June 27, 2023
As your business scales, the need for capable, experienced, and dedicated staff grows. These professionals will help propel your vision forward, but it can be challenging to add to your team, considering the resources needed. This is a common theme for HR departments. Whether you have an in-house employee or are considering outsourcing, fractional HR can be the answer to your concerns and needs.
In this post, we’ll explain the ins and outs of fractional HR, including True North’s approach, and how it can revolutionize your business operations.
What is Fractional HR?
At its core, fractional HR is a model that provides your business with access to seasoned HR professionals on a part-time basis. These individuals are capable of supporting your organization’s needs in various areas, including but not limited to:
- Compensation
- Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI)
- Organizational design
- Recruitment
- Compliance
- Performance management
By incorporating fractional HR into your business, you tap into a wealth of experience and expertise that can support your existing team or aid in the development and expansion of your company. You only pay for the time you use, sometimes on an hourly basis or a predetermined monthly limit.
However, the most significant advantage of fractional HR is that these professionals can seamlessly integrate themselves into your organization and understand your culture from a new perspective. This gives your business a significant edge by having access to comprehensive, intuitive HR support that genuinely understands the pulse of your company.
Benefits of Fractional HR
Fractional HR is well suited to numerous organizational environments thanks to its versatility.
Cost Effective
Hiring a full-time HR position can be a substantial financial undertaking, particularly for smaller or medium-sized businesses. In addition to the salary, additional costs such as benefits and paid time off are expected. Fractional HR eliminates these expenses as you only pay for the services you utilize, allowing you to budget accordingly for other vital aspects of your business.
Flexible and Adaptable
HR needs can evolve, especially during rapid growth or economic uncertainty. Fractional HR professionals are equipped to adapt seamlessly to these changes, offering support where needed and accommodating new tasks as they arise.
In-Depth Expertise
If you have an in-house HR team or department but lack expertise in certain areas, such as recruitment, fractional HR can bridge that gap. You can tap into fractional HR professionals’ specialized knowledge and experience without hiring additional full-time team members.
Enhanced Compliance
Fractional HR professionals possess a deep understanding of ever-changing HR regulations and laws. They can help your organization maintain compliance and, by doing so, mitigate the risk of legal complications and fines, ensuring your business operates within the boundaries of the law.
Goal Achievement and Long-Term Objectives
When your HR to-do list continues to grow and your team is pulled in multiple directions, it can be disheartening to see HR goals go unmet. Fractional HR allows you to address these tasks on an ad-hoc basis or regularly, facilitating the achievement of your HR goals effortlessly. Moreover, the external perspective provided by fractional HR can help you identify and address potential gaps proactively, ensuring you are prepared for long-term objectives.
What is the Difference Between Fractional HR and Outsourced HR?
The distinction between fractional HR and outsourced HR is rather subtle. While both options provide the support needed regarding HR services, outsourced HR can be considered a replacement for internal HR needs. In contrast, fractional HR can be regarded as part-time or supplementary. While outsourcing can still represent a partnership that benefits the overall business, it’s often viewed as a complete transfer of HR responsibilities to an external provider.
How Do You Know When You Need Fractional HR Support?
Depending on the extent of your involvement in your HR department, it might be difficult to tell for certain when bringing in fractional HR support is needed. There are a few telltale signs that this is something you should consider, such as:
- Recruitment Struggles: If your business is facing difficulties in attracting high-quality candidates, whether it’s due to ineffective job descriptions, flawed interview processes, or inadequate onboarding procedures, fractional HR support can provide the expertise needed to optimize your recruitment efforts.
- Rapid Expansion or Reduction: Significant periods of growth or downsizing require carefully evaluating your HR practices to ensure they can scale accordingly. Fractional HR professionals can assist you in adapting your HR strategies to accommodate these changes effectively.
- Unachieved Goals: If your current HR team struggles to keep up with the company’s demands, resulting in unmet HR goals, fractional HR support can provide supplementary assistance to help realign and achieve your objectives.
- Employee Retention Challenges: If your organization is experiencing difficulties in retaining employees, whether due to subpar compensation compared to competitors or a lack of effective training and career development programs, fractional HR can offer valuable insights and solutions to address these issues.
One of the greatest advantages of fractional HR is its flexibility. Even if you’re unsure about committing to long-term fractional HR support, it’s possible to engage these professionals for specific projects and dial back their involvement once the task is accomplished.
Who Can Use Fractional HR Support?
Fractional HR’s scalability knows no bounds, making it a perfect fit for businesses of all sizes, be it small enterprises or large corporations. It’s a flexible solution that welcomes organizations of any scale, allowing them to tap into its benefits with ease and without limitations.
Small and Medium Sized Businesses
When the size of your workforce makes it challenging to allocate resources for a dedicated HR position, fractional HR allows you to leverage internal expertise alongside external capabilities. Whether you require assistance with one-time projects or dedicated work hours, fractional HR provides the necessary support to enhance SMB’s HR offerings while keeping your employees satisfied.
Non-Profits
Non-profit organizations often face budget limitations that prevent them from establishing a dedicated HR department. However, the need for HR services remains crucial. Fractional HR can effectively address this need by working within constraints, ensuring your HR requirements are adequately accounted for, and enabling you to allocate your time, resources, and efforts where they are most needed.
Corporations
Even with an existing HR department, larger enterprises and corporations may struggle to meet the demands of their employees or manage increased workloads resulting from expansion. Fractional HR offers the advantage of accessing expertise without needing internal hiring, tailoring services based on your specific needs and supporting your growth trajectory without any adverse impact.
Fractional HR with True North
At True North, our forte delivers fractional HR solutions tailored to the unique needs of businesses. Our team of experienced HR professionals is adept at supporting organizations across various industries, providing cost-effective, flexible, and comprehensive HR support. With our fractional HR services, you can enhance your HR capabilities, overcome challenges, and achieve your long-term objectives while optimizing resource allocation.
If you are ready to take your HR function to the next level, contact True North today to explore how our fractional HR services can benefit your business.
