By SUZANNE THOMPSON Summerfield Associates expands human resource consulting practice By SUZANNE THOMPSON The Daily News Summerfield Associates Inc. has formed an alliance with Helix Consulting Partners that will allow Summerfield to take on additional human resource and recruiting projects. Dotty Summerfield, president of Summerfield Associates Inc., announced Monday that her alliance with Carol Cobb McCormack of Helix will be known as Summerfield Associates Alliance with Helix Consulting Partners. Summerfield Associates Inc. is a consulting and staffing business with about 15 employees. Helix Consulting is a human resources consulting business run solely by McCormack. "Basically, Im intellectual property on the hoof," McCormack said. Summerfield said the alliance seemed a natural outgrowth of the consulting and staffing businesses Summerfield founded in 1989. "We have always done human resource placement and have had many calls from our clients asking if we can help them do projects that fall within the realm of human resources, whether its contract staffing or assisting a small business in putting together their first policies and procedures manual those pieces of the human resource department that they dont have the staff or resources internally to handle," Summerfield said. She said her company also has received requests in the past from its clients for large recruiting projects which, until now, they had to decline. "We never had the ability to respond to those needs, and now we do with Carol," Summerfield said. Summerfield said the alliance with McCormack will allow the company to provide services in a variety of human resource areas, including benefit package assessment and corporate structure analysis. McCormack has more than 20 years experience in organizational development and communication and is current president of the Society for Human Resource Management. She is also a senior professional in human resources and an accredited business communicator. She also is pursuing a graduate degree in organizational development at the University of Memphis. "Were trying to set up an organization of the future where it makes good use of the entrepreneurial spirit of individuals but also gives us the community of a corporation. You have the responsibilities of a corporation, but the freedom to grow and have ideas," McCormack said. "Its a wonderful experience and experiment, and were hoping that it will be very fruitful, not only for businesses of the Mid-South but for us professionally." Summerfield said the alliance seemed a perfect fit, and both women say they have received positive feedback from their clients about the new venture. The alliance will be located in Summerfields current office in the Koger Building at 6555 Quince Road, Suite 311.