Scaling Smarter: The Fractional Advantage

It may be a slightly interesting concept, and perhaps one you’ve not heard of before. You may be asking yourself: how does this differ from an outsourced model, and why would someone whose job it is to drive my company’s HR and People strategy not actually be….one of our people?

Fractional, while similar, is not an interchangeable term with an outsourced. Think of fractional support like an in-house, embedded part of your team, but on a flexible or part-time basis. This allows you to build, or sprout as we like to call it, the beginnings of a team who also drives process, whereas an outsourced model centers on particular tasks or specific processes (think payroll, benefits administration, or recruiting) that still require someone on your side to own or drive.

Still have you? Let’s give some thought to how this could work for your team:

Taking size into consideration: you may be a lean operation today, and heavily investing in building your core market offerings and team as Priority 1 as you gain traction and revenue. Makes sense. Fractional support allows you to access the amount of HR expertise you need (and not the other way around), so you invest in a full team buildout as your expectations and teams become larger and more complex.

Apart from size, an out-of-the-box solution may not fit your nimble, problem disrupting company with the agility you need. The flexibility of a fractional model puts you in the driver’s seat to scale your HR presence up or down based on your org’s current requirements, without the commitment of a full-time hire. Does this look like more project-based support as you select and roll out a benefits program, or get those crucial early processes defined to set the tone? Or instead, maybe there is a sustained need for part-time support and ownership over these outcomes and a point-of-contact for your team. Or it could be, C. All of the above or D. Yeah, I don’t know what I need, but I know I need help. The point is: you get to decide what’s most important for your business, and there are companies like Sproutwise who help you to assess, define, and plan what you need and when.

Let’s not forget about the actual, literal million-dollar question: cost. There is no harder money to spend than your own, and it’s likely that, at this point in your growth cycle, every dollar that comes in and out is crucial, and comes with heavy oversight from your backers. A fractional model gets that, has been there, and understands that flexible partnership gives you access to tested leadership to stretch your budget in valuable ways for your team. And it won’t run you the cost of investing in a full-time team buildout to do it.

Lastly, let’s consider the end goal: a successful fractional partnership’s measure of success is to hire ourselves out of a job. We want to set the right foundation for you and eventually, help you build the team you need as your company continues to scale. And the best part? We will have an understanding of the dynamic and level of leadership and support you need, and the skills to recruit our replacement. As Brad Pitt’s character Lieutenant Aldo Raine once said: “We call that a bingo.”

For more Bingo tips, tricks, and hacks, Sproutwise is here to help you outwit, outmatch, and outplay. Ready to connect? Find us at info@sproutwise.com. 🌱