When the Playbook Doesn't Match the Reality
Companies often call in fractional HR help after a growth spurt or a leadership change, expecting a standard set of policies and processes to smooth things over. But according to David Stogner, founder of atholhaus, a fractional HR leadership and people advisory practice, the usual advice frequently misses what is actually happening inside the organization.
"I've walked into organizations where the business had grown, but the way people worked together hadn't really caught up," Stogner said. "Things that used to happen naturally, like communication, accountability, and even just knowing who to go to for what, had become complicated."
The instinct in those moments is often to start writing policies and creating processes. But as Stogner noted, "sometimes that just adds another layer of frustration." Instead, the approach is to spend time getting to know the people and figuring out how things actually work before suggesting changes.
That diagnostic-first mindset is central to his work. Rather than arriving with a pre-built framework, Stogner treats each organization as a distinct system with its own informal rules, relationships, and history. The Society for Human Resource Management and other industry bodies publish extensive guidance on HR best practices, but his point is that even well-regarded frameworks need to be adapted to the specific people in the room.
What Most HR Advice Leaves Out
When asked what keeps coming up in these situations that most online HR advice overlooks, Stogner pointed to something simple but often ignored: people are complicated.
"People are messy! And I mean that in the best possible way," he said. "There's so much HR advice out there that assumes every workplace operates the same way. But people bring their personalities, histories, relationships, and quirks to work every day. All of that shapes the culture, whether anyone realizes it or not."
The implication is that best practices cannot simply be dropped into an organization and expected to work. "You have to understand the people first," Stogner emphasized.
This perspective aligns with a growing body of work on organizational culture and psychological safety, including research from Harvard Business Review and Gallup, which consistently finds that team dynamics and interpersonal trust drive outcomes as much as formal structures do. Yet the temptation to reach for a template remains strong, especially when a company is growing quickly and leadership feels pressure to act.
The Decision Founders Make Too Quickly
That pressure often leads to a predictable mistake. When founders or managers first realize they need HR help, Stogner said, they tend to decide too quickly that the answer is a hire or a purchase.
"That they need to hire someone! Or buy some expensive software," he said. "Sometimes that's exactly what they need, but not always. I've seen businesses spend a lot of money trying to fix something they haven't really taken the time to understand."
Instead, Stogner prefers to sit down with the people involved, hear what is going on, and help them figure out what kind of support actually makes sense. "Sometimes the answer is a lot simpler than they think," he added.
For readers navigating similar moments, the takeaway is practical: before committing to a new hire, a software platform, or a policy overhaul, take the time to understand the actual problem. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and other small-business resources offer guidance on when to bring in outside HR support, but the decision should follow a clear diagnosis rather than precede it.
A People-First Approach to Fractional HR
The conversation makes a case for fractional HR leadership that is less about installing systems and more about understanding the human dynamics already at play. For Stogner, that means resisting the urge to apply generic solutions and instead treating each organization as a unique mix of people, relationships, and history.
"You can't just drop a best practice into an organization and expect it to work," he said. "You have to understand the people first."
More information about the practice is available at atholhaus, and David Stogner can be found on LinkedIn.