We develop effective people strategies for growing businesses

People Strategy & Fractional CPO Advisory

CPO-level capability, delivered fractionally. For organisations scaling, navigating change, or between executives, we step in as your senior people leader without the cost and commitment of a full-time hire. Senior capability from day one.

Fractional execs are 25-35% of the cost of a permanent hire

Executive capability fractional pricing. No fixed overheads, no long-term commitment. Our model is designed for flexibility: a simple engagement with a 30-day exit, giving you senior capability with minimal risk and immediate impact. Ideal when you are scaling, navigating change, or between executives and need steady, senior leadership in place.

Benefits of a fractional exec hire
  • Senior-level capability already operational - no recruitment time loss
  • Deep experience across people strategy, governance, workforce design, and responsible AI
  • An independent perspective - commercially grounded and honest
  • Flexibility to scale up or step back as your organisation evolves
  • No fixed overhead, no recruitment risk, no long-term commitment beyond the minimum term
Woman sitting with hands on temples looking worried

Responsible AI Workforce Strategy

AI is already in your workplace — the question is whether it's governed. We help you integrate AI responsibly: assessing workforce impact, designing governance frameworks, and building the capability your team needs.

 

Unsure about AI adoption?

We support you to integrate AI responsibly, embedding policy and guardrails while facilitating understanding and ongoing accountability with your team

  • AI workforce impact assessment & review
  • Responsible AI governance frameworks
  • AI capability mapping

Managing Risk

We design governance frameworks that will ensure you reduce your employment risks while supporting high performance and keeping your board informed.

  • Employment law compliance systems
  • Policy architecture
  • Risk audits and exposure mapping

Workforce Design & Change Management

Most change methods optimise for delivery. We optimise for adoption. WorkTheory brings diagnostic rigour and an employee experience lens together to ensure change doesn't destabilise your culture — it strengthens it.

 

Facing major change? We can help

We help redesign systems and integrate change seamlessly. Our employee experience lens ensures change does not destabilise the culture but instead results in positive lasting outcomes. Most change methods optimise for delivery. We optimise for adoption.

  • Workforce planning aligned to strategy
  • Change design and leadership alignment
  • Employee experience lens

WorkTheory's change process

WorkTheory's change model brings together McKinsey 7S to diagnose what's misaligned, Kotter's 8-Step Model to structure and lead the response, and an employee experience thread woven through every stage to ensure change is designed and experienced well

How we work with you

We focus on your unique needs and vision for the organisation, alongside any insights from your people. Our approach delivers tailored solutions that go beyond standard, blending specialised expertise with a strategic and commercial focus designed specifically for your business.

Fractional, Flexible, Strategic

Whether you need a focused strategic reset or ongoing executive partnership, WorkTheory tailors each engagement to your stage of growth.

We partner with founders, boards, and leadership teams to align people strategy with business strategy — so your organisation scales with clarity and confidence. We work with NZ businesses between 20 and 500 staff, designing people systems that strengthen culture, reduce risk, and future-proof your workforce. WorkTheory is not outsourced HR. It's an executive-level people strategy, delivered fractionally — when and where you need it most.

"The cost of getting your people strategy wrong is always greater than the cost of getting it right."

— WorkTheory Co.