At coLeague, we embed
Fractional People Leaders to free up
your leaders so they can focus on
mission-critical priorities.

Why Hire a Fractional People Leader?

People issues, such as employee relations, team conflict, or toxic culture, often escalate to CEOs, EDs, or COOs. These high-stakes, time-sensitive challenges require senior-level expertise, as they directly impact stakeholders and the organization’s mission. Fractional People Leaders address these challenges effectively, freeing executives to focus on strategic priorities while avoiding burnout.

Hiring full-time senior executives can be costly and impractical, especially for smaller or newer organizations. As a result, companies often settle for less-experienced hires or overburden existing staff, which can lead to inefficiencies and overlooked responsibilities. A Fractional Leader offers a cost-effective way to bring in seasoned leadership without the full-time commitment.

Why Hire a Fractional Leader?

A Fractional Leader is a senior professional serving in a role on a part-time or interim basis. Unlike consultants, who focus on specific projects or problems, Fractional Leaders function as full-time executives would, but with reduced hours or for a fixed term. They often work with multiple organizations, providing top-level expertise without the cost of a full-time hire.

What Is a Fractional Leader?

It’s costly
to hire the
wrong person

what we do

At coLeague, we believe that at the heart of successful organizations are people who can, and want to, bring their complete selves to work. To us, HR is more than compliance. When done right, it unlocks your organization’s potential to meet your mission.

01

We help leaders build and implement talent systems and structures to create a culture that centers their people.

02

We partner with organizations to not just design talent systems and structures that are aligned to the values of the organization, but also build and implement those systems.

03

We support organizations in the talent needs they have in the moment and in some cases defining the needs for a permanent Chief Talent Officer in the future.

04

We help organizations navigate complex talent issues by elevating the needs of team members with a clear centering of diversity, equity and inclusion.

  • CPOS

    CPOS Description

  • HRBPS

    HRBPS Description

  • HR MANAGERS

    HR MANAGERS Description

Fractional People Experts embedded in your organization providing exactly as much support as your team needs right now

A lot of leaders know they need support for their people & culture work but don’t know exactly who or how much. Take our short survey to figure out what might work for you:

how we can help

Talent Diagnostic Summary

coLeague’s Talent Triage is a 3-step process to rapidly identify your organization’s greatest people challenges, prioritize them based on your team’s unique needs, and provide expert People leadership to immediately get things on the right track.

Coaching & Consulting Summary

Talent Diagnostic

coLeague’s Talent Diagnostic is a unique approach to assessing an organization’s talent strategy and infrastructure through a radically people-centric lens.

We created the Talent Diagnostic in order to increase the impact coLeaguers can have on an organization from day one. By starting the engagement with the Talent Diagnostic, coLeaguers and clients can rapidly assess the root of many challenges and create a roadmap to tackle the issues in the order that’s best for the team.

For example, if a client comes to coLeague because they want a better performance management system, the Talent Diagnostic might uncover that most folks don’t have an up-to-date job description, which could severely hinder any effort to implement an effective Performance Management System. The coLeaguer might recommend doing some basic competency work first, followed by a JD workshop for managers, and then designing a performance management system that meets the organization’s needs.

What is the Talent Diagnostic Exactly?

Leaders come to coLeague for many reasons, but it usually boils down to one thing - there is a lot to do, talent-wise, but they don’t know where to start. CEOs, Executive Directors, COOs - they’re running themselves ragged trying to address the cultural and operational needs of the organization, often at the expense of the highest priority work on their plate (let alone their highest non-work priorities like family and health).

We have a great solution for many of these leaders - an embedded, fractional Chief People Officer who can step in and start building sustainable solutions from day one. That’s our standard offering at coLeague and we love it when we can match one of our coLeaguers to an organization.

Many leaders, however,
aren't quite sure what they need,
let alone what to do first.

It also becomes clear that attempting to implement “higher-level” talent initiatives without a solid foundation is not only likely to fail, but potentially poses an existential threat to the organization.

Because this challenge is so common, at coLeague we’ve developed a suite of products that is designed to quickly assess the talent infrastructure of the organization, identify the areas of highest risk, and create a plan that bolsters the most foundational needs first.

