A Straightforward Path to Executive HR Leadership
From First Conversation to Ongoing Support
You will always know where you are in the process and what happens next.
Every KNS engagement follows the same clear process: understand your business, agree on scope and pricing, then get to work. No mystery and no surprises.
- 01
Initial Conversation
A brief, no-obligation call with Ken. You describe what is happening in your business, he asks the questions a CHRO would ask, and together you decide whether a deeper conversation makes sense.
- 02
Intake Meeting
A working session on your business: strategy, structure, leadership team, HR function and the specific challenges in front of you. Ken listens more than he talks. The goal is an accurate picture, not a sales pitch.
- 03
Strategy and Pricing Discussion
Ken comes back with a recommended approach: what he would focus on, in what order, under which engagement model, and at what price. You see the full scope before you commit to anything.
- 04
Engagement Kickoff
Priorities, cadence, communication and access are set with your leadership team. The first working sessions go on the calendar and the engagement begins with momentum, not paperwork.
- 05
Ongoing Executive Support
Ken operates as your executive HR leader on the agreed cadence, on site and remotely. Priorities are revisited regularly, and the engagement flexes as your business changes.
The Working Relationship
Cadence is set at kickoff and shaped around how your leadership team already operates. Some clients want Ken in their standing leadership meetings. Others prefer scheduled working sessions with the CEO and separate check-ins with the broader team. Ken adapts to your rhythm rather than imposing one.
Match the Engagement to the Moment
Fractional, interim or project-based. The strategy discussion will point to the right one, and Ken will tell you plainly if the answer is a smaller engagement than you expected.
Fractional Engagements
The core of KNS. Ken serves as your ongoing CHRO or chief people officer on a part-time basis, joining your leadership rhythm, owning the people strategy and handling the executive-level HR agenda while your internal team or provider runs daily administration. Fractional engagements suit companies that need continuous executive leadership but cannot justify, or do not yet need, a full-time hire.
Interim Coverage
Full executive attention for a defined season. When an HR leader departs, a search is underway, or a transition demands senior leadership now, Ken steps into the role, stabilizes the function, keeps critical work moving and hands off cleanly when your permanent leader arrives. Interim work is about continuity: the business should not feel the gap.
Project-Based Consulting
A defined scope with a clear finish line. Typical projects include organizational design, HR transformation, compensation strategy, succession planning and HR compliance audits. Ken scopes the work in the strategy discussion, delivers it directly, and leaves your team equipped to carry it forward.
What You Can Expect from Every Engagement
The standards do not change with the engagement model.
- Direct work with Ken, never a handoff to a junior team
- A written scope and clear pricing agreed before work begins
- Honest recommendations, including the ones that are hard to hear
- Confidential handling of sensitive leadership and personnel matters
- Executive presence with your leadership team when it matters
- A cadence that flexes as your business changes
How the Working Relationship Runs
Between sessions, Ken remains reachable for the situations that cannot wait: a sensitive departure, an employee relations issue, a decision that needs an executive read before morning. That responsiveness is part of what you are engaging, a CHRO's judgment when you need it, not just when the calendar says so.
KNS is based in the Houston area and works on site with clients there and wherever the engagement requires, with remote collaboration keeping the work moving between visits for clients nationwide.
Imagery on this page is representative. Client photography replaces it once brand assets are approved.
Frequently Asked Questions
Quickly, once scope is agreed. The pace of the early steps is largely up to you, and interim situations in particular are often moving within days of the strategy discussion. If your need is urgent, say so in the initial conversation and the process will move at that speed.
That is set in the strategy and pricing discussion, based on what your situation actually requires. Fractional engagements are sized to your needs and revisited as the business changes, so you are never paying for executive time you do not use.
No. Engagements are scoped honestly, and the goal is always to build your organization's capability rather than create dependency. Engagements continue because the value is clear, not because a contract locks you in.
That is normal, and it is exactly what the process is for. Start with the initial conversation. By the strategy discussion, Ken will recommend the model that fits, and he will tell you plainly if the right answer is smaller than you expected.
Keep Exploring
Start with a Conversation
Tell Ken what is going on in your business and get an executive read on it. The process starts whenever you are ready.