CHRO Expert Operator – Twanya Hood Hill

When a company outgrows its people function faster than it can hire for it

The Series B inflection point is where most companies first experience the gap: the company has grown past the capacity of a generalist HR function, but the board and CEO are not yet aligned on the timing or scope of a CHRO hire. In the meantime, compensation structures are inconsistent across teams, manager quality varies dramatically, performance management exists on paper but not in practice, and the hiring pace required by the operating plan is straining whoever owns recruiting. These are CHRO-level problems. They compound when left unaddressed – a compensation framework built inconsistently creates equity perception problems that take two years to fix, and a manager development gap shows up in voluntary attrition that looks like a culture problem but is actually a management problem.

What a fractional CHRO engagement covers – and what it does not

Twanya operates as CHRO across four domains in a fractional engagement. First, compensation architecture: building or rebuilding the comp framework with consistent banding, equity philosophy, and performance-linked variable structure. Second, hiring architecture: defining the hiring process for each role tier, building the interview structure and evaluation criteria that produce consistent decisions, and establishing the sourcing strategy for the roles the operating plan requires. Third, manager development: building the management cadence, feedback infrastructure, and performance conversation structure that produces consistent management quality across the org. Fourth, culture infrastructure: the all-hands cadence, employee listening program, and the culture practices that make the company's stated values operational rather than decorative. A fractional CHRO does not handle compliance, payroll, or benefits administration – those stay with the HR team or a PEO.

The cost of waiting – what the CHRO gap costs companies that defer it

Companies that defer CHRO-level people leadership typically surface three compounding costs. Attrition: without consistent management quality and a clear performance culture, voluntary attrition runs 3–5 percentage points above what a well-managed people function produces. Hiring efficiency: without a defined hiring architecture, time-to-fill extends and offer acceptance rates decline – each point of decline in offer acceptance represents significant recruiting cost. Compensation liability: inconsistent compensation banding creates legal exposure and, more practically, the internal equity perception problems that trigger departure conversations among the highest performers who compare notes. Twanya has seen these costs multiple times. The fractional CHRO engagement is typically cheaper by 40–60% than the compounded cost of those three problems over 18 months.