Diagnose
Gaps, risks and quick wins, mapped in the first weeks.
Involvement 100%
Fractional HR · Startups & SMBs
Your HR department before you can afford one. After you’ve outgrown one.
We are your HR department. We run the operations, build the systems, and manage the risk, embedded long-term or project-based. Built like a product, not a project.
From VC-backed SaaS to non-profits, construction to global consulting.
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Risk management
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Environmental
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SaaS · UCaaS
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Consulting
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Construction
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Non-profit
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Mining · Oil and Gas
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Financial services
40+Companies served
22Industries
20+CEOs supported
6Countries
7–9%Faster growth for SMBs with structured HR
Source: NAPEO
Premise
Most companies buy HR in the wrong order. A coordinator when they need an architect. A director when they need a system. Then the structure calcifies around whoever happened to be in the room.
The fix isn’t more HR. It’s the right pieces, in the right order — built by someone who has done it forty times, and disciplined enough to hand over the keys.
Diagnose across People, Process and Technology. Build only what’s missing. Transfer it. Leave.
The best structures survive their builder
Method
The Zipper
Approach.
Six phases. Our involvement drops to zero — on purpose. Your team’s capability rises to meet it. Engagements run 1–3 days a week depending on tier.
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01 -
02 Design
The right systems in the right order. Nothing you don’t need.
Involvement 90% -
03 Build
Embedded through the week — strategy through execution.
Involvement 80% -
04 Transfer
We hire and train the people who replace us.
Involvement 40% -
05 Evolve
On call as you scale. Light touch, by design.
Involvement 15% -
06 Exit
You run it. We’re a phone call away.
Involvement 0%
Flexible terms, weeks to three years · Every engagement ends — on purpose
What you get
We are your
HR department.
Embedded long-term or project-based · we stay as long as you need us.
01 · Run
Day-to-day operations
Day-to-day people ops, employee questions, comp cycles, performance rituals, compliance — handled. You stop doing HR. People · Process · HR Tech.
02 · Build
Systems for your stage
Systems, processes & tech stack designed for your stage. Hiring, comp, performance, HRIS, policies, org design — built once, handed off clean.
03 · Advise
Risk and strategy partner
Compliance, documentation, M&A readiness, conflict resolution. Senior advisory in your corner when stakes are high.
People · Process · HR Tech
Built like a product, not a project.
Systems designed for your stage — built once, handed off cleanCases
Proven impact.
Four engagements. Four industries. Embedded HR that builds, runs, and transfers.
$330K+Total savings
4Industries
6-figARR generated
Four industries · Four engagements · One method
The situation
A fast-growing SaaS company had scaled the product but there was no structure to support what came next.
- $5M raised — HR fragmented across 3 countries, payroll improvised
- No HRIS, no ATS — three years of untracked pay & vacation
- Hiring dependent on expensive agency recruiters at 20% fees
- No executive bench or succession plan beyond the founders
What we delivered
- HRIS + ATS implemented — pay & vacation tracking from day one
- Compliance built across Canada, the US, and Europe
- Self-service recruitment replacing the expensive agency model
- VC reporting in CAN & FR & succession plan established
The situation
A 35-year-old family business with 50 employees had no real HR function, just a founder making most of the people decisions alone.
- 50 employees, 200 suppliers — zero HR structure in place
- Hiring, performance, comp & succession all unstructured
- No leadership continuity plan for the next generation
What we delivered
- Comp framework, performance system & recruitment process
- Competencies development, individual dev plan, psychometric tests
- OKR implemented, board meetings & reporting structured
- New leadership phase: Permanent HR Director hired & onboarded
The situation
When the founder passed away, a multi-region group spanning North America, Africa, and Asia was left with no HR infrastructure and no succession plan.
- No shared systems, policies, or processes of any kind
- New CEO inherited strong technical expertise but poor org structure
- Structural gaps blocking major contract wins
What we delivered
- Org structure diagnosed & redesigned for scale
- High-volume recruitment system built
- Internal talent pipeline & talent management plan
- ARR generated from strategic analysis
The situation
An organization serving over 500 beneficiaries was operating without a roadmap, a proper diagnosis, or the financial stability to plan ahead.
