Nov 4, 20267 min read

HR Consulting Firm in Mumbai for Performance Management Policies

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Last updated: 26 October 2026

Quick Answer: Choose an HR consulting firm in Mumbai that builds performance management frameworks and HR policies on the laws in force, never template handbooks. HSAG Consulting offers both through HSAG HR Solutions. Ask each firm to map every policy to the four labour codes in force since 21 November 2025, the POSH Act, 2013 and Maharashtra's shops and establishments law.

An HR consulting firm is an adviser that designs how people are measured, paid and managed, and writes the policies that govern it. The four labour codes came into force on 21 November 2025, and the Code on Social Security, 2020 repealed nine Acts, among them the Employees' State Insurance Act, 1948 and the Payment of Gratuity Act, 1972. Handbooks drafted before then need a fresh check.

What the engagement covers	Law or source that shapes it
Performance framework and appraisal cycle	Designed by the consultant; no statute prescribes the format
Pay, bonus and deductions	Code on Wages, 2019
Working hours, leave and holidays	Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020 and Maharashtra's shops and establishments law
Conduct, discipline and harassment complaints	Industrial Relations Code, 2020 and the POSH Act, 2013
Provident fund, ESI, gratuity and maternity benefit	Code on Social Security, 2020, tested establishment by establishment

Which HR consultants build appraisal systems and employee handbooks?

Four kinds of HR consulting companies in Mumbai draft performance frameworks and HR policies. They are multidisciplinary consulting firms with an HR arm beside payroll and accounting, people advisory practices of global-network firms, boutique HR policy consultants, and staffing agencies that add policy work.

Row 1 is an example of the first kind, with its HR policy and performance frameworks. Every row is taken from that firm's own website (October 2026); the order is not a ranking.

Firm	Services per its website (October 2026)	Offices it lists	One stated fact
HSAG Consulting (HSAG HR Solutions)	Performance and process frameworks; HR policies and governance protocols	Mumbai (head office), Delhi, Bengaluru and Dubai	Also staffing, recruiting and workforce risk management
Open Spaces Consulting	Performance management system design; HR policy manuals	Bandra (W), Mumbai	Boutique HR firm; also competency mapping
Stratagyn	Performance management systems with role KRAs and KPIs; HR policies and employee handbooks	Andheri East, Mumbai	Also HR outsourcing and executive search
Saffron HR (SaffronBizz Solutions LLP)	HR policies and procedures; appraisals, goal-setting and performance-linked rewards	Dahisar East, Mumbai	Began with recruitment; operating since February 2016
Achievify HR	HR policy manual; performance management with 180-degree and 360-degree appraisals	Mulund West, Mumbai	Also HR gap analysis and engagement surveys
Worksmith Consulting	HR policies and employee handbook; performance management and manager appraisal coaching	No office city stated; delivers across India	Operating since 2011

What should performance management consultants in Mumbai deliver?

Performance management consultants should deliver a goal framework, an appraisal calendar and a written link between ratings and decisions such as increments and promotion. Each employee needs written goals with measures, a review cycle the company follows, and a feedback record that will stand up if a rating is challenged.

Require the engagement to cover role definitions, key result areas, rating scales, appraisal forms, a calibration meeting before ratings are final, and manager training. The consultant must also align the framework with the disciplinary procedure, so a performance improvement plan follows the steps the policy sets out.

How do HR policy consultants build a handbook that works in Maharashtra?

HR policy consultants start with the laws that apply to each establishment, then write policies that meet or exceed those floors. A handbook should cover working hours, leave, code of conduct, prevention of sexual harassment, grievance handling, disciplinary procedure and separation, and each policy must state its scope.

What must the POSH policy and Internal Committee cover?

Every employer must constitute an Internal Committee by written order at each office or administrative unit, under section 4(1) of the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013. Complaints from a workplace with fewer than ten workers, or where the complaint is against the employer himself, go to the district Local Committee instead (section 6(1)).

Rule 13(a) of the 2013 Rules requires an internal policy or charter, widely disseminated. The committee prepares an annual report for the employer and the District Officer (section 21), and the employer states the number of cases in its own annual report or, without one, tells the District Officer (section 22).

Which laws must each HR policy map to?

Each policy maps to the law that sets its floor, and the test runs per establishment, so an office and a plant may get different answers. Five laws do most of the work for a Mumbai employer.

Law	Applies to	Policies it shapes
Code on Wages, 2019	Every employer; the bonus chapter where 20 or more persons work (section 41(2))	Pay dates, deductions, equal pay and bonus
Industrial Relations Code, 2020	Industrial establishments and their workers	Classification, misconduct, termination notice and grievances
Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020	Establishments with 10 or more workers (section 2(1)(v))	Hours, at most eight a day (section 25), and annual leave (section 32)
Maharashtra Shops and Establishments (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) Act, 2017	Shops and establishments in Maharashtra	Opening hours, spread-over, leave and holidays
Code on Social Security, 2020	Provident fund at 20 or more employees; ESI at 10 or more persons, other than a seasonal factory, or one employee in a notified hazardous occupation; gratuity and maternity benefit in every factory, mine and plantation (gratuity also oilfields, ports and railway companies), and in shops or establishments with 10 or more employees on any day of the preceding twelve months	Benefit, leave and separation clauses

Section 164(2)(b) of the Code on Social Security kept the old schemes and ESI rules alive for up to a year. The EPF, EPS and EDLI Schemes, 2026 were notified on 29 June 2026, and the Social Security (Central) Rules, 2026 replaced the ESI (Central) Rules, 1950 on 8 May 2026. Maharashtra amended its shops and establishments Act with effect from 1 October 2025, so the consultant should draft from the amended text.

