Fractional HR Support: The Smart, Scalable Solution for Growing Businesses
As a growing business, you’re likely juggling a lot — building your team, refining your culture, and staying compliant with employment laws. But hiring a full-time HR person often feels “too early” or “too expensive.” That’s where fractional HR comes in.
Fractional HR gives you access to seasoned professionals — without the full-time headcount or overhead. And while it may seem like a new trend, at CMS Consultants, we've been delivering fractional HR solutions for over a decade — long before it became a buzzword.
We’ve seen what works, what doesn't, and how to tailor support that scales with your business — not just around it.
1. Expertise Without the Full-Time Cost
Hiring an experienced HR leader full-time can cost $80K–$150K/year. That’s a major investment — especially if you don’t need full-time support yet.
With fractional HR, you get access to:
Compliance guidance
People strategy
Policy creation
Systems setup
Manager coaching
…without the salary, benefits, and long-term commitment.
We’ve worked with clients to scale up or down as their needs change — and we’ve refined this model over 10+ years of real-world application.
2. More Than Admin — Real Strategic Partnership
Fractional HR isn’t just someone to run payroll. It's someone who can:
Set up performance review frameworks
Build onboarding workflows
Advise you on hiring plans
Draft your first employee handbook
Ensure you're compliant as you grow into new provinces or states
We’ve partnered with dozens of growing companies to provide this kind of hands-on guidance — often in moments of major transition, like pre-funding, post-merger, or first-time HR implementation.
3. Speed & Flexibility
Time is everything for startups and small teams. A good fractional HR partner can jump in fast, with minimal ramp-up.
At CMS Consultants, we come in:
When your HR lead is on leave
When you’re between hires
When you’re scaling too fast for spreadsheets to keep up
And we do it with a deep bench of experience — we’re not just adapting to a trend, we helped shape it.
4. Build Before You Break
Many companies wait until something goes wrong — a bad hire, a complaint, a compliance issue — before they look for HR help.
With fractional support, you can:
Build healthy foundations before you scale
Catch red flags early
Train managers before they lead people
Set up systems that save hours every week
This proactive model has helped our clients avoid fires, not just put them out.
Fractional HR is about having experienced, flexible support exactly when you need it — and none of the overhead when you don’t. At CMS Consultants, we’ve been doing this long before the trend — helping businesses grow with confidence, compliance, and care.
Curious if fractional HR is right for your business? Let’s talk.