When we first started this work, we thought we could use our combined hundreds of years of talent experience to develop a rigorous assessment of talent infrastructure and quickly identify what was missing. We even started with the theory that things should be implemented in a certain order, avoiding complex talent initiatives until the basics are in place. The more we worked, however, the more we realized that this was all from an organizational perspective, and not the people-first perspective that we know is actually required for organizational effectiveness.

We wanted to flip the script
and come at it from
a people-centric perspective.

To this end, we developed a unique model, the Employee Hierarchy of Needs, which starts with a foundation of safety and purpose and makes its way up through the pyramid to autonomy and incentive. Like Maslow’s pyramid, if the foundation isn’t in place, things higher up can feel at best aspirational, or at worst frivolous. If an employee doesn’t feel safe at work, can we expect them to comfortably have a future-focused career conversation with their manager? If someone doesn’t have a job description, can they successfully participate in a 360 review process? These types of gaps can foster resentment, leaving employees feeling detached from the organization.

When we put these two things side by side - solid talent strategy/infrastructure and the Employee Hierarchy of Needs, the picture becomes clear -

There is a truly
people-centric way
to build your organization.

that’s where we come in.

You’re leading a mission-driven organization.
Ultimately, you are responsible for the team, but…

❌ Your staff is frustrated

❌ A lot of work isn’t happening and it’s not entirely clear why

❌ You are putting out fires instead of focusing on your mission

❌ No one but you is owning the people problems

❌ There is no time left in the day to lead…

We get it.

All of this is made worse by the fact that:

🫤 You don’t have a senior, experienced People leader to own these challenges

🫤 You have systems but they’re not connected and sometimes cause more problems than they solve

🫤 It’s not the right time to bring on a full time Chief People Officer

📈 All while you’re trying to focus on the future - a new strategic plan, big growth on the horizon, a looming budget challenge…

Leading an organization is overwhelming, and solving HR issues isn’t your unique value-add. But it has to be done, and realistically, who else is going to do it?

Talent Triage

That’s why we created the Talent Triage to get you some relief and give you a partner instead of another project.

coLeague’s Talent Triage is a 3-step process to rapidly identify your organization’s greatest people challenges, prioritize them based on your team’s unique needs, and provide expert People leadership to immediately get things on the right track.

How Does the Talent Triage Work?

The best part?

Get a handle on your
burning people problems:

Once you talk to us, we can get started and identify potential coLeaguers in a matter of days, not weeks or months.

Let’s talk about how coLeague’s Talent Triage can take urgent people work off of your plate.
Book a free 30-min talent consultation!

01

Our people-centric Talent Diagnostic gives us a clear picture of the current state of the Talent/HR infrastructure of your organization and highlights your biggest areas of risk

02

Simultaneously, coLeague’s matching process identifies the best coLeaguers for your unique challenges, and together we select the perfect partner to stabilize and support where you need it most.

03

We embed the coLeaguer into your organization - from 25% to full time, for a few months or even a whole year - and support them in the background as they take these urgent and important matters off of your plate and put them into a plan.

Coaching & Consulting

Many clients come to us because something is wrong and they need help figuring out what to do.

Sometimes, though, clients come to us knowing exactly what they need. They want to overhaul their compensation model, they want leadership coaching for their executive team, or they need support during an organizational restructure.

Our coLeaguers wear many hats - on top of being seasoned leaders, they are also coaches, subject matter experts, executive recruiters, and more. Additionally, we have recruited and vetted a selection of these folks who only serve in these specialized roles.

We can work with you to create and staff a project that addresses a specific need.

Example areas we can support:

  • Compensation

  • Performance

  • Employee Engagement

  • Talent Acquistion

  • Organizational Design

  • Change Management

  • HR Operations & Compliance

Coaching

Get a handle on your
burning people problems:

01

Our people-centric Talent Diagnostic gives us a clear picture of the current state of the Talent/HR infrastructure of your organization and highlights your biggest areas of risk

02

Simultaneously, coLeague’s matching process identifies the best coLeaguers for your unique challenges, and together we select the perfect partner to stabilize and support where you need it most.

03

We embed the coLeaguer into your organization - from 25% to full time, for a few months or even a whole year - and support them in the background as they take these urgent and important matters off of your plate and put them into a plan.

Consulting

01

Our people-centric Talent Diagnostic gives us a clear picture of the current state of the Talent/HR infrastructure of your organization and highlights your biggest areas of risk

02

Simultaneously, coLeague’s matching process identifies the best coLeaguers for your unique challenges, and together we select the perfect partner to stabilize and support where you need it most.