- No org diagnostic had ever been conducted
- Leadership transition imminent with no succession in place
- Funding stability at risk — no multi-year financial model
- Brand outdated, not connecting with donors or beneficiaries
What we delivered
- 5-year strategic roadmap developed & adopted by the board
- Succession plan designed & implemented
- New financial model built for multi-year stability
- Rebrand & donor engagement strategy launched
The math
What a full-time HRD costs.
What HRWire delivers instead.
Cost — full-time HRD · annual loaded cost
Base salary (SMB average)$XXX K
Benefits and payroll tax (~25%)$XX K
Recruiting and onboarding$XX K
Total per year$XXX K
+ severance risk
Illustrative range. Varies by market, scope and seniority.
Value — HRWire embedded · real client savings
Saved · SaaS · 15 months$110K+
Saved · Construction · 3 years$220K+
ARR generated · Mining · 18 months6-fig
Of the cost30–50%
Zero severance risk
About
Austhin MadavaneMSc · CHRP / CRHA
Shaped outside the conventional HR path, my work ethic was forged in volatile, high-stakes environments in Asia where clarity, discipline, and execution were not optional.
I learned early how to lead when conditions were unstable, resources were constrained, and decisions had immediate consequences, including while managing teams of more than 150 people and multimillion-dollar programmes. In those contexts, my role was to adapt to fast-changing conditions, design flexible structures, bring diverse stakeholders together, and create alignment around what could actually be controlled and delivered.
That foundation carried into work with global industrial leaders in Italy, where I helped design avant-garde strategic initiatives for complex global operations. It also extended to supporting startups and international SMBs as they transformed and scaled across North America. Along the way, I served as a trusted advisor to more than 20 business leaders.
Today, that experience informs a broader platform and services offering focused on delivering organizational transformation with clarity, structure, and practical execution.
Fluent in French and English, with a good command of Spanish and several Asian languages, I work across cultures with ease and precision.
My perspective has been shaped by international academic training, executive education at IRIS, Cranfield, and Berkeley, and years of leadership in complex environments.
MSc, Cranfield · CHRP / CRHA · UC Berkeley Exec Ed — AI Strategy · Multilingual
In their words
The people
who hired me.
Owners and chief executives who worked with me inside their business.
“Austhin provides excellent strategic and operational HR advisory. His ‘outside-of-the-box’ suggestions consistently challenge the status quo and provide valuable food for thought. He is a natural problem-solver and a pleasure to work with.”
“Austhin develops custom, practical tools that support daily operations while providing a fresh perspective on coaching. Having partnered with him on several HR mandates, I highly recommend his services.”
“Austhin knew exactly what we needed to navigate rapid expansion. He successfully coached our management team to create a sustainable path forward with a primary focus on driving and managing our workforce.”
Engage
Pick your
entry point.
Situation first, format second. Every model runs on the same method — and ends the same way. With a handoff.
A defined project
The Sprinter
Due diligence, a compliance review, an HRIS selection, a crisis. Scope and exit agreed up front.
A senior sounding board
The Advisor
Judgment on tap for hiring calls, offers, performance and structure — before the decision, not after.
A first people function
The Builder
Strategy through execution, embedded: recruitment, onboarding, performance, HRIS, documentation.
An org leader in the room
The Partner
Board-ready people reporting, org design, succession, and support through diligence and scale.
Built for SMBs
Fractional,
not advisory.
Consulting and fractional both add value — they just stop at different places.
Both add value — here’s how they differ
Traditional consulting
Diagnoses, recommends, hands you a deck. You execute.
VS
HRWire fractional
Embedded through the week. We build, run, transfer — and stay long-term.
“We don’t translate enterprise frameworks down — we build SMB systems from day one.”
Start here.
Call us when
Hiring 5+ in 12 months
1st HR hire pending
Founder still doing HR
Comp/performance broken
Too many conflicts
Need to re-organize
Thinking of selling
M&A on the horizon
An intro call
Fifteen minutes. Bring your hardest people problem — we’ll tell you what we’d do about it, whether or not we work together.
Open my calendarThe diagnostic
Twelve questions. Five minutes. A straight read on your foundation and the three gaps we’d fix first — no email wall.
Run the diagnostic →Prefer email? austhin@hrwire.info