It is a question everyone in leadership asks. How do I get the best return for my investment? This applies to investing in personnel just as much as it does equipment and other resources, if not more so.
As leaders, we need to be adaptive, creative, and resilient, and we want the same for our teams. We realize that the world is continually changing, and if we do not keep one eye on today and the other on the future, we will be bypassed by those who do and forgotten by those we wish to influence and engage.
So, how do we ensure that we hire the right talent to enable us to be successful today while setting us up for long-term success moving forward?
In many cases, fractional talent is the answer.
As we grow, we may not yet require the full-time services of those who can move our needle, but we do require their talents for oversight and strategy.
Here are some things to think about when looking at whether hiring full-time or fractional is right for you.
Identify needs and gaps: Where do you have talents in-house, and where don’t you? For instance, you may have an incredibly talented marketing team, but they may be young and inexperienced. They may have marketing chops but lack insurance knowledge and cannot quite nail the real pain points that insurance executives face.
They have the technical ability to implement tactics flawlessly, but they do not possess the strategic skill set that comes from years of experience. Then you need to ask, do we need someone full-time to develop strategy and lead the team, or do we need someone who can quickly build trust and rapport, communicate objectives, develop strategies, work with teams to develop tactics, and act as oversight and a sounding board? Does it matter if that person sits in an office five days per week, or do you need them to be accessible to do what they do best?
The same could be said for any fractional leadership position.
Assess financial realities: Let’s be blunt. Not all of us have free-flowing cash that we can utilize as we desire whenever we need it. It would be wonderful, but it is usually not a reality.
Fractional leaders enable you to keep the books leaner. Not only are you getting top-end talent at a discounted price because you are not paying for their full-time services, but you can usually negotiate benefits as well, further reducing capital expenditures.
This allows you flexibility, better ROI and capital that can be used to hire tacticians who can work under the fractional leader at a reduced rate.
Consider organizational readiness: There is a saying, we don’t know what we don’t know. And for many businesses, what we don’t know can hurt us. Utilizing fractional leaders allows you to have access to experts who have worked across industries and sizes of companies and you gain access to their experience and lessons learned elsewhere.
They are usually more able to ramp up more quickly and they can see pitfalls and gaps that you may not because you are too close to the situation.
Evaluating the urgency of your needs: When was the last time you went to hire a senior executive? Finding the right person can take weeks or months, and then, because they are usually employed elsewhere, it will take time for them to extricate themselves from their previous employer, may desire time off before starting, and then will take time to onboard and get up to speed within your organization. And even when you find the right person, you are likely competing with other firms for this talent.
Many times you don’t have the luxury of time. With that, fractional leadership can be brought in far more quickly and are usually able to move forward faster and onboard more quickly. All of this benefits you in terms of having someone who can be ready to solve whatever problems you are facing much faster.
Long-term vs. short term requirements: There are many times when having someone come in, take care of a specific project, right the ship and leave is appealing. You may not have ongoing needs for people with a specific talent, but you do need them now. With fractional leadership, the understanding is that this is not a forever position. People who take on these types of roles tend to be problem-solvers and action-oriented. They change departments, not run them full-time.
The good news is, you can hire a fractional leader, have them solve your problem, set you up for success, help you hire and train their full-time replacement and be there in the background, if needed. It solves issues with hiring and firing and allows for more effective transitions.
A perfect role could be hiring a fractional leader to take over when someone leaves on their own accord or not, to steer the ship while you hire the right full-time replacement and get them up to speed.
Review the complexity or specificity of the role: How technical is the problem you need to solve?
Let’s face it, even though you may have an amazing leader in a specific role, the expertise needed to solve a specific issue may be outside their area of expertise. You are not going to fire and hire someone new in that situation but rather bring in an expert with both strategic and tactical experience within a specific area to help guide you through the changes needed.
An example would be a CFO with expertise in a specific ERP solution who can help set up the ERP effectively so it works well for you. This role could last 12-24 months, helping you assess needs, challenges, and opportunities, negotiate with vendors, bring in implementation partners, and help set up training for various departments to ensure understanding and adoption.
If you are looking for specific resources that can help you further, please consider:
Orr Group on Fractional Leadership
https://orrgroup.com/2022/10/is-fractional-leadership-right-for-your-nonprofit/
The Process Hacker on Fractional Executives
https://theprocesshacker.com/what-is-a-fractional-executive-why-hire-one/
By considering these factors, you can make an informed decision about whether fractional leadership is the right fit for your organization.
About Ben Baker
Ben Baker has been a Fractional Chief Communications Officer, Chief Marketing Officer and Chief Podcast Officer for his clients for over a decade. "The single biggest problem with communication is the illusion that it has taken place.” - George Bernard Shaw We help you fix that problem and make sure you are listened to, understood, valued, and engaged with by internal and external clients, prospects and stakeholders in meaningful and profitable ways.
Ben Baker has been a Fractional Chief Communications Officer, Chief Marketing Officer and Chief Podcast Officer for his clients for over a decade.
"The single biggest problem with communication is the illusion that it has taken place.”
- George Bernard Shaw
We help you fix that problem and make sure you are listened to, understood, valued, and engaged with by internal and external clients, prospects and stakeholders in meaningful and profitable ways.
