Jamal Dar
Navigating Difficult Moments
Jamal recalls an experience where his team had worked for more than two years to try and right the ship with a problematic hire. In the end, it was simply not a good fit for the culture or well-being of AYCO.
In moments like these, Xenium’s HR Business Partners walk side-by-side with an organization’s leadership. They provide access to legal guidance, insight on compliance, and even engage as part of the hard conversations taking place.
“It was a sticky situation, and finding the best approach was really tough. Everybody was involved. Our board was involved. Our legal team was involved. But we did it together as a team. It was not “us and them,” but a collective approach.”
– Jamal Dar
Unbiased Guidance
Jamal notes the value of having an engaged but outside party involved in HR. With in-house teams, he has observed the natural biases that can occur depending on how the organization is structured.
Xenium’s HR consultants are able to see the organization as a whole and understand the issues at hand from a neutral perspective.
“The uniqueness of Xenium is that, in corporate HR, you can easily have someone who supports the company, but doesn’t support the staff, but Xenium does both. And I haven’t seen, in 28 years living in the U. S., I haven’t seen any similar HR approach like Xenium’s.”
– Jamal Dar
Partners in Strategic Growth
AYCO was drawn to Xenium’s services largely in part due to our team’s ability to scale support quickly as an organization grows.
They soon recognized another benefit, that Xenium approaches its HR consulting work from a growth perspective. Our work in HR is designed to support your strategic goals for the future.
Currently, Jamal is looking to Xenium’s expertise in compliance across all 50 states to power AYCO’s expansion into new regions.
“I see a lifetime partnership between our organization and Xenium. And it is to our advantage to keep Xenium on forever rather than hire a single HR individual.”
– Jamal Dar
AYCO Found Far More than an HR Consulting Service
Investment in a client’s success and care for the people they serve is in Xenium’s DNA.
“I don’t think you have to work for the nonprofit to care about the mission and to be a part of the work that the organization is doing,” says Lacey Partipilo, Xenium HR’s Sr. Director of Client Success.
AYCO was in search of an HR team who could engage at a meaningful level with their mission and respect the deep sense of family and connection found in their immigrant community. This is what they found.
“We feel like Xenium is family. We work with many different companies for outsourced services, but Xenium is very close. And I think it’s not because of the services that they provide. I think it’s more like the relationship we’ve built together.”
Askina Sharif, Operation & Program Director, AYCO
“My relationship with AYCO means so much. I mean, partnering with Jamal and Askina specifically has been awesome, getting to know them and building not just a client relationship, but truly a friendship. We care about each other’s well being, and it’s been really impactful.”
Kyle Hadeed, Xenium HR, HR Business Partner
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