Posted October 5th, 2022

Fractional management is a form of interim or temporary management originating by the demand coming from small entrepreneurial companies for which a classical full-time manager may not yet be necessary, or affordable.

Fractional Executives may also be known as Contract Executive, Temporary Executive, On-Demand Executive or Executive-as-a-Service. When you hire a Fractional COO (F-COO), your company gets the insight and expertise of a top operations executive without having to bear the full-time cost - a powerful and affordable way to achieve your organizational goals, increase strategic advantages, and grow your business.

What is a COO

A Chief Operating Officer is an extension of the CEO, both the bridge and the filter between top leadership and the rest of the organization. The primary function of a COO is to operationalize the vision and strategies, ensuring productivity, efficiency, and profitability with a focus on three main areas - structure, processes, and systems.

The COO helps to design the appropriate organizational structure in alignment with the businesses growth strategy. They are to implement such a structure while remaining lean and growing/developing the team appropriately, making sure the right people are in the right seats at the right time. A proper structure provides consistency and clarity across the organization.

A COO optimizes operations enabling cross functional communication and efficiency. It is an operations executive responsibility to ensure that systems and processes are in place to allow for maximum productivity at the lowest cost. Furthermore, they are charged with continuously improving processes and workflows to maintain margins while delivering on product promises.

Perhaps one of the most important roles a COO plays is that of facilitator and integrator - developing and managing a comprehensive business operations system. This includes getting, and keeping, leadership on the same page and on target. A proper operations system aligns structure, strategy, and day to day functions to maintain effective prioritization and goal realization through cadence and communication.

Who needs a Fractional COO

Any small business owner who is wearing so many hats that they lack effectiveness, but cannot yet afford a six figure executive salary could use the support provided by a F-COO. Striking a balance, the COO will manage the small details of day-to day while the CEO focuses on the big picture to drive growth. Whereas the CEO is driven to increase revenues, the COO is focused on making business and operations sustainable and scalable.

It’s a perfect yin and yang partnership that helps small businesses realize their desired future state. Additionally, while CEOs can delegate all of the above, they can also assign special project management to a F-COO - anything from technology to process improvement integrations, and designing systems from employee training to performance management.

Original Article : What is a Fractional COO and Who Needs One?

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