Your internal HR and People team, staffed by Startup Talent specialists
An embedded HR consultant works inside your company as a member of your team. They are the person your managers go to with an employee question, the name on your onboarding emails, and the advisor in the room when leadership makes a people decision. Startup Talent manages their process, their tools, and the quality of their work, so you get an experienced People function without building one from scratch.
That inside position is what changes the results. An HR consultant who knows your culture, your managers, and your growth plan builds policies and programs that fit how you actually operate. A senior People leader who sits with your executive team can shape organizational design, compensation, and performance decisions while they are being made.
Contact UsFrom day-to-day People Operations to People leadership
Our consultants range from the HR Generalists and People Operations consultants who keep employee processes running to the senior People leaders who set your People strategy. You can engage one level or combine several, and the same embedded model applies at every level. Many startups begin with a senior consultant to build the foundation and add day-to-day support as headcount grows.
Strategy and leadership
Lead and build your People function
Senior consultants and fractional People leaders partner with your founders and executives on how the company is organized, paid, developed, and led.
- People strategy and planning. People strategy, workforce and headcount planning, HR roadmaps, succession planning, and programs aligned with your growth plan.
- Organizational design and change. Team structure, reporting lines, leadership effectiveness, and change management during growth, fundraising, or restructuring.
- Compensation strategy. Compensation philosophy, salary benchmarking, pay bands, equity guidelines, job levels, and career frameworks.
- Performance management design. Review cycles, goal-setting frameworks, calibration, and manager effectiveness programs.
- Culture, engagement, and development. Engagement and retention strategy, culture initiatives, leadership development, and career paths.
- Policies and compliance. Employee handbooks, HR policies, multi-state compliance, audit support, and coordination with employment counsel.
Execution
Run HR and People Operations day to day
HR Generalists, People Operations consultants, and specialists run the employee experience from an employee's first day through their last.
- Employee lifecycle. Onboarding design and day-one execution, internal moves and promotions, employee changes, offboarding, and exit interviews.
- Employee relations. Manager coaching, workplace concerns and complaints, conflict resolution, investigations, accommodations, leave processes, and documentation.
- HR operations and systems. HRIS administration and implementation, employee records, workflows, reporting, people data, and HR vendor management.
- Benefits administration. Open enrollment, renewals, employee benefits questions, and coordination with your broker and PEO.
- Performance and compensation cycles. Running review cycles, compensation reviews, bonus and incentive programs, and performance improvement plans.
- Training and recordkeeping. Manager and employee training, required postings, and the recordkeeping your compliance obligations require.
Your embedded HR and People team, fractional or
full-time
You decide how much of the week you need and what level of expertise fits the work. The model is the same either way, with your consultants working inside your company as members of your team, billed hourly or on a monthly retainer.
| Fractional embedded | Full-time embedded | |
|---|---|---|
| What you get | You get any consultant on our team for a set portion of the week, and you can flex the hours as your needs change. | You get dedicated full-time support, from a single consultant to a full team of HR Generalists, People Operations consultants, and specialists. |
| Level of expertise | You can engage any level, from an HR Generalist or specialist to a fractional Head of People or CHRO. | You can engage any level, from a dedicated HR Generalist to a full team led by an interim CHRO. |
| Best fit | You need senior HR judgment without a full-time hire, you are putting foundational policies and compliance in place, or a project such as a compensation review or HRIS implementation needs an owner. | Your headcount is growing quickly, your People function needs a dedicated owner, or you need interim leadership through a transition. |
| Typical stage | Seed, Series A, and Series B companies putting their first HR infrastructure, policies, and compliance foundation in place. | Series A through Series E companies managing a growing employee base across teams and locations. |
Many clients move between the two models as they grow, and they keep the same team, the same process, and the same tools when they do. HR support can stay in place for your employees even when recruiting is paused.
Book a Free ConsultationHR and People consultants at every level
Startup Talent was founded in 2014 and has grown from 3 consultants in 2023 to more than 40 today. Every consultant has done the work inside venture-backed startups, and our team covers every level of a People function, from day-to-day employee support to executive People leadership.
Every role below is available on fractional or full-time hours. You can bring in a Head of People for part of the week, add an HR Coordinator every day, or engage a specialist for a single project, and you can change the mix as your headcount grows.
People leadership
Senior HR leaders who own your People strategy, advise your executive team, and lead the HR function through growth and change.
Head of People, VP of People, or CHRO
Leads your People function and owns the People strategy, organizational design, leadership coaching, employee programs, and HR roadmap in partnership with your executive team.
Interim CHRO
Provides senior HR leadership during growth, a leadership transition, fundraising, or restructuring, or in the period before you hire a permanent CHRO.
HR Director
Builds and runs your HR function hands-on, from policies and compliance to performance and compensation cycles, and manages the HR team that carries out the work.
HR partners and People Operations
Consultants who partner with your managers and run the HR processes, systems, data, and employee support your company depends on every day.
HR Business Partner
Partners with your executives and managers on people strategy, performance, organizational issues, and workforce planning.
HR Generalist
Serves as the first point of contact for employees, handling day-to-day HR questions, policies, documentation, and manager support.
HR Coordinator
Supports onboarding paperwork, employee records, benefits enrollment, HR scheduling, and the HR inbox so employee requests get a timely response.
