In Part 1 of our look at Fractional Leadership in the cannabis space, we talked about how fractional hiring can help larger businesses that have downsized their staff in order to simply “keep the lights on,” and keep product going out the door. Now we would like to touch on how startups and smaller companies can benefit from this strategy.
As previously mentioned, fractional leadership is essentially outsourcing talent from a specific field on a non-permanent contractual basis instead of hiring, training, and paying benefits to a full-time executive. Lean startups and fledgling cannabis companies can utilize fractional leadership in order to advance their company’s standing until such a time that they are fiscally able to place craft-focused team members in full-time positions.
In many cases, these outsourced leaders can help build and launch programs, products, and facilities. They can also assist with or own application writing, compliance formatting, SOP drafting or revamp, branding and marketing strategies, vendor management, accounting, and so much more.
So, what’s the catch?
While we have painted this wonderful landscape whereupon you can hire more experienced staff at 1/3 of the cost, all without paying for health benefits or being responsible for throwing a holiday party at the end of the year (kidding, you should still do that), there are a few considerations that you should make before seeking the services of a fractional contractor.
The first, and maybe the most important, consideration is that you won’t get 60 hours a week from a fractional leader. While providing guidance and expertise on special projects and the overall enhancement of your footprint, fractional leaders can be a bit diluted in time offerings compared to a regular full time employee. Most fractional leaders dedicate somewhere around 20 hours a week to each client, depending on their original agreement with the client. If you are needing more of their time, they will need more money. The scalability of using fractional leaders should be strongly considered so you can make sure to balance both the immediate needs of your company with how much of their time you can fiscally afford in order to retain their services on an ongoing, longer term basis. We recommend clearly identifying and aligning on a project, or set of projects/goals, the fractional leader is to accomplish, with a clear agreed upon timeline for completion. Long story short: fractional leaders are a finite solution.
Another consideration is that fractional leaders make their money by hosting several clients. While fractional leaders are generally great at keeping clear lines separating each client’s intellectual property, it’s always best to have a well-written non-disclosure agreement signed by both parties. Most companies offering fractional leadership will have a robust NDA to offer with the package, but be sure you read those agreements closely to ensure it fits your comfort zone, or utilize your own NDA if you have specific terms and considerations you want to incorporate.
Overall, fractional leadership is a viable tool that can be used to elevate your company in hard times as well as when a company is needing battle-tested folks to help get them into the game.
Please reach out to us if you would like to learn more about how Spara Group orchestrates our fractional service packages for security, compliance, learning & