
Great ideas often start with the simplest of ingredients: a challenging problem, space to think differently, and critically, the right thought partners.
A couple years ago while both were at their prior company BetterUp, the product marketing team - where both happened to sit at that moment - was facing a complex business challenge. In times of challenge, these two behavioral scientists naturally turned to each other because of their complementary thinking styles and shared rigorous approach. Over years of collaborating, they knew coming together led to better solutions than either could develop alone. In this case, Shonna asked Erin to join her to whiteboard for a few hours in an attempt to find a resolution to the problem at hand. No one remembers which of them suggested bringing a bottle of wine to their whiteboarding session, but the mere suggestion reflected the playfulness that is inherent to their problem-solving toolkit. Rather than stay inside a conference room, they rolled a mobile whiteboard onto an elevator and up to the rooftop of the building.
What emerged over those hours of discussion under bluebird sky and the DC skyline wasn't just a solution to their immediate business challenge. They also found themselves repeatedly pausing to acknowledge how much easier the solution emerged in partnership. This was what work should feel like: "generative, challenging in all the right ways, and deeply collaborative." Work wasn’t “work”.
The Seed of a Shared Vision
Fast forward a couple years and Shonna began exploring the idea of starting her own venture to help organizational leaders through leadership coaching, consulting and advisory, while Erin was dealing with major family system transition as a military spouse and considering entrepreneurship to improve work-life integration for working mothers. Their parallel inner journeys and debate brought them together for another thought partner session. But this time, they were breaking out the whiteboard for a very different purpose. This session would be to map out their independent visions for their next career move, each serving as the other’s thought partner and mirror. What emerged was both unexpected and made perfect sense: they had a shared fundamental -and insanely ambitious- mission: to solve work. More specifically, to use the science of organizational psychology to shape a better future of work.
A Unique Window of Opportunity
In that career map session, Erin and Shonna had another key insight: we are in a unique window of opportunity in history right now where something that seems as unreachable as “solving work” is actually more possible than ever. The next decade will bring unprecedented potential for fundamental change in how work happens and what it means in our lives. Both deeply believe AI can be used to either reinforce and entrench existing workplace problems or to open up radically better solutions to long-standing challenges. With the world at the precipice of massive disruptions from AI and technological change, they know organizational psychologists have a lot of answers and need to step up more than ever. And they both had the burning desire to do just that, because psychology, technology, and business can be married to solve problems related to work in new and better ways - for humans and organizations alike.
From idea to impact.
Today, Fractional Insights serves two key groups shaping the future of work. They partner with C-suites of forward-thinking enterprise companies to take top line business challenges and identify the corresponding changes to work design and people strategy to solve those challenges. They help leaders design for and leverage the biggest asset companies have: their people. To do this, they measure and diagnose challenges, strategize on the right solution be it with technology or not, and ultimately facilitate high impact change. Technology and AI are commonly a part of solving top line business problems like performance stagnation, but technology without psychology can also mean millions of dollars spent and no appreciable change. That is why Fractional Insights supports not just enterprises but also work technology vendors.
As technologists themselves, Shonna and Erin also directly support work technology vendors who are using technology to innovate workplace solutions. For vendors, Fractional Insights ensures real human and organizational impact that can be measured, expressed, and proven, ultimately creating a win-win-win for the vendor (who will grow more), the enterprises (who will solve their business problems more effectively), and people (who are the lynchpin making any of that happen).

"We saw that with the introduction of AI, there was going to be this quantum leap for organizations and people that would be extremely disruptive," Erin explains. "As behavioral scientists, we understand that change is a critical moment for evolution. Even though these moments of change can be painful, they often come with opportunities for intense growth and reimagination."
A Systems-Level Approach
What sets Fractional Insights apart is its systems-level approach to organizational problem solving. Rather than offering isolated interventions or quick fixes, the company works at the intersection of people, technology, and business strategy to address the entire organizational system. For example, they are supporting enterprise level strategy around the introduction of a new AI to the workforce so that it’s received well and can actually drive business outcomes. They are also supporting work technology organizations to build enterprise revenue strategies using science that can validate why and how a new technology or AI can actually drive better outcomes for organizations.
Organizational psychologists are made for this work. When it comes to capitalizing on AI for a better world, "It's not about the technology – it's about psychology," says Erin. "The humans behind the technology have the real keys to success and it is in any organization’s best interest to consider their people the primary stakeholder."
This perspective is particularly crucial as organizations grapple with AI integration. Shonna notes that while AI captures attention and investment, the real challenge is human: "As a pragmatist, I see AI as a tool. But as a psychologist, I'm fascinated by the fundamental questions it raises about what it means to be human and how much humans matter. With AI soon a part of every company, human capital is taking center stage as the true differentiator."
The company's name itself reflects its mission. "Fractional Insights" speaks to the firm's ability to break down complex organizational challenges into actionable components while maintaining a holistic view of the system. This approach allows them to bridge the often-disconnected worlds of people strategy and business outcomes.
Fractional Insights doesn't just advise on the future of work – they're actively building it. The company serves as its own incubator for alternative business models, intentionally breaking from traditional corporate structures. Central to this approach is their innovative talent model: a carefully curated network of world-class experts, including PhD-level applied psychologists alongside industry-leading coaches and consultants, who collaborate on projects that match their expertise. This flexible structure allows Fractional Insights to bring the right combination of deep expertise to each challenge while demonstrating how work can be both more human and more effective. They are also embracing a business strategy oriented toward partnerships, collaborations, and channels. By reimagining their own organizational structure, they're proving that alternative models of work aren't just theoretical – they're practical and powerful.
As organizations face unprecedented challenges in integrating AI, managing hybrid work, and maintaining human connection in increasingly digital environments, Fractional Insights offers a unique perspective: successful transformation to a better future of work requires understanding both the psychology of human behavior and the mechanics of organizational change. It's about creating systems that honor humanity in order to drive business success.
What began as a rooftop glimmer has evolved into a mission to help organizations thrive by bringing together the best of psychological science, business strategy, and technological innovation. In doing so, Fractional Insights is helping to shape the future of work itself.
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