03

We embed the coLeaguer into your organization - from 25% to full time, for a few months or even a whole year - and support them in the background as they take these urgent and important matters off of your plate and put them into a plan.

  • COACHES

    Coaches Description

  • SMES

    SMES Description

  • ANALYSTS

    Analysts Description

Pricing:

Our pricing is based on the level of seniority of the role we’re filling aligned with the size of the engagement. Our base prices are based on a small engagement, 40-60 hours, with a Chief-level leader. Prices then scale up or down based on size and seniority of role.

We use a retainer model for our embedded, fractional leaders - this means they can work up to a certain number of hours per month, and it resets every month.

Hours worked over the retained amount are billed at a set rate, so we encourage clients to consider this tradeoff when selecting the right retainer size for their organization.

Sample Pricing:

Engagement 1:

Embedded Fractional Chief People Officer, 60 Hours per Month

$13,500

Hours over 60 are billed at $250/hour

Engagement 2:

Embedded Fractional HR Director, 30 hours per month

$4,950

Hours over 30 are billed at $140/hour

Sample Engagement 3:

Embedded Fractional Talent Business Partner, 120 hours per month

$20,160

Hours over 120 are billed at $180/hour

Coaches, Subject Matter Experts, and Analysts are priced on a project-by-project basis.

Pricing:

Our pricing is based on the level of seniority of the role we’re filling aligned with the size of the engagement. Our base prices are based on a small engagement, 40-60 hours, with a Chief-level leader. Prices then scale up or down based on size and seniority of role.

We use a retainer model for our embedded, fractional leaders - this means they can work up to a certain number of hours per month, and it resets every month.

Hours worked over the retained amount are billed at a set rate, so we encourage clients to consider this tradeoff when selecting the right retainer size for their organization.

Sample Pricing:

Engagement 1:

Embedded Fractional Chief People Officer, 60 Hours per Month

$13,500

Hours over 60 are billed at $250/hour

Engagement 2:

Embedded Fractional HR Director, 30 hours per month

$4,950

Hours over 30 are billed at $140/hour

Sample Engagement 3:

Embedded Fractional Talent Business Partner, 120 hours per month

$20,160

Hours over 120 are billed at $180/hour

Coaches, Subject Matter Experts, and Analysts are priced on a project-by-project basis.

Pricing:

Our pricing is based on the level of seniority of the role we’re filling aligned with the size of the engagement. Our base prices are based on a small engagement, 40-60 hours, with a Chief-level leader. Prices then scale up or down based on size and seniority of role.

We use a retainer model for our embedded, fractional leaders - this means they can work up to a certain number of hours per month, and it resets every month.

Hours worked over the retained amount are billed at a set rate, so we encourage clients to consider this tradeoff when selecting the right retainer size for their organization.


Embedded Fractional Chief People Officer, 60 Hours per Month

$13,500

Hours over 60 are billed at $250/hour

Engagement 2:

Embedded Fractional HR Director, 30 hours per month

$4,950

Hours over 30 are billed at $140/hour

Sample Engagement 3:

Embedded Fractional Talent Business Partner, 120 hours per month

$20,160

Hours over 120 are billed at $180/hour

Coaches, Subject Matter Experts, and Analysts are priced on a project-by-project basis.

Frequently
Asked
Questions

  • A Fractional Leader is a senior professional serving in a role on a part-time or interim basis. Unlike consultants, who focus on specific projects or problems, Fractional Leaders function as full-time executives would, but with reduced hours or for a fixed term. They often work with multiple organizations, providing top-level expertise without the cost of a full-time hire.

  • We have experience working with all sorts of organizations, but they tend to be mission-driven organizations with less than 100 employees that are at some point of inflection point: transition, growth, or another big change.

  • While we try to be flexible with the type of leadership we can provide our clients, we typically provide one or more of five types of leaders:

    1. Chief People Officer

    2. Business Partner

    3. HR Manager

    4. Subject Matter Expert

    5. Analyst

  • Pay varies by contract and is based on standard rates for each role that expand or contract based on complexity and time commitment.

    We work with coLeaguers during the proposal process to ensure compensation is clear and aligned with expectations.