Executive HR Leadership Without the Full-Time Cost
KNS Associates prices every engagement around what your business actually needs: the scope, the cadence and the duration. You know the investment, in writing, before any work begins.
Compare Engagement Models
Four ways to work with KNS Associates. Each is matched to your situation in the strategy and pricing discussion.
What Shapes Your Investment
Pricing follows the work. These are the factors we weigh together before a number is ever put in front of you.
Scope
How much of the HR function you need led, from a single defined project to full executive oversight of people strategy, compliance and talent.
Cadence
How often you need executive attention, whether that is a standing presence in your leadership meetings or periodic advisory sessions as decisions come up.
On-Site vs Remote
Whether the work happens in the room with your Houston-area leadership team, fully remote for clients nationwide, or a blend of both.
Duration
How long the engagement runs, from a short diagnostic project to a multi-year fractional partnership that grows and shrinks with the business.
Why Fractional Costs a Fraction of a Full-Time Executive
The economics are simple. You stop paying for capacity you do not use.
A full-time CHRO comes with an executive salary, plus benefits, plus bonus, and often equity on top. You carry that cost every month whether the role is fully loaded with executive work or not. For most businesses in the $1M to $500M range, it is more executive capacity than the company actually consumes.
A fractional engagement flips that equation. You pay only for the time and expertise your business needs, and the engagement scales up or down as your situation changes. The caliber of leadership stays the same. The cost structure does not.
- Pay only for the leadership time your business uses
- No executive salary, benefits package or bonus to carry
- Scale the engagement up or down as the business changes
- Executive expertise from the start, with no recruiting search to fund
To be clear, this is not a low-cost outsourcing pitch. The value of KNS Associates is executive expertise, not a discount. Fractional simply lets you buy Fortune 500-caliber HR leadership in the quantity your business actually requires.
How Pricing Is Confirmed
You will always know what an engagement costs before you commit. Pricing is set in the strategy and pricing discussion, documented in writing, and it does not change unless the scope does.
- 01
Initial Conversation
We talk through your situation, your goals and whether KNS Associates is the right fit. There is no charge and no obligation.
- 02
Intake Meeting
A deeper working session on your HR function, your team and your priorities, so the proposed scope reflects your reality rather than assumptions.
- 03
Strategy and Pricing Discussion
You receive a recommended engagement model, a defined scope and the investment, in writing, before any work begins.
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Pricing Questions, Answered
It depends on the model. Interim coverage runs for the length of the transition. Project work runs until the defined scope is delivered. Fractional retainers continue for as long as the role earns its place in your leadership team, and many clients adjust the cadence over time. The expected length is agreed in the strategy and pricing discussion.
Both structures exist, and the model follows the work. Ongoing fractional leadership is typically a retainer, defined project work is priced for the project, and advisory relationships can be structured around sessions. We recommend the structure that fits your situation and confirm it before anything starts.
A written scope that names the HR areas Ken leads, the cadence of on-site and remote time, direct access for you and your leadership team, and the deliverables you can expect. If it is not in the scope, you are not paying for it, and if the scope needs to change, the pricing conversation happens first.
At the strategy and pricing discussion, which follows the initial conversation and the intake meeting. By then the scope reflects your actual situation, so the number you see is the number you pay. Nothing is invoiced before you have approved the engagement in writing.
Get a Clear Answer on Scope and Investment
Bring us the challenge. We will bring you a defined scope and a confirmed price before you commit to anything.