People Operations Consultant
Runs the HR processes and employee lifecycle behind the scenes, from onboarding and offboarding workflows to benefits administration and HR vendor coordination.
HRIS and People Systems Consultant
Leads HRIS selection, implementation, configuration, integrations, and automation so your people data stays accurate as you scale.
People Analytics Consultant
Turns your people data into headcount, attrition, engagement, and compensation reporting your leadership team and board can act on.
HR specialists
Subject-matter experts you can bring in for a defined project or as ongoing support alongside your existing HR team.
HR Compliance Consultant
Covers employment law, policies, multi-state compliance, audits, handbooks, and risk management.
Total Rewards Consultant
Builds your compensation philosophy, salary structures, benchmarking, pay bands, and equity guidelines, and manages benefits strategy, renewals, and enrollment.
Employee Relations Consultant
Handles investigations, performance issues, conflict resolution, disciplinary matters, and manager support.
Organizational Development Consultant
Shapes organizational design, team structure, culture, and change management as your company grows.
Learning and Development Consultant
Designs manager training, leadership development, employee training, and learning programs.
Global HR Consultant
Supports international hiring and expansion, including employer of record (EOR) setup, multi-country compliance, and global employment policies.
Tell us your headcount, your growth plan, and what is already in place, and we will recommend the team structure and level of expertise that fit your organization.
Learn MoreThe team behind your People function
- 116+venture-backed startups supported
- 40+consultants across Talent, HR, and People
- 2014serving startups since
We build the People foundation your company needs at the pace your growth plan requires, and we stay with you as your headcount and needs change.
What it looks like from the inside
"Krista and team became the foundation upon which we built our talent group. In her team, we not only had trusted and dependable partners to help us build our team."
Hooman Radfar, Chief Executive Officer, Collective
Hiring too?
The same embedded model covers recruiting, from sourcers and recruiting coordinators to full-cycle recruiters and a fractional VP of Talent. Either function can be engaged on its own, and many startups run both with one partner.
Frequently asked questions about HR and People Operations
An embedded HR consultant works inside your company as an extension of your HR or People team. Depending on their level, they can run onboarding and offboarding, answer employee questions, coach managers through feedback and difficult conversations, handle employee relations, manage performance and compensation cycles, administer benefits, support HR systems, develop policies and handbooks, and lead your People strategy.
Startup Talent manages the consultant's process, tools, training, backup coverage, and quality while they work directly with your leadership and employees.
Fractional HR gives a startup an experienced HR or People professional for a set portion of the week. It can range from an HR Generalist handling day-to-day employee support to a fractional Head of People or CHRO leading the entire People function.
A fractional Head of People or CHRO is a senior HR leader who can own the People strategy and HR roadmap, advise founders on organizational design, coach leaders, and build the employee programs your company scales on. Startup Talent can also place an executive HR consultant as an interim CHRO during growth, a leadership transition, fundraising, restructuring, or the period before you hire a permanent CHRO.
An embedded HR consultant can do both, depending on the level you engage. Startup Talent consultants range from HR Generalists and People Operations consultants who run day-to-day HR to HR Business Partners, specialists, and fractional People leaders who set strategy.
Many startups combine levels, with a senior People leader setting direction and a Generalist or People Operations consultant running the daily work.
Startup Talent can provide HR Compliance, Total Rewards, Employee Relations, Organizational Development, Learning and Development, Global HR, and HRIS and People Systems consultants.
Specialists can be engaged for a defined project, such as a compensation review, handbook update, benefits renewal, HRIS implementation, or international expansion, or as ongoing support alongside your existing HR team.
A PEO or outsourced HR provider typically provides administrative infrastructure such as payroll, benefits, compliance support, and HR technology. An embedded HR consultant works inside your company as part of your People function, partnering directly with leadership and managers on people strategy, employee relations, performance, compensation, culture, and employee experience.
Startup Talent can work alongside your existing PEO, HRIS, payroll provider, benefits broker, and other HR vendors.
There is no single employee-count threshold that applies to every startup. A common starting point is often 20 employees, as long as the company is already set up for compliance.
The need for HR support is driven by more than headcount. Employee relations issues, multi-state hiring, rapid growth, manager development, performance management, benefits administration, compliance requirements, and increasingly complex employee processes can all signal that it is time to bring in dedicated HR expertise. A fractional or full-time embedded HR consultant can establish those foundations before a full-time Head of People is justified.
Embedded is how we work, and fractional or full-time is how many hours you choose. In both cases your consultants work inside your company as part of your team.
Fractional hours give you an HR Generalist, specialist, or fractional Head of People for a set portion of the week. Full-time hours give you a dedicated consultant or an entire People team when your headcount is growing quickly or your People function needs a dedicated owner. Many startups move between the two as their needs change and keep the same team, processes, and tools.
Yes. HR and People Operations support can continue for your existing employees while recruiting is paused, reduced, or never engaged at all. HR support can also scale up or down as your headcount and needs change.
Yes. Startup Talent provides embedded recruiting on the same fractional or full-time model, from sourcers and recruiting coordinators to full-cycle recruiters and fractional VPs of Talent. HR and recruiting can be engaged separately or together. Learn about our recruiting support.
