Retainer Engagement · 3-Month Minimum

Your AI implementation lead.
Without the full-time hire.

Ongoing workflow delivery, governance, and measurement — one month at a time.

After a pilot proves out, the question becomes: who owns the next workflow? And the one after that? The Fractional AI Workflow Lead fills that gap — embedded implementation leadership without adding headcount. Roadmap, rollout, governance, and measurement, month over month.

What This Is

Not a vendor. Not a consultant.

The fractional model is a specific thing. Here's what it is and what it isn't, so there's no confusion about what you're buying.

What it is
  • An embedded implementation lead who attends your ops reviews and knows your workflows
  • Someone who owns the roadmap, not just advises on it
  • Week-over-week continuity — I know what failed last month and why
  • Principal-level judgment on which workflow to tackle next and in what order
  • Governance documentation, measurement dashboards, and staff handoffs built as we go
  • Hands-on engineering when the work needs it — I can build, not just specify
What it isn't
  • A project manager who tracks tasks but doesn't build anything
  • A vendor pushing a specific platform or tool suite
  • Strategy advice without execution — every month ends with something deployed
  • A subscription to slide decks and workshops
  • Unlimited hours — the scope is fixed and planned monthly
  • A substitute for internal ownership — you still need one person who can champion pilots
Every Month

Six things that happen each month.

The retainer is structured. Here's what you can expect each month, every month, for the duration of the engagement.

01

Workflow Prioritization

Review the backlog, score each candidate workflow by ROI and feasibility, and agree on what gets built this month. Written rationale for what was picked and what was deferred.

02

Controlled Rollout

One workflow moved from design to production — limited to the internal owner and one team first. Feedback collected, edge cases handled, scope controlled before a wider rollout.

03

Governance & Audit Log

Every deployed workflow gets a documented data path, control set, and human-in-the-loop gate. The audit log is updated monthly — what's running, what's flagged, what changed.

04

Measurement Dashboard

Active workflows tracked against their baseline: hours saved, cycle time, rework rate, adoption, exceptions. Numbers updated each month and reviewed with you in the executive readout.

05

Staff Adoption

The internal champion gets a handoff document and a short session each month. Adoption blockers are diagnosed early. Workflows that aren't being used get root-caused and fixed, not abandoned.

06

Monthly Executive Readout

30-minute readout covering: what shipped, what the numbers say, what's next, and any governance or risk flags. Written summary delivered within 24 hours for stakeholders who weren't on the call.

How We Measure

Four layers of proof.

Success is tracked across commercial, diagnostic, pilot, and executive layers. Every number has a baseline. Nothing is hand-waved.

Commercial
Audits closed · Pilots converted · Retainers renewed
Diagnostic
Workflows mapped · Baseline hours · Bottleneck identified
Pilot
Hours saved/week · Cycle time reduction · Adoption rate
Executive
Monthly labor savings · Throughput · Owner involvement reduced
Fit Check

Who this is built for.

The retainer isn't a starter engagement — it assumes you've already validated that AI-assisted workflows work inside your firm. Here's what that means in practice.

Right fit

  • You've completed a pilot (internally or with me) and want to continue
  • You have 3+ recurring workflows where AI assistance makes economic sense
  • You have one internal person who can own a workflow and give feedback week over week
  • You need someone to own the roadmap, not just execute tasks when asked
  • You're a service firm with document-heavy, repeatable workflows — not a product company
  • You want measurable output each month, not a retainer that turns into a standing meeting

Not the right fit

  • You haven't done a pilot — start with the audit first
  • You need a one-time fix, not ongoing delivery
  • No internal champion — someone at the firm needs to own this operationally
  • You want AI strategy advice without implementation — that's a different engagement
  • You're looking for prompt coaching or staff training as the primary deliverable
  • You want a full-time AI lead but are pricing it as fractional — the scope has to match
How You Get Here

The engagement path.

Every retainer client started with an audit. The ladder isn't a sales funnel — it's how we build enough trust and data to make the retainer worth the investment for both of us.

01 · Diagnose
AI Workflow Audit
$1,500 · 5 business days

Find the drag, size it, pick the first pilot. Written deliverable. Completely standalone.

See the audit →
02 · Pilot
Controlled Workflow Pilot
$7,500–$12,500 · 14–30 days

One workflow built, deployed, and measured. This is where we prove the model works inside your firm before committing to a longer engagement.

03 · Sustain
Fractional Workflow Lead
$4,500–$8,500/mo · 3-mo min

You're here. The pilot worked. Now we ship a new workflow each month with the governance and measurement structure already in place.

Investment

Transparent pricing.

The retainer is priced by scope, not by the hour. The range reflects the number of active workflows and the complexity of the governance environment. We'll scope it together.

Retainer Engagement
Fractional AI Workflow Lead
Monthly Retainer
$4,500$8,500
per month
Minimum Term
3 months
then month-to-month
Book a Discovery Call

Not ready for a retainer? Start with the $1,500 audit →

Next Step

Start the conversation.

The right entry point is a 30-minute discovery call. If you've already done a pilot, we'll scope the retainer. If you haven't, we'll figure out whether the audit is the right first step.

Or email jason@nycolai.com