Should your company hire an in-house HR leader or work with a fractional HR consultant? Terry Smith and Leslie Lulham break down the differences, costs, and real world use cases to help businesses make the right decision.

For many small businesses and startups, hiring a full-time HR leader may not be necessary or financially practical. Fractional HR offers an alternative, giving companies access to experienced HR professionals for a few hours a week at a fraction of the cost. Terry and Leslie explain how this model works and why it is often a strong fit for growing organizations.

This episode explores the key benefits of fractional HR, including cost savings, flexibility, and access to experienced professionals who have worked across multiple industries and company sizes. With that broader perspective, fractional HR leaders can often provide more objective and impartial guidance than someone embedded in the organization full time.

The conversation also outlines when in-house HR makes more sense. Larger organizations and companies scaling quickly may need dedicated internal teams to manage complex operations, compliance, and employee experience at scale. Terry and Leslie discuss how senior HR leaders typically operate and why they are not always the right fit for early stage companies building systems from scratch.

They also highlight a common mistake: hiring senior level HR talent too early. Many experienced executives are not focused on building foundational systems like handbooks, hiring processes, and HR infrastructure. Fractional HR can fill that gap, helping companies establish strong foundations before scaling.

If you are building a company, managing growth, or trying to decide how to structure your HR function, this episode offers a practical guide to choosing between fractional and in-house HR leadership.

• Fractional HR vs in-house HR explained
• Cost comparison of fractional HR and full-time HR hires
• Why startups and small businesses benefit from fractional HR
• When to hire in-house HR leadership
• The role of senior HR leaders in scaling organizations
• Building HR systems, processes, and company culture
• How fractional HR provides objective and outside perspective

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Email: primalhrpodcast@gmail.com
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