HR as a Service for Small and Growing Companies
If your company has grown past 20 people and HR is still managed by the founder, the COO or an office manager, HR as a Service gives you a working HR function. HRBx runs your people processes as an extension of your team: policies, onboarding, performance reviews, compliance oversight and a named HR advisor your managers can call. You get the structure a larger company relies on.
- Systems, Not Basic Admin
- Org & Talent Strategy Advisory
- Frameworks that help high-growth teams hire and scale
MANDATE TRIGGERS
Engage us through a flexible retainer or a focused project mandate, depending on the people challenge in front of you.
No Senior HR Voice Yet
Scaling Past 100 Employees
You Are Considering a Fractional CHRO
Signs Your Company Needs HR Support Now
- 1. As a founder, you or COO still approves leave, drafts offer letters and handles every exit.
- 2. Policies live in a handbook written when the company had 15 people.
- 3. Performance reviews happen when someone remembers, and pay increases are decided case by case.
- 4. Two managers handled the same situation in two different ways, and the team noticed.
- 5. Your employee policies were written before the Labour Codes took effect in November 2025.
- 6. You have crossed 10 employees and want to be sure your POSH Internal Committee, gratuity and leave policies are in place.
What Our Virtual HR Services Cover
HR Policies and Employee Handbook
A policy set that fits your size and stage: leave, attendance, remote work, code of conduct, POSH, notice periods and exits. Written in plain language so managers can apply it without calling someone every time.
Hiring Process and Onboarding
Structured interviews, offer letter templates and a first-90-day onboarding plan, so new joiners settle in faster and early exits drop. When you reach the point of hiring senior leaders, our leadership hiring practice takes that on.
Performance Reviews and Pay Structure
A review cycle your managers will actually run, salary bands grounded in market data, a clear increment process and ESOP communication for startups that grant equity.
Compliance Oversight
We set up your POSH Internal Committee and training, align your policies with the Labour Codes and review your statutory practices with your CA or payroll provider. They run payroll processing and filings. We make sure the policies behind those filings are right and that gaps get flagged early.
Employee Relations and Exits
A named advisor for the hard conversations: grievances, performance warnings, terminations and full and final settlements handled consistently and on record.
Manager Enablement
Practical training for first-time managers on feedback, one-on-ones and handling team issues, so fewer problems reach the founder's desk.
Situations We Step Into
- A 45-person SaaS company in Bengaluru. The COO spends a day a week on offer letters, leave disputes and exits. After a handbook, a review cycle and a standard exit process, that time goes back to operations.
2. A family-owned manufacturer with 120 employees. Pay increases depend on who asks. A salary band structure and a documented increment process bring consistency the second generation can defend. More on this in our HR consulting for family businesses.
3. A European company with a 30-person India sales and service team. Headquarters HR is unfamiliar with Indian leave norms, notice periods and gratuity. A local policy set and a named HR advisor close that gap.
HR as a Service or Fractional CHRO?
Best For
Companies of 20 to 300 building HR basics and systems
Leadership teams facing org design, culture or scale decisions
Who We Work With
Founders, COOs, HR executives and managers
CEO, leadership team and board
Primary Focus
Policies, processes, performance, compliance oversight, day-to-day people issues
People strategy, org structure, leadership team, succession
How It Works
A named HR advisor on a regular monthly cadence
A senior HR leader embedded in leadership meetings to actively guide executive decisions
Engagement Style
Flexible, project-based, or monthly retainer
Dedicated fractional executive partner
Hands over when
You hire an in-house HR manager
You hire a full-time CHRO
If the question on your table is org structure or the shape of your leadership team, a senior HR leader working part time with your leadership team is the better fit.
Two Ways to Work With Us
Foundations: For Teams of 20 to 150 With No HR Head
You have outgrown informal HR, and nobody on the team owns it. We become your HR function. A typical Foundations engagement covers:
- An HR audit of your current contracts, policies and practices.
- A core policy set and employee handbook.
- Onboarding and exit processes.
- Your first structured performance review cycle.
- Regular advisor time for founders and managers every month.
Growth: For Teams of 50 to 300 With an HR Executive in Place
You have someone handling HR operations, but nobody senior setting direction. We work alongside your HR executive to build salary bands, a performance framework, workforce plans and manager training, and we mentor your HR executive as the company grows.
Setting Up an India Team
For global companies building a small India entity or an early-stage GCC. We align your policies to Indian employment norms on notice periods, leave and gratuity, benchmark pay for your first hires and act as the local HR point of contact your headquarters can rely on. For the first senior hire in India, see our India market entry support.
Project Sprints
One defined problem, a fixed scope. Common sprints include a Labour Codes policy refresh, a retention audit, a salary band exercise and a performance system redesign.
Every engagement starts with a conversation.
Why Companies Choose HRBx for Virtual HR Services
Senior advisors, not a helpdesk.
Your advisor is an experienced HR practitioner who has built people functions in growing companies.
One point of contact.
Payroll, compliance, benefits and HR software partners are coordinated through your HRBx advisor, so you avoid managing four vendors yourself.
Built to hand over.
Every policy, template and process belongs to you, ready for your first in-house HR hire.
Connected to hiring.
When you need senior leaders, the same team runs your executive search.
Advise. Guide. Scale. Transition.
STEP 01.ADVISE ->
We audit your current setup and give you a clear priority list.
STEP 02. GUIDE->
We build and roll out policies and processes, and support your managers month to month.
STEP 03. SCALE->
As headcount grows, we add systems, salary bands and a stronger hiring process.
Explore Fractional CHRO for larger, more formal engagements.
04. TRANSITION
When you are ready for an in-house HR manager, we help you hire one, hand over every document and step back.
Payroll, Compliance and HR Operations Through Our Partner Network
Payroll, statutory filings (PF, ESI, Professional Tax, TDS), employee benefits, background verification, HR software and Employer of Record services are delivered through our network of vetted partners. We match you with the right partner, set them up against your policies and stay your single point of contact. If you already work with a payroll provider or CA, we work with them instead.
FAQs About HR as a Service
What is HR as a Service?
HR as a Service is an outsourced HR function. An external HR advisor runs your policies, onboarding, performance reviews, employee relations and compliance oversight on a monthly retainer, so you get a working HR function without a full-time HR hire.
What are virtual HR services?
Virtual HR services provide remote access to experienced HR professionals who advise and support your leadership team. At HRBx, virtual HR focuses on strategic systems and leadership guidance rather than routine payroll processing or statutory filing.
Is HR as a Service suitable for a small company?
Yes. It suits companies of 20 to 150 people with no HR head, and growing teams of up to 300 where an HR executive needs senior direction.
Do you handle payroll and statutory compliance?
Yes, through our network of vetted partners. We connect you with the right provider for payroll and statutory filings and coordinate the work, so you have one point of contact.
What is included in a virtual HR engagement?
Policies and the employee handbook, hiring process and onboarding, performance reviews, salary bands, POSH setup, compliance oversight, employee relations, exits and manager training. Payroll, statutory filings, benefits, background checks and HR software are delivered through our partner network under HRBx oversight. The scope is set by your tier and priorities.
Can you help us choose HR software or group health insurance?
Yes. We define what you need, recommend options from our partner network that fit your size and budget, and configure your policies into the system you choose.
How is HR as a Service priced?
Engagements run as monthly retainers scoped to your headcount, tier and priorities. Project sprints are priced by scope. We share a proposal after a first conversation.
How is HR as a Service different from a fractional CHRO?
HR as a Service builds and runs your HR function. A fractional CHRO is a senior leader who shapes people strategy with your leadership team. Many companies start with HR as a Service and add a fractional CHRO as the leadership team grows.
Can virtual HR work for a remote or multi-location team?
Yes. The virtual HR model is designed to provide strategic guidance to distributed and multi-location teams, regardless of where employees or leaders are based.
When should we hire an in-house HR manager instead?
Once HR work fills a full working week, usually somewhere past 150 to 200 employees, an in-house HR manager makes sense. We help you define the role, hire for it and hand over.