Based in Edmond, OK, HailTrace delivers precise weather analysis maps using cutting-edge technology and meteorological expertise. From hail to hurricanes, their mission is to help businesses optimize operations with accurate weather data. Their team works remotely across six U.S. states.
COO Ben Baranowski managed onboarding alone while juggling payroll, timekeeping, workers’ comp vendors, and benefits with a 50% company match. With growth imminent and ACA compliance looming as employee count neared 50, the chaos increased. Ben knew he needed a partner to clear his headspace and support HailTrace’s future.
Since January 2025, CoAd has handled all HR tasks and helped achieve state-by-state labor compliance. Meanwhile, HailTrace’s science-driven culture thrives as new employees join regularly and software success remains the goal.
When your phone has too many apps running in the background, you notice your battery drains and other apps start to lag. This is how Ben describes the avalanche of HR tasks that fell on his desk when he joined HailTrace as their COO. Unimpressed with the organization’s previous PEO, he opted to take on HR himself. His “background tasks” were simple enough on the surface (e.g., reminders to manually add new employees to the benefits platform after 90 days), but deep down, Ben knew he was dedicating valuable mental energy to administrative work instead of focusing on team leadership, employee engagement, and strategic initiatives.
“I was starting to miss things,” he says. “And that’s not the kind of experience I want our employees to have.” What if there was one platform for all his HR needs? Rather than running circles around manual tasks and clunky platforms, what if he could focus on getting to know his employees and ensuring they were integrating with the highly distributed team? Could it be done without throwing the flow of work totally off-kilter Thankfully, Ben’s ifs and doubts could be dispelled by a flexible and experienced PEO like CoAd.
When CoAd stepped in at the start of 2025, our first priority was understanding HailTrace from the inside out. Ben shared his challenges with us: the mental fatigue of juggling multiple vendors, the lack of centralized HR support, and the chaos of administrative clutter. We took the time to learn about HailTrace’s structure, culture, and goals, including how their remote workforce and scientific mindset shaped their day-to day needs.
From there, we conducted a full review of their existing HR processes and systems. This included everything from onboarding and benefits administration to compliance protocols across multiple states. Then we built a custom plan tailored to HailTrace’s exact needs. By taking ownership of the details, we gave Ben and his team the freedom to focus on what they do best: delivering world-class weather intelligence and growing a dynamic, science-driven culture.
Starting a new job can be stressful for both the employee and their employer. Not with CoAd. We simplified HailTrace’s onboarding process, clearing any roadblocks and snags, as Ben calls them, to make the first day feel like the start of an exciting new journey—not a confusing slog of paperwork. “It’s important to know how to cross all the T’s and dot all the I’s when you’re bringing new employees into a single platform,” Ben says. Fortunately, CoAdQuantum was a powerful yet intuitive platform that made onboarding and HR management feel effortless from day one.
“Scientists can be a little unique,” Ben explains. That’s why CoAd's tailored service model was such a great fit. As a scientist himself, he understands that the ideal work environment honors that uniqueness and makes room for next-level collaboration and teamwork. That’s also why he appreciates CoAd's custom HR solutions and behind-the-scenes expertise. We don’t get in the way, and we don’t meddle with HailTrace’s existing company culture. We’re just here to support this software company’s greatest strength: their people.
HailTrace’s incredibly low turnover rates are a point of pride for Ben, and for good reason. This is a software company where people are passionate about their work, and that passion needs to be met with great employee benefits and thoughtful attention to the overall employee experience. CoAd supports that process by streamlining benefits administration and making sure every new hire feels welcomed and supported from the start. Now, Ben can focus on nurturing the culture that best suits the business.
Ben knows how important compliance is, especially for a fast-growing, multi-state company like HailTrace. Before partnering with CoAd, he was still receiving state compliance notices tied to outdated processes, remnants of a time when HR was fragmented and scattered across multiple systems. “We keep getting FMLA compliance notices from the state of Colorado because of our old system,” he explains. “Somewhere in the past, the right steps weren’t taken or the right people weren’t notified, and now those red envelopes show up to tell us something went wrong.” Ben is clear: These issues predated CoAd. The good news is that now, with our compliance experts in his corner, those worries have been replaced with trust. Our team actively monitors legal changes and communicates what actions need to be taken before there’s ever a problem. For a distributed workforce, that kind of proactive support is critical. “It’s great to just hand that off to somebody else and say, ‘I can count on you guys to let me know when this is all set up and ready to go,’” says Ben. Instead of reacting to compliance mishaps, HailTrace is now ahead of the curve and ahead of the paperwork.
Twelve new employees joined HailTrace in 2024 and, since partnering with CoAd earlier this year, 12 more have joined. That’s some serious growth. In fact, HailTrace recently crossed the 50-employee threshold which makes them an “applicable large employer,” according to the ACA. A fresh set of reporting and compliance concerns now face them, but with CoAd in their corner, they’re free to grow unencumbered. Any fear of what the future holds is dispelled by their knowledge that we’re already three steps ahead, charting out a path for full compliance based on our experience with other businesses we’ve watched grow and succeed. And we’re there whenever Ben needs us. “Any time I send an email requesting information, I get a helpful response back pretty darn quickly,” he says. This degree of care and attentiveness is what he was hoping to find in an HR partner, and CoAd certainly doesn’t disappoint.
Who knows what weather events the future will hold? As HailTrace furthers their reach and continues to deliver reliable storm guidance, they can rest assured that CoAd is their dedicated HR partner. The interruptions and distractions that used to crowd Ben’s mind are now in caring, capable hands, leaving him with more clarity, more focus, and more time to support his fast-growing team.
“Employees hate having to change payroll providers. They hate having to change benefits. And I’m with them. I hate it too. So as long as we can stay with a partner like CoAd, someone who’s providing an excellent level of service, the happier that we’re going to be, because we can continue to glide right along and avoid any disruptions.” - Ben Baranowski
Payroll? Check. Compliance and risk management? Got it. Benefits? No problem. CoAd handles all this and more! We understand that growing businesses also have a growing employee base, and without the right HR resources, scaling can be a struggle. So, whether it’s risk management or employee benefits, we use our decades of experience to inform strategic HR decisions and plans that set up your business for long- term success.
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