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The best HR advice comes from people who’ve been in the trenches.
That’s what this newsletter delivers.
I Hate it Here is your insider’s guide to surviving and thriving in HR, from someone who’s been there. It’s not about theory or buzzwords — it’s about practical, real-world advice for navigating everything from tricky managers to messy policies.
Every newsletter is written by Hebba Youssef — a Chief People Officer who’s seen it all and is here to share what actually works (and what doesn’t). We’re talking real talk, real strategies, and real support — all with a side of humor to keep you sane.
Because HR shouldn’t feel like a thankless job. And you shouldn’t feel alone in it.
It is not consulting
Consulting gives you a diagnosis and recommendation. A good consultant will assess your situation, tell you what is wrong, and build you a roadmap they will hand you. That work has real value. There are moments in a business where that is exactly what you need.
Fractional HR is not that.
When you bring in fractional HR through Progress Amplified, you are not getting a report. You are not getting a deck about what your people infrastructure should look like when you eventually build it. You are getting someone who will build it with you. Inside your business. With specified deliverables.
The distinction sounds simple, but it is not. It changes everything in how the engagement runs.
It starts with a real conversation
Every engagement starts with a discovery call and a current state assessment. A real understanding of where the business is, what is working, and what is not, and what the people side of the operation actually needs right now.
That conversation matters because fractional HR is not a one-size-fits-all answer. A company 6 weeks post-close has a different problem than a company at $80M trying to build the leadership bench for the next stage of growth. Both are real problems. Both need real solutions, but they are not the same engagement.
The discovery call is where we figure out which one you are, what the work actually looks like, and whether we are the right fit for it. That last part matters. If we are not the right fit, we will tell you.
It is embedded, not advisory
This is the part that surprises most operators the first time.
Fractional does not mean distant. It does not mean you get a few hours a month of someone’s attention and a monthly check-in call. When we are engaged, we are inside your business. We know your leadership team. We know what is keeping the CEO up at night. We know where the people risks live before they become a problem you are managing in public.
We are not advising from the outside. We are operating from the inside, on a fractional basis.
This means the work doesn’t just get planned, it gets done.
“Fractional does not mean distant”
It runs on a real timeline
Fractional HR through Progress Amplified has defined scope, and the engagement runs on a structured basis.
Some situations call for an intensive sprint. Post-close, fast-moving, high-stakes, time-boxed. Others call for a longer arc, six months to a year or more, because the work is bigger and the company is building something that takes time to get right.
Either way, you know what you are getting into before the start. The scope is clear. The. outcomes are defined. And when the work is done, you are not dependent on us to keep it running. That is the point. You should be able to operate without use when we are finished.
What you are actually buying
Senior leader judgment, applied consistently, inside your business, without the cost or commitment of a full-time executive hire.
You are not buying hours, you are buying outcomes, Comp structures that make sense, Policies that hold up. A leadership team that knows how to manage people, not just tasks. Infrastructure that supports the growth you are already planning for.
And what you are buying is an HR leader who has done this before, not in theory, not only in mega organizations that have delegated all the actual work to their large teams. Someone who is also a builder, an operator who’s done this across multiple companies, with real stakes, on real timelines. Having been the executive HR leader inside PE-backed companies, inside middle-market private companies that understand the accountability and the pace of private equity.
This is what we mean by fractional HR.
If that is the conversation you need to have, you know where to find me
Until next time.
Michaela
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Today’s top 5:
What I’m reading: Meditations by Marcus Aurelius: This is one of those books that keeps finding me at the right time. Not my first time through, prob won’t be my last.
What I’m currently learning about: More a reminder or re-learning, but real conversations with CEOs and operators do more in an hour than weeks of planning in the background.
Who I’m following right now: World Cup! The USA had a great win yesterday, and I am not sorry about how loud I was.
What I’m saying yes to this week: Nostalgia. A high school friend is visiting me in Houston this week, and there is also family in town. The number of “remember when…” conversations, and the number of photo albums that have been pulled out, fill my heart and have also made my stomach ache with laughter.
Something that surprised me this week: I attended a World Cup watch party, and something happened that I didn’t expect. Everyone in the room was chanting and cheering for the same side. Strangers, friends, family…all of us. It's been a while since I felt that in a crowd. We needed it.