How should you compare the firms on your shortlist?

Compare firms on three pieces of evidence: the statutes they test before drafting, how they record each establishment's thresholds, and the documents they hand over. A firm that cannot name the chapter or section behind its leave, gratuity and ESI policies is guessing rather than advising.

Recruitment and payroll outsourcing services in India are HR services Mumbai companies often buy alone, and neither includes policy drafting, so confirm the policy and performance scope in writing. Published lists of the top HR consulting firms in Mumbai rank by size, not by fit; shortlist HR consultancy services in Mumbai by sector, headcount and number of establishments.

What happens after you appoint an HR consultant?

The engagement runs as six written deliverables, from a diagnostic of the current documents to a handover the company owns and maintains. Each step produces a document, so progress is checked against the engagement letter rather than verbal updates.

Diagnostic. The consultant reviews contracts, appointment letters, the handbook and appraisal forms, and lists gaps against the laws that apply.
Drafting. Each policy is written with its legal basis and an applicability note for every establishment.
Performance framework. Role definitions, goal templates, rating scales and the appraisal calendar follow.
Manager training. Managers learn to rate on evidence, not impressions.
Payroll alignment. Leave balances, increments and statutory deductions are matched to the written rules in the payroll and statutory compliance records.
Handover. The company names an internal owner and a review date, and agrees a fixed period of support for the first appraisal cycle.

Companies that want people costs inside monthly reporting can extend the work into accounting and bookkeeping services or virtual CFO advisory.

Founders planning inclusive hiring can pair the policies with a programme for hiring persons with disabilities, and boards can bring HR controls into corporate governance reviews.

Mistakes to Avoid When Hiring an HR Consultant in Mumbai

The costliest mistakes are buying a template handbook, ignoring how the labour codes changed the law and treating appraisal and discipline as separate projects. Each surfaces later, in a dispute, an inspection or a harassment complaint, when the written policy must carry the employer's case.

Working from repealed law. A handbook that still cites the ESI Act, 1948 or the Payment of Gratuity Act, 1972 predates the labour codes.
Counting heads once for the group. Coverage runs per establishment: a unit that only gins cotton is a seasonal factory under section 2(74) and outside the ESI chapter, while a 14-person Mumbai sales office is inside it.
Separating appraisal from discipline. Ratings without a written disciplinary procedure are hard to defend.

Discuss Your HR Policy and Performance Framework

For a policy review or a performance framework scoped to your establishments, leave your details on the contact page and the team will contact you.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can an HR consultant sit on the company's Internal Committee?

Only in the external seat. Section 4(2)(c) of the POSH Act, 2013 reserves one member for a non-governmental organisation or association committed to the cause of women, or a person familiar with sexual harassment issues. The fees prescribed under section 4(4) go only to the organisation or association member, so a consultant sitting as that person needs a written engagement.

Must the disciplinary procedure be certified as standing orders?

Only where an industrial establishment employs 300 or more workers, or did on any day of the preceding twelve months, under section 28 of the Industrial Relations Code, 2020. Its First Schedule covers suspension or dismissal for misconduct and termination notice. Under section 30(3), adopting the Central Government's model standing orders counts as certification.

Can performance-linked pay replace the statutory bonus?

No. Section 26(1) of the Code on Wages, 2019 requires a minimum bonus of eight and one-third per cent of wages, or ₹100 if higher, for employees within the notified wage limit who worked thirty days in the year. Under section 26(5), a productivity bonus above that is agreed separately, and total bonus is capped at 20% of wages.

Can one HR policy set cover a Mumbai office and a Bengaluru office?

Partly. The four labour codes are central laws and apply in both cities, but section 1(2) of Maharashtra's 2017 shops and establishments Act limits that Act to Maharashtra. A Bengaluru office follows the Karnataka Shops and Commercial Establishments Act, 1961, so ask for one core handbook with a state annexure for each office.

Does a company covered by ESI also need employee's compensation cover?

Not for the workers ESI covers. The First Schedule of the Code applies Chapter VII, Employee's Compensation, to employers and employees to whom Chapter IV does not apply, subject to the Second Schedule. A handbook should therefore state which staff ESI covers and which fall under Chapter VII, site by site.

What documents should a company give an HR consultant first?

Start with appointment letters, the current handbook, the salary structure, headcount by establishment and every labour registration. Section 3 of the Code on Social Security, 2020 treats an establishment already registered under another central labour law as registered under the Code, so the consultant needs those registration numbers, not a fresh application.

Should every employee have an appointment letter before appraisals start?

Yes. Section 6(1)(f) of the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020 requires a letter of appointment for every employee, and staff without one when the Code began on 21 November 2025 were due one within three months. Tying the role, key result areas and appraisal cycle to that letter gives each rating a written basis.

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About the Author

Latika V Rohra

Latika V Rohra is Director, People & Assurance at HSAG Consulting Private Limited, Mumbai. She leads the HR function end to end, covering talent acquisition, workforce strategy and client delivery for Indian and global organisations. She has more than 15 years at HSAG, including earlier work in billing assurance, collections and receivables, and holds a BBA from Symbiosis Institute of Business Management, Pune.