So, What Exactly is a Fractional Consultant?

Have you come across the term “Fractional COO” recently? I get the question pretty often – what exactly does that mean? So here’s a short post to explain a little bit about what fractional truly means, why it’s helpful to you, and what to look for in a fractional consultant. I’ll use a COO as an example throughout this simply because that’s what I personally have the most experience with.

 What it Means:

Hiring someone fractional means that instead of hiring a full-time employee, like a full-time COO, you get to hire some for only a fraction of the time. For example, if you’re part of a 6-person organization, chances are that you need a strong Operations Manager with a representative salary, and don’t need a full-time COO. When you hire a fractional COO, say, for 8 hours a week, you get access to a COO working directly with your business at a fraction of the cost.

There are many types of consultants out there – fractional COOs, CFOs, CMOs, HR, social media, bookkeepers, virtual assistants, controllers etc. You’re hiring a consultant to become embedded in your organization on a part-time (or fractional) basis.

 Why it’s Helpful:

When your organization is smaller (and sometimes when it’s bigger, too), the amount of time you need a specialized employee form isn’t usually a full-time job. You also likely won’t have the salary to pay the cost of a high performing staff member. Good COOs aren’t cheap. Hiring fractional means that you get access to quality talent at a lower cost. It’s a win-win from both sides! In my experience, my most embedded job was about 15 hours a week, and it cost the organization less than half of what a full-time COO would cost them. You’ll find that fractional employees are usually very efficient – so you get more output, higher quality, and keep your costs down. Additionally, it reduces your staffing liability as an organization – it’s easier to terminate a consulting contract than an employee.

*It's usually not helpful when you’re employing them for more than 20 hours a week – at that point, you’re probably better off paying an employee internally.

**If you engage with a contractor, make sure you’re paying them properly – just because someone works for you on a part-time basis doesn’t make them automatically a 1099. The IRS looks for other factors, like if they have other clients, and how much you control their work.

What to Look For:

Not all consultants out there are good. In fact, there are many that I’ve met and worked with that I would strongly recommend you stay away from. I’d estimate that less than a quarter of consultants out there are actually helpful (my rating is based on their ability to understand the org’s true issues and provide effective change and leadership in a skilled manner).  So you do want to make sure to vet your consultants properly. I know, this is frustrating – here I am telling you all the reasons fractional is good, but now I’m telling you that there’s a 75% chance that whomever you engage with won’t be helpful. So, let’s focus on how you can minimize that chance so that you’ll have a productive engagement:

• Check their track record – how long have they been in business? Have they worked with similar clients? What kind of success have their clients seen due to their involvement? How many clients do they have that have continued working with them for more than 3 years? Do they have client testimonials?
• Check social media – LinkedIn and blog postings can give you a lot of insight into their perspective, connections and endorsements.
• Start small – Most fractional consultants will have a small project that they can start you on. This gives you a chance to assess the relationship and make sure it’s a good fit from the beginning. In my case, I usually do an intake, and then a workflow analysis project. At the end of that, you should have obtained value and the confidence to move forward.
• Ask someone you trust who’s worked with them – I’ve spent years vetting consultants to make sure that I only engage my clients with high performers. I have great referral partners, so if you need any help, I’m happy to provide you with quality connections. When asking someone you trust, make sure they’ve had direct experience working with them themselves.
• Be clear about expectations – how much time are they giving you? Are you paying on an hourly or flat fee basis? What kinds of work will they be engaging in? What are their deliverables? What response time can you expect? Are there any specific success metrics?

I hope this provides a little more insight into what it means to work with a fractional consultant and helps you on your path towards organizational excellence.

Please reach out if you have any questions!