CPO-Level Strategy · The HX Team · AI + Tech Integration
Build the people function your business actually needs.
CPO-level people strategy for companies navigating growth, change, and complexity — without the full-time hire.
Stacie Baird · Founder & Strategic Lead
Less Expensive
The investment of a fractional Chief. The output of a built-for-purpose people function.
Better Results
The HX Frame™ across all three pillars — AI-optimized in the field, human-designed at the edges.
Scalable & Optimized
An internal team architected to grow, with the second seat developed or placed to carry it forward.
The Case for a Different Model
You're scaling. Restructuring. Maybe getting ready to sell. And your people strategy can't keep up — the cost of that gap is already showing.
"That's the seat I fill."
I build the strategy, install the systems — AI agents, tech, project and change management — and make it run sustainably and measurably. Then it carries forward without me. You can't justify a $400K full-time CPO, can't find the right one, or have someone in the chair who isn't quite ready. I close that gap.
Explore the Three PillarsTHREE PILLARS
Where the work actually happens.
Every engagement is built around the three areas where the gap between organizations doing this well and those still waiting is compounding every quarter. Expand any pillar to see the full capability set.
PROPRIETARY MODEL
The HX Frame™
Define the blueprint. Document how it operates. Set strategy, establish design intent, and define — then verify and document — the workflows, processes, and decision criteria the AI will operate within. The frame is both the vision and the rulebook.
Every tactical, repetitive, and verifiable function — executed at scale. Sourcing, screening, scheduling, benefits navigation, leave management, learning delivery, engagement surveys, policy questions, outreach workflows — anything documentable, resourced, or systematizable runs here. Faster, cheaper, more accurately, and without burning human bandwidth.
Make the decisions that matter. Hiring decisions, development investments, benefits design, performance accountability, and the high-stakes human moments a system can surface but never resolve. Better decisions made by humans who aren't buried in the work the field already handled.
"You are the frame. Every decision inside it is yours."
Numbers that tell the real story.
Across PE-backed, healthcare, SaaS, and Fortune 50 organizations.
High-growth, PE-backed healthcare — technology deployed where it scales, human discernment kept where it matters most.
VC-backed international healthcare org — personalized whole-person health, with premium escalation held to single digits year over year.
National public company, distributed workforce — internal growth up 29%, tying leadership development to engagement and pilot impact.
Achieved in 18 months through predictive analytics and redesigned recruitment — eliminating agency dependency entirely.
Fortune 50 national talent acquisition operation — 80+ recruiters, 4 new 500+ employee location launches, seven-figure cost savings.
Across PE-backed, healthcare services, and multi-site organizations at every stage of the growth lifecycle.
ENGAGEMENT LEVELS
The Frame. The Field. The Proof. Scaled to where you are.
Every engagement runs the same cycle — set the frame, work the field, prove the results. The difference is depth: a focused assessment, a full strategic build, or a fractional seat carrying it week to week.
Transparent flat-cost monthly engagements · No hourly clocks
Assess
The Frame
$10K per month
A full-day strategic session to set the frame — where you are, where the gaps are, and what to do about them. You leave with clear recommendations, plus coaching twice a month for three months to put them in motion.
- ◆Full-day strategic session
- ◆Gap & cost analysis
- ◆Clear recommendations
- ◆Coaching twice a month for 3 months
Build
The Field
$15–18K per month
Everything in Assess, plus a customized people-and-tech strategic plan built for your business — and follow-on coaching to drive it. This is where the field gets worked: the strategy becomes a roadmap your team can run.
- ◆Everything in Assess
- ◆Customized people-and-tech strategic plan
- ◆Follow-on coaching to drive it
- ◆Strategy becomes a runnable roadmap
Embed
The Proof
$20K+ per month
Everything in Build, plus weekly fractional hours in the seat. The full engagement — strategy, systems, and a senior hand carrying the work week to week until the results are measurable and the function runs without me.
- ◆Everything in Build
- ◆Weekly fractional hours in the seat
- ◆Strategy, systems, and senior execution
- ◆Results measurable before you're done
IN PRACTICE
The HX Frame™ in action.
The leave of absence journey — three moments that show exactly how automation, agents, and human judgment each play their defined role.
AI Benefits Agent
Available 24/7 · Completely Private
YOU
What's the difference between FMLA and a personal leave of absence?
FMLA provides up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave for qualifying events — your own serious health condition, a family member's care, or birth/adoption of a child. Your company's personal LOA policy may offer additional flexibility. Want me to check your specific eligibility?
YOU
Do I have to tell my manager why I'm taking leave?
No. For medical leaves, you only provide a general certification from a healthcare provider — not your diagnosis. Your manager receives leave dates, not reasons. Your privacy is protected by law.
Design Insight
Privacy-first inquiry — no awkward conversations. The employee gets comprehensive, accurate answers at any hour without disclosing anything to their manager or HR team. The agent handles what's documented and answerable — so humans don't have to.
The Principle
"Automation delivers information when the employee controls the timing."
FOR HR LEADERS
You built the function. Now let's make it run at a different level.
This isn't a replacement. It's a partnership — for the HR leader who's ready to move from reactive to strategic, from manual to automated, and from surviving to leading.
Let's TalkElevate Your Function
You've been doing the work. Now build the architecture that lets you lead it — AI-optimized systems, measurable outcomes, and a seat at the table that reflects the value you're already delivering.
Develop Your Second Seat
Whether you're building your bench or preparing for what's next, The HX Team works alongside you — developing your team, placing the right talent, and ensuring the function doesn't depend on any one person.
Lead the AI Transition
The organizations that win the next decade will be the ones who figured out where AI belongs in the people function — and where it doesn't. That's the work we do together.
Founder & Strategic Lead
Stacie Baird
Founder · The HX Coach · The HX Team
Chief People Officer and CHRO with 25+ years of executive HR leadership. At CVS/Caremark, she built the Fortune 50 national talent acquisition strategy — leading 80+ recruiters and delivering seven-figure cost savings. Most recently partnered with a PE-backed distributed healthcare organization to double in size, achieving 86% cost-per-hire reduction and 21% benefits spend savings. Stacie leads The HX Team in building engagements around three pillars: the Talent Engine, Benefits & Wellbeing by Design, and The Leadership Pipeline — all inside the proprietary HX Frame™.
Season 6 Now Live
The HX Podcast
Elevating HX Through Tech & AI
Self-Assessment
Where is your people function today?
Rate your current HR infrastructure honestly. There's no wrong answer — just a starting point.
LET'S TALK
Ready to build the people function your business actually needs?
A 30-minute discovery call with Stacie and The HX Team. No pitch — just an honest conversation about where you are and whether this is the right model.