Something I hear from founders quite a lot goes something like this:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“I know I need proper HR support. I’m just not quite at the stage where I can justify hiring someone yet.”<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n And I completely understand that instinct. Hiring feels like a big, permanent, expensive commitment. So I wanted to share a different way of looking at it, because I think the maths might surprise you. \ud83d\ude0a<\/p>\n\n\n\n Let’s talk about what HR actually costs you. (Spoiler: doing without it costs more.)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n I’m not going to scare you with worst-case scenarios. But I do think it’s worth knowing what the landscape looks like, so you can make an informed decision rather than a hopeful one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Here are some numbers worth sitting with:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \ud83d\udca1 Replacing one employee costs on average between \u00a325,000 and \u00a330,614, according to PayFit, Oxford Economics and CircleHR data. And that’s before you factor in lost productivity, the impact on the remaining team, and the time it takes for a new person to get properly up to speed. High turnover is expensive, and it’s often entirely avoidable with the right people foundations in place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \ud83d\udca1 A poorly handled dismissal can result in an employment tribunal claim. According to the most recent Ministry of Justice statistics, the average unfair dismissal award in 2023\/24 was \u00a313,749. And from January 2027, the cap on compensation is being removed entirely under the Employment Rights Act 2025, meaning the financial stakes are only going up. That’s before you add management time, stress, and any legal support you might need along the way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \ud83d\udca1 According to the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC), a bad hire at mid-manager level with a \u00a342,000 salary can cost a business more than \u00a3132,000 once you factor in wasted salary, recruitment costs, training, onboarding and lost productivity across the team. That’s over three times their annual salary, before you’ve even started the whole process again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n None of these are meant to alarm you. They’re just real numbers that real businesses face, and the good news is that most of them are entirely preventable with the right support in place. \ud83d\ude0a<\/p>\n\n\n\n So what does fractional HR support actually cost?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Here’s where it gets interesting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n My Sounding Board package starts at \u00a3900 a month.<\/strong> Eight flexible hours of senior HR advisory support, there when you need it, shaped around what your business actually needs. A trusted, experienced voice in your corner, without the commitment of a full-time hire.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Generalist (hands-on, ongoing HR support) starts at \u00a31,400 a month.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The Partnership (embedded, strategic People leadership) starts at \u00a32,800 a month.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Now compare that to the cost of a full-time HR hire:<\/p>\n\n\n\n A mid-level HR Manager: \u00a335,000-\u00a345,000 salary, plus employer NI (now 15% from April 2025), plus pension contributions, plus holiday pay, plus sick pay, plus recruitment costs to find them in the first place. You’re looking at a true cost of \u00a345,000-\u00a360,000+ a year before they’ve done a single day’s work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The fractional advantage: Low Risk. High Impact.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Here’s what makes fractional HR support genuinely different from an employee:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2705 No employer on-costs.<\/strong> No NI, no pension, no holiday or sick pay. You pay for expertise, not headcount.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2705 No recruitment cost or risk.<\/strong> No lengthy hiring process, no probation period, no “not quite what we hoped” six months in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2705 Senior expertise from day one.<\/strong> You get the level you actually need, not the level you can afford to hire full time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2705 Flexibility. <\/strong>There when you need it. No fixed days to plan around (unless you choose fixed days, we’d have that conversation right at the start to find out what you’d prefer and what would work best). Just hours that can be used flexibly across the month.<\/p>\n\n\n\n (The Partnership and Sounding Board Packages include out of hours support, because not everything happens 9-5, and let’s be honest, Founder brains usually don’t automatically switch off at 5pm when everyone else has gone home! \ud83e\udd23)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2705 No long-term commitment.<\/strong> You’re not locked in the way you are with an employee. If your needs change, we have an honest conversation about it. That’s it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2705 Immediate availability.<\/strong> No notice periods, no waiting. The support is there when you need it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The ROI in plain English:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n One avoided tribunal claim and the associated legal costs, more than covers a year of “The Sounding Board” support.<\/p>\n\n\n\n One well-handled dismissal process, done properly and fairly first time, saves you the cost, time and stress of getting it wrong.<\/p>\n\n\n\n One manager coached to have a difficult conversation early, rather than letting a situation fester into something formal and expensive, pays for itself many times over.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And beyond the numbers?<\/p>\n\n\n\n There’s the founder who gets their headspace back. Who stops lying awake wondering if they handled something right. Who has someone in their corner to call when something’s bugging them. That’s harder to put a number on, but every founder I’ve worked with would tell you it’s worth every penny. \ud83d\udc9c<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n So if you’ve been telling yourself “not yet”…<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n It might be worth asking whether “not yet” is really the most cost-effective position. \ud83d\ude0a<\/p>\n\n\n\n I offer a range of ways to work together, from The Sounding Board at \u00a3900 a month for advisory support, through to embedded strategic People leadership for growing teams. There’s a way in for every stage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And if you’re not sure which would suit you, that’s exactly what a no-pressure conversation is for.<\/p>\n\n\n\n With warmth,<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Jacquie<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Founder M:Brace HR<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n HR: Off the Record. Where we say plainly what everyone else is thinking.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Something I hear from founders quite a lot goes something like this: “I know I need proper HR support. I’m just not quite at the stage where I can justify hiring someone yet.” And I completely understand that instinct. Hiring … Continue reading