Founders Think of the Same Questions on Fractional HR and HR Compliance, So We Wanted to Answer Them Here
Most founders have the same handful of questions around HR compliance gaps that keep them up at night, and what working with Castle HR looks like. Here are our honest answers.
The 3 Most Asked Questions
It depends, which isn’t a helpful answer, I know.
You will always need an HR budget, but we are a bridge solution until you grow to the point where you need HR internally.
Our average client is with Castle HR for over 2 years, but we have a month-to-month agreement, so they choose to stay because our fractional HR service adds so much value to the business.
Our HR support services run on a monthly subscription model with no hourly rates or recruiting fees.
Our most popular subscription is $2,900 per month, but we have tiers for those growing super fast.
We have figured out a structure that makes sense for most businesses, but we are flexible as well.
Castle HR was designed for scaling companies and produces the highest ROI for those with expensive payroll. Hence, software and professional services firms make up 80% of our portfolio.
The important part is not the type of business, but understanding if an outsourced HR company can positvely impact your actual workflows, team, clients, and growth goals.
That is why we begin with process mapping rather than forcing your business into a generic template. The call will help us determine what is realistic, what should be prioritized, and whether outsourced HR is the right solution for you.
FAQs
Pricing & How It Works
Our standard subscription allows us to own HR at your company for $2,900 a month, freeing up founder and leadership’s time to work on the business, not in it.
Our Senior HR Pros would be $200k+ a year to hire.
We often see hiring a junior HR person costing even more because they often make mistakes due to lack of experience and don’t save you time because they need managing.
Castle HR works month-to-month, keeping accountability where it should be, on us.
Our clients stay because the work adds value, the support is useful, and the systems help your company run efficiently. As your priorities change, your level of support can change with them.
When you add Castle HR, you are adding a Senior HR Professional who acts like they are on your team, they are just there part of the time.
We are never hard to find when a “spicy meatball” situation arises, and we will jump in to advise, coach, and/or draft the required documents.
Your Senior HR Professional can “own” your HR function, which means they will propose a custom strategy, build the systems and make sure they run by either automating, delegating to managers or executing themselves.
What we don’t get involved in is Payroll, because we believe that is a finance function and most growth-stage companies have that covered when we join.
We don’t charge recruiting fees, because we are acting like part of your team and any in-house HR person should be able to build a talent acquisition system.
Castle HR works with ambitious and busy leaders, so we know time is precious and our goal is to save you time, not create more work for you.
We found that having a weekly 1-hour call with you gives us the information we need so we can do the heavy HR lifting and you can focus on what you do best.
Our typical agenda is to learn what happened in the business in the last week, share what we built, ask any questions we have, and answer any questions you have.
We are not hard to find the rest of the week if we are needed.
It depends, which isn’t a helpful answer, I know.
You will always need an HR budget, but we are a bridge solution until you grow to the point where you need HR internally.
Our average client is with Castle HR for over 2 years, but we have a month-to-month agreement, so they choose to stay because our fractional HR service adds so much value to the business.
We know we are not a forever solution, so our job is to help you grow and be there until you need full-time internal HR. Plus, it gives our clients confidence, as we are accountable for delivering every single month for you.
We provide a fractional HR service, and we bring the mindset that we act like we are part of your team, just there part of the time.
Thus, since we are part of your team, we build talent acquisition systems, train up hiring managers or get involved ourselves in hiring rather than spend your money on expensive recruiting fees.
Arguably, we find better or at minimum the same talent as most recruiters, at a fraction of the price to the business.
An HR audit is when a company evaluates its HR systems and the effectiveness of those systems, as well as the HR compliance levels and the current risk profile of the business.
Most audits don’t include compensation consulting, which has a $40-$50k sticker (we do this without the fancy report as part of our monthly subscription).
Most small businesses don’t need a formal HR audit or compensation consulting, because they know they don’t have the best systems in place.
What is helpful is to understand the HR systems that will help them reach their goals and the order in which to do them (The Modern HR Roadmap).
Scope of Service
If you decide to trust Castle HR to be your fractional HR partner:
- We set up a Kickoff Call within a week,
- You meet your new Senior HR Professional,
- We gather your current HR docs/processes for review,
- We align on a custom Action Plan, and
- We start our first sprint - we don't dilly-dally!
This process allows us to deliver value asap so your ROI is realized fast.
You will have a standing weekly meeting with your dedicated Senior HR consultant to update them on what happened in the business that week, and they will share their work, ask any questions and align on their path for the week.
Then the Senior HR consultant heads off to do the heavy lifting by building systems, working with your managers or helping on talent recruitment while you focus on what you do best.
If there is a “spicy meatball” that arises, we are not hard to find and can jump back in to advise on the situation and provide relevant paperwork. I always say, “we are not hard to find when needed.”
Castle HR does not handle payroll. Because we engage with growth-stage companies, and our average client has 29.2 people, they have payroll figured out.Plus, we strongly believe payroll is a finance function, not HR.
We require one key person for one hour a week to provide context, answer questions, review key decisions and help us launch the new systems and processes.
To determine if that is you or a member of your team, it is part of the Kickoff Call.
The entire leadership team is needed for certain processes, like working on company values.
HR support usually implies a retroactive, call-centre-style service, where HR advice or help is given when your business needs it. This is great for early-stage companies.
HR strategy is where a Senior HR leader has a seat with leadership and can distill the company's goals, review current HR systems, and build custom solutions in a sequence that maximizes impact toward reaching the desired goal.
HR administration is commonly referred to as items like exiting someone out of your HRIS, working with benefits platforms or preparing new hire documents. HR admin never goes away and is something that our Senior HR consultant can take off your plate.
Comparing Options: Outsourced HR vs. In-House vs. PEO vs. Employment Lawyer
Hiring in-house is the most expensive option, and typically comes with the lowest skill level because of the cost. A junior HR person is around $60-70k, whereas a top-tier senior HR professional is north of $150k.
A PEO provides a system for companies and handles various parts of HR, depending on the PEO company. Often it is a very template-heavy and rigid service. PEO is often a cost-effective plan for small companies but adds up as your team grows.
Outsourced HR is a wide term, and there are even more options than PEO. Outsourced HR ideally partners a former in-house HR person with a company that needs their specific skills and knowledge. This ranges from one-off consultants to companies like Castle HR, which has a dozen amazing HR consultants.
Outsourced HR can range from hourly rates to à la carte deliverables to subscription models (like Castle HR has).
Both serve different purposes. An HR consultant works in the business with you to identify the systems and processes that will help you reach your goals.
This can include coaching new managers, building performance review systems like our 4x4 one, or helping you find that next great hire.
Lawyers are good for drafting documents and policies to make sure you have the right protection. Castle HR looks to help our clients’ bills by having lawyers review our policies and documents we provide.
Honestly, I’m not sure as I don’t know your business.
If you are looking to just check an HR compliance box, have less than 20 people and need to keep working in the business to grow it, a PEO might make sense.
We can both find out the answer in a 30-minute call, and it will likely take less time to suss this out!
Understanding If Your Company is a Fit
Yes, our service is portable to these. We have provided fractional HR in union environments and with trades such as custom home builders, architecture firms and AV.
Castle HR helps growth-stage companies, meaning you have found product-market fit and are looking to 2x-10x your revenue. Those goals require you to build a dream team, and that is where Castle HR excels.
We have helped companies with 60, 75 and 100+ employees who may have had their HR person leave or realized that they need a senior HR consultant to complement their internal hire.
After helping 250+ companies, we have found a high rate of success with software, professional services, and nonprofit organizations. These make up 80% of our portfolio.
That being said, we have worked with manufacturing, construction and hospitality companies.
HR compliance, an employment agreement review & Other Spicy Meatball Questions We Get From Founders
Where we help new managers is when they are looking to exit an employee.The risk profile with terminations is one of the highest, so we get involved to mitigate that process and protect your business
Because our team is made up of Senior HR Professionals and averages 20+ years of experience, it is safe to say that they have seen a thing or two.
To complement that wealth of experience, we do have policies and common documents reviewed by legal at Castle HR’s expense.
If there is a time to tap in legal, we will let you know. But we try our best to keep that legal meter not ticking, as it can get expensive fast.
To give you an answer we’re confident in, we usually start with an employment agreement review. We review the terms and conditions in your agreements and give you an honest answer on whether you’ll be covered.
Our Senior HR Pros learn your goals, evaluate your current HR landscape, and build the Modern HR Roadmap while owning the day-to-day HR challenges for you.
The first pillar in the Modern HR Roadmap we start with is your Foundations & Culture. This includes your onboarding and contracts (for example: an employment agreement review), your handbooks, tech stack and much more.
Ready to get people problems off your plate for good?
If people issues are taking over your calendar, the answer is not more guessing, more
templates, or another recruiting fee. It’s time to outsource HR to a proactive senior HR partner who can help you build the people operating systems your next stage requires.
