Fractional COO: what it is and when you need one

Not every business needs a full-time COO. Many need a fractional COO: experienced operations leadership, part-time.

A fractional COO is a senior operations executive who works with your business a few days a month instead of on a full salary. You get the experience of a COO without the cost of a permanent hire.

What they actually do

• Put a system into daily operations.
• Define roles, processes and metrics.
• Unblock bottlenecks between departments.
• Make the business less dependent on the owner.

When you need one

• The owner is buried in day-to-day work with no time for strategy.
• The business is growing faster than its organisation.
• There are constant errors, delays and gaps in accountability.
• A full-time COO is not yet justified.

Versus a full-time COO or a plain consultant

A consultant usually recommends. A fractional COO steps in and executes, owning the outcome, at a cost an SME can carry.