brave work research brief

fractional HR for growing companies

WHAT IS FRACTIONAL HR?

Fractional HR is ongoing, embedded HR leadership delivered part-time.

Instead of hiring a full-time HR manager too early—or avoiding HR altogether—you get experienced support where it matters most:

  • Compliance and risk reduction

  • People systems and infrastructure

  • Leadership and manager support

  • Clear policies, roles, and decision-making frameworks

Fractional HR meets you where you are, adapts as you grow, and scales down or up as needed.

WHO FRACTIONAL HR IS FOR

Fractional HR is especially effective for:

  • Startups and small companies (10–150 employees)

  • Founders who don’t want “corporate HR”

  • Leaders feeling stretched by people decisions

  • Organizations growing faster than their systems

  • Teams experiencing early signs of burnout or chaos

If you’ve ever thought “We’re not big enough for HR, but this is getting messy,” you’re likely at the right moment.

WHAT FRACTIONAL HR ACTUALLY SOLVES

Fractional HR addresses the issues that quietly drain time, energy, and trust:

  • Unclear roles, expectations, or accountability

  • Managers unsure how to lead—or over-managing by default

  • Compliance anxiety (or blind spots you don’t want to discover the hard way)

  • Inconsistent policies or people decisions

  • Founder overload and decision fatigue

  • Early burnout patterns that haven’t yet become exits or crises

Most burnout doesn’t start with workload—it starts with systems that can’t carry the organization anymore.

HOW FRACTIONAL HR ENGAGEMENTS TYPICALLY WORK

Fractional HR engagements are tailored, but commonly include:

  • A monthly retainer based on scope and org size

  • A combination of strategic guidance + hands-on support

  • Regular leadership touchpoints

  • Ongoing prioritization as the company evolves

Some organizations work with us during a growth phase.

Others keep fractional HR in place long-term as a steady backbone.

When Teams Are Ready for Deeper Insight…

Once trust and infrastructure are in place, some organizations choose to layer in deeper diagnostics—such as the Brave Work Index—to understand burnout, capacity, and system strain more precisely.

Or, they want additional executive coaching and leadership development work to equip leaders with skills that will help the next evolution of your organization.

That work is optional, intentional, and never the starting point.

Good systems come first. Insight follows.