If you're a founder or a leader, you've probably struggled with the challenge of finding high quality talent at an affordable cost.
That's where fractional executives come in.
Fractional executives can help solve your staffing problems while keeping costs down. But, as with any other colleague, there are certain steps that need to be taken before they can provide the value they were hired for.
1) Hiring the Right Person For The Job
When you’re hiring a fractional executive, it’s important to have a clear job description in place. This will make it easier for you to choose the right candidate, and it will give your new hire a clearer idea of what their responsibilities will be. You should consider the following factors when choosing a fractional executive:
- The experience and skill set of your candidate. The ideal executive has worked as a successful business owner, employee, and entrepreneur.
- Whether or not they have experience in your industry. For example, if you're looking for someone to run your restaurant, you'll want to find someone who has worked in restaurants before.
2) Establish Clear Expectations and Deliverables
Fractional executives are often tasked with leading an initiative that requires a high level of flexibility in order to adapt to changing circumstances. Their time is also limited – it's important that their role is clearly defined from the beginning so that you each know what needs to happen and how much time you'll have to do it.
- Set up a decision matrix for your next steps based on measurable outcomes rather than just "feeling good" about what you've done or having accomplished something just because it was on your list of things to get done this week.
- Be realistic when defining success criteria: If your only measure of success is achieving some arbitrary number like "$1 million in revenue," go back to #1 and start again! Success isn't always quantifiable; if it were everyone would be successful all the time!
3) Maintain Clear Lines of Communication
The more easily you can convey what you need, the more efficiently your business will run. On the flipside, an executive who has good communication skills will quickly learn how best to work with others, which will help them be successful in their new role at your company.
4) Establish and Track Progress Clearly
You should set up a system that allows you to measure progress and the success of your business, so that you can make decisions based on this data.
The best way to do this is by tracking metrics over time. This will allow you to see how your business has improved over time, and it will also help improve your own performance at work so that when it comes down to hiring someone else or working without one again in the future, they know what they're getting into beforehand!
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