A Chief Human Resources Officer to build the organisation behind the growth

A fractional CHRO is a senior HR leader who runs your people function on a part-time basis. Growing SMEs use one because they cannot justify a full-time HR director, employment law needs expert handling, and solid HR systems head off costly people problems before they escalate.

A full-time HR manager costs a substantial monthly salary, and a senior HR director costs far more, before benefits. Our fractional CHRO engagements give you that senior expertise for a fraction of the cost, typically 30 to 60% less than a full-time hire, on 4 to 24 hours a week. You get strategic HR leadership, compliance and proven systems without the overhead of full-time employment or a long-term commitment.

A fractional CHRO covers the full people function for an SME: HR policies and employee handbooks, employment-law compliance and risk management, retention and engagement programmes, better recruitment and hiring, performance-management setup, compensation benchmarking for the local market, workplace culture for small teams, and HR technology for growing businesses.

Consider a fractional CHRO when your business has 10 or more employees and is growing, high turnover or recruitment struggles, no formal HR policies, employment compliance concerns, a founder spending more than 20% of their time on people issues, recurring conflicts or performance problems, or plans for rapid growth or investment. Early HR guidance prevents expensive mistakes and builds stronger foundations.

An HR consultant works on a defined project, like creating policies or running a compliance audit, then hands it back. A fractional CHRO embeds in your team and takes ownership of culture, engagement and organisational development, aligning people strategy with growth rather than just delivering reports and recommendations.

Yes. Senior HR leadership through a fractional CHRO costs far less than a full-time hire, and you get strategic depth a junior HR manager cannot offer. Most owners find it pays for itself through lower turnover, better compliance, higher productivity and fewer costly HR mistakes, and packages scale as the business grows.

A fractional CHRO embeds in your team and works directly with the founder on people strategy. They coach managers through people issues, set up clear processes and communication, stay reachable for urgent employee-relations matters, and keep every HR activity tied to business goals and budget. The aim is to professionalise your people management without adding bureaucracy.

An HR manager handles day-to-day people administration and process; a fractional CHRO is a senior people leader who owns hiring strategy, culture, performance, organisational design and compliance at leadership level. The role is delivered on flexible part-time terms, and it builds the people function rather than just running it.