Leveraging Fractional Support: A Strategic Approach to Scaling Startups

Fractional senior support is becoming more and more popular across start-ups and is a great way to maximize efficiency and expertise within a company without the commitment of full-time hires on the P&L, allowing for flexibility and cost-effectiveness.?

The 9-5 five-day workweek model as the only way to work is outdated and stems from industrialisation, which is far from the structure that most companies need today to succeed. Instead, fractional support can be great for companies in need of in-house specialised expertise, while remaining cost-effective and flexible.?

The way we work has drastically changed over the past few years and with more remote and hybrid work opportunities, fractional support is becoming more and more accessible. With the support of COVID times, we learned how to collaborate better over different time zones with limits in travelling and access to physical meetings. This made us set up new ways of brainstorming, aligning on decisions, sharing information, and overall how we collaborate. The questioning of the former status quo has opened the opportunity to also question the way work should be conducted and how/what talent is needed for a business in different stages.?

It is important to note that fractional support is not a consultant - fractional support is taking on the role of an employee and executing as such. Fractional support is also not a freelancer but should be seen as a fully dedicated resource to the company. When working with fractional staff there are a few things to ensure:

• Set Clear Expectations: Just like with any role, it is important to clearly define the scope of work, deliverables, and communicate expectations from the outset to ensure alignment between the company and fractional staff. The fractional support will have to manage time and deliverables closelly within the scope and this requires very clear expectations.
• Maintain Open Communication: Regular check-ins and transparent communication are key to a successful partnership with fractional support, ensuring that everyone is on the same page. Creating a culture of information sharing that does not require constant meeting attendance is key. Using tools like Notion or similar to create an open library for business information as well as having AI meeting summaries and recordings available for staff helps everyone get access to the information they need at the time they need it. This is a suggestion not just for fractional support - but for the business overall to be able to scale faster and have all employees onboard.
• Integrate Them Into Your Team: Treat fractional staff as integral members of your team, they are a fully dedicated resource and should be treated as such. Involve them in key decision-making processes and company culture to maximize their impact. It is up to the fractional team member to assess and align on what meetings to attend and what to not attend based on expectations set and deliverables to be met.

Fractional support can be great on a senior level when a company is scaling. A senior fractional role can offload work from senior management faster than hiring more junior people who require training and management. As they are senior they are supporting the C-suit, bringing expertise and can take over leadership, strategy, and senior-level execution fast.

A lot of roles can with time turn into full-time roles, or the role can focus on training the junior team to step up over time. By being dynamic, and working with people's talents and possibilities, companies can better leverage the benefits of fractional support. By following these best practices, scaling startups can effectively navigate growth challenges and tap into top-tier expertise to drive success.