The Rise of Fractional Consulting
In leadership, advisory and execution settings, fractional experts are making waves across the market. But what is fractional consulting? And how can it add value to your business right now?
What is fractional consulting?
On the surface, fractional consulting looks like regular senior-level freelancing. The difference is one of integration: whereas a standard freelance engagement closes with the end of a specific project, fractional consultants are embedded in a client team, often on an ongoing part-time or recurring basis. Essentially fractional consulting offers all the traditional benefits of external expertise - fresh eyes, someone who’s not mired in the politics, varied experience, access to networks - in the context of a longer, deeper, more invested relationship.
In a trend accelerated by the Covid-19 pandemic, fractional consulting has become an attractive career choice for successful mid-career professionals looking for variety, career control and a better work-life balance. Senior experts in their field, fractional consultants may work with multiple clients, with contact ranging from weekly to a couple of hours a month; and companies across the board are waking up to the advantages of actively building this type of support into their hiring models - particularly in periods of growth, transition and leadership change.
“I’ve managed to strike a good balance of longer part-time engagements which shorter projects can then sit alongside. I’ve been with a fantastic agency for about 3 years now - essentially helping them to build out their quant division - and I’ve done all sorts in parallel” Priya Sivaraman, Choix Network
How fractional consultants can help your business
Advisory
Fractional advisors, retained to act in a sounding-board capacity bring tremendous benefit to senior leaders at companies of all sizes. And the advantage of having a single person on hand for that injection of external perspective or market expertise, is an invested relationship that develops over time.
“I just need someone I can pick up the bat-phone to!”
The top can lonely: having someone to spitball ideas with or ask for impartial advice can be enormously beneficial on both a practical and psychological level.
Execution
If you frequently find yourself with a list of projects that you don’t have the bandwidth to get off the ground; or a constant feeling that there are opportunities that don’t even make it onto the list because you don’t have the time to work out what they are, you might be looking for a fractional chief of staff or special projects officer.
“I want to be able throw something over the fence and know that it will be caught"
Fractional execution specialists generally have a strong blend of strategic and operational experience, often a consulting background. They’ll start by helping you to see the wood for the trees and then move to structure priority projects, kick them off and steer execution.
Fractional Leadership
If you’re a start-up or an SME, a top CXO may be out of reach as a permanent hire - either because they’d be far too expensive or because your business isn’t currently at a stage which warrants their skillset full-time. But engaging one as a fractional leader (at a fraction of their full-time cost) can be a game-changer. And the opportunity to work with ambitious founders on cutting-edge new businesses or to play a key role in a firm’s evolution is generally a tremendous source of pride for fractional executives.
“I love the energy of early-stage start-up environments - the fast decisions, the dynamism; and I love the quality of the relationships / connections you build: the charge that’s there when you’re working with a small team, or just a founder, and you’re really living it with them. Plus there’s a wonderful sense of personal satisfaction in looking back and knowing you were instrumental in helping to lift a great idea off the ground.” Ayman Assaf, Choix Network
Choix connects the buy and sell sides of consulting, providing fair and transparent choice for all. If you want to talk to us about a project, or you’re looking to connect with our network of high quality freelance consultants and experts, please email hello@mychoix.com