What Is a Fractional COO?
Building a business of any kind can be a daunting process. You need the right people, and having the right Chief Operations Officer (COO) is one of the most crucial roles that needs to be filled. Whether you have a small team or a company with many departments, a COO’s job is to ensure that the company’s goals are met by keeping everyone on task and on schedule.
A fractional COO is a COO who works for your company on a part-time, as-needed basis. While a CEO will often set the vision and overall goals for a company, it is the COO whose job is to implement the strategies and tasks that will make those goals achievable.
Why Businesses Choose Fractional over Full-Time COOs
The job of the COO is incredibly important, one of the most important in any company. This is why it begs the question of why a company would choose to rely on a part-time, fractional COO over a full-time COO whose dedication to the position is a constant.
One of the biggest advantages of a fractional COO is in financial savings. Due to the part-time nature of the position, a fractional COO will cost less money over time than a full-time COO. A fractional COO is also, typically, someone with a significant amount of business experience who can give your team and employees tried-and-true leadership. Lastly, because they work for you on a part-time basis, your team has enough flexibility to implement business strategy without the feeling of someone looking over their shoulders, which can build their confidence and competence over time.
So when do you know that you need to bring on a fractional COO? Here are the signs that a fractional COO is what your company needs to succeed.
Sign #1 – You’re Stuck in the Weeds
Founding a company is difficult enough as it is. Once you have a company up and running you need to be able to facilitate its growth. Unfortunately, you are only one person and you can easily get stuck in the weeds focusing on the daily tasks and the routine operations of your business at the expense of focusing on growing your business.
Being unable to focus on growing your business can lead to doubt, and before you know it you’re overwhelmed and running behind. A fractional COO can help lift this burden for you, ensuring that business strategy is carried out hand-in-hand with routine operations.
Sign #2 – Growth Is Outpacing Your Systems
Let’s say that your company has become a runaway success, with a strong emphasis on “runaway.” When a business grows faster than its ability to keep up with said growth, it becomes a recipe for disaster. Before you know it you have employees who are scrambling to keep up with an impossible pace.
Countless businesses have shut down due to an inability to keep with up with sudden growth. A fractional COO is someone who brings the kind of seasoned expertise to help manage these problems and get your company back on a healthy track to meet its new growth.
Sign #3 – You Keep Starting but Not Finishing
You have plenty of great ideas and strategies that you want to implement in your company. Unfortunately, driving such initiatives to completion is quite difficult, and if you lose momentum it will not be long before you find yourself not finishing and moving on to your next shiny new idea.
Having a fractional COO on your side will help ensure that your ideas and vision are implemented instead of being left by the wayside.
Sign #4 – Your Teams Are Busy But Not Productive
No one likes busywork, but your team may feel like that’s all they’re doing.
You can have a great team at your disposal and still find that they are not being effective at meeting the needs of your business. Any number of issues such as miscommunication, dropped balls, or unclearly defined goals and roles can seriously kneecap your operation.
A fractional COO can get your team and employees organized and on the same page by utilizing their considerable experience and skills. They can view the talent that you have to work with and find the roles and tasks that best fit their abilities while also pushing them to new heights.
Sign #5 – Revenue Has Plateaued
At some point every business hits a growth ceiling. It can seem like no matter what you do, you just cannot get to that proverbial “next level.” When this happens you can accept that the current standard is as well as your business performs, but that simply does not align with the vision. Bringing in a fractional COO means bringing in an objective, experienced, outside perspective that can view the reality of your company’s revenue plateau and help you push past it.
Sign #6 – You Want to Step Back or Sell Soon
You’ve built a great company, and it has proven to be successful. For some, this is reason enough to stay in the game and see how far the business can be taken. However, there may come a time when you want to enjoy the fruits of your labor a little more and take a step back, or maybe even sell the company entirely.
Whether stepping back or selling outright, bringing on a fractional COO can help transition you out of the leadership role by taking on your soon-to-be former responsibilities. The fractional COO will also maintain the day-to-day operations that your team and employees need to perform to keep the business going strong.
Sign #7 – You’re Constantly Firefighting
It is understandable that every business, no matter how simple or lucrative, has its issues that must be dealt with. However, if you feel that you are constantly putting out fires and having to problem solve to the detriment of your peace of mind or even to the detriment of your personal life, then it may be time to bring in a fractional COO.
If you have recurring problems or keep having to deal with unforeseen problems, a fractional COO brings the experienced outsider perspective that you need. A fractional COO can create and implement systems that are designed to tackle the problems your business regularly faces.
What Results Can You Expect from a Fractional COO?
Where your business may have had some difficulty in the past when it comes to day-to-day operations not running as smoothly as they should.
With a fractional COO onboard you can expect to see your team and employees become a finely tuned machine that operates smoothly. This will translate into more time spent enjoying the fruits of your labors, along with seeing your company reach new levels of success.
Is It Time for You?
Your company is a product of your vision, your values, and your willpower. You’ve watched it grow to ever-increasing heights. If you feel that anymore than two of the preceding signs resonate with you, then perhaps you should take a moment to envision the heights your company could reach with the support of the right fractional COO.
