Fractional COO: The Secret to Scaling Your Business
There are many ways to hire leadership positions, and considering a Fractional leader is a smart way to bring in a part-time qualified candidate to help propel your business forward. So, what is a Fractional COO? A Fractional COO is a contracted employee joining your organization and assuming the Chief Operating Officer role. Because the position is fractional, this individual can come in and work for your business on any schedule you choose, whether daily, weekly, monthly, or quarterly.
While the outsourced candidate is fractional, they still assume the duties of a full-time Chief Operations Officer by helping with business strategy, processes, or anything related to the operations of your business.
What Does a Fractional COO Do?
Simply put, a Fractional COO will take on the responsibilities of a typical, full-time Chief Operations Officer. Because the ideal candidate will have experience in this role and proven success, you can expect a Fractional COO to help with daily operational tasks, implementation, and creation of policies, instill the company culture and mission and ensure the company's long-term goals are successful. While this role seems like a great way to hire a COO without bringing on a full-time employee, you may wonder how a Fractional COO can fit into your business.
There are many ways companies utilize these roles to move forward. For example, your business may need a COO but is still seeking the right candidate. Exploring Fractional candidates opens the door to finding new, qualified candidates that may not have been interested in a full-time position. You may need to quickly fill the role while searching for the right, full-time COO. Having a fractional executive step in to ensure there is no lull in the job duties and that the transition is seamless is another excellent way to utilize an outsourced employee. Maybe you have a need for a COO but cannot take on the desired salary for the role. A Fractional COO, being part-time, can be a more cost-effective way to get the right person in the right seat until you can hire a full-time executive. There is a lot of flexibility with Fraction Executives, making them even more desirable to growing companies.
How Fractional COOs Can Help Your Business
As mentioned above, a Fractional COO can help your business as efficiently as a full-time COO.
Strategic planning and execution
Experience matters when it comes to hiring a Fractional Executive. This person will come into the role having experience in strategic planning and execution. The Fractional COO can evaluate your current policies, find areas to improve and expand on, design a new plan, and help execute it. Suppose you currently don't have any policies in place. In that case, a Fractional COO can work alongside your other leadership team members to create a new strategy to help your organization realistically reach its goals.
Organizational optimization
Just because your business may have current processes in place doesn't mean they are as efficient or effective as possible. Part of a Fractional COO's role is ensuring your organization runs as productively as possible. Often, a Fraction COO will assess your company's current processes and find ways to optimize them. Allowing a third party to come in, with no emotional attachment to the company or any prior knowledge allows for an unbiased, clear opinion on what needs to be changed to allow your company to thrive.
Project management
How you plan to achieve your goals gives insight into if they will be achieved. A Fraction COO will learn the steps you are taking or projects you have ongoing and ensure they are moving forward constructively. Having a leader keeping track of projects, ensuring deadlines are met, and confirming that all tasks are adequately delegated will help your crush deadlines and ultimately meet your long-term goals.
Growth and scalability
Knowing your company is ready to grow or scale and learning how to do that are very different things. A Fractional COO will use their experience and knowledge to help your company make action plans to help it grow and scale. Being able to heed their advice and get a plan in motion will make growth a reality.
How to Find the Right Fractional COO for Your Business
There are many factors to consider when seeking the right Fractional COO for your business. The person assuming the role needs to fit into your company culture, meet your drive, understand your mission and be able to provide results. So what else should you be looking for when searching?
Experience
The ideal candidate will have proven success and a strong history of working and growing companies. While there may be roles you can hire in your company at entry-level, a Fractional COO should not be one of them. This person is taking on a considerable role and needs to have the credentials to back it up.
Industry Knowledge
Having an expert in your industry is crucial when considering a Fractional COO. Every industry has different focuses, needs, and policies. Having a Fractional COO who has mastered your industry and understands its niches will help your organization grow leaps and bounds.
Strong Communication Skills
Because all leadership in your organization should know how to communicate properly, the ideal candidate knows how to clearly and concisely speak to your staff to motivate them, delegate tasks in an understandable way, and clarify every expectation. So much of achieving your goals as a company comes from everyone understanding their roles in doing so, so the COO needs to be able to communicate that properly.
Is It The Right Approach For Your Company?
There are a ton of approaches or processes when it comes to hiring. Research is the best way to determine which will work best for your company. Figure out what method will land you the best employees and come closest to matching all your requirements.
How GCE can help you find the right fractional COO for your unique needs and goals
GCE is proud to offer Fractional Executive services. Our experienced team works alongside business owners, visionaries, and integrators who embrace the principles of various business models to get the results they both need and deserve at an investment they can afford. We prioritize constantly evolving our skillset and learning best practices while educating ourselves on industry-leading tactics. GCE is more than happy to help and grow your business if you're in the market for a Fractional COO. Check more out here.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What is the difference between a fractional COO and a consultant?
A Fractional COO and a consultant sound similar but are vastly different. While both are contracted employees, a Fractional COO has past experience in being a COO, handling policies, daily operations, scaling and growing businesses, etc. A Consultant may not have the same experience in operations, therefore, isn’t the best fit for a COO title
How does working with a fractional COO impact existing employees and company culture?
When the position of Fractional COO is filled correctly, existing employees have no impact. A Fractional COO will still dive into and emulate company culture, communicate with your entire staff, and manage your team’s efforts.
How can a fractional COO help businesses prepare for and navigate through difficult economic times?
While no one can predict the future, a Fractional COO can help your business curate “economy-proof” processes, meaning you are setting your business up to navigate any situation, including rough economic times. No two companies are alike, so work alongside your Fractional COO to customize a strategy that ensures your organization is protected in any economic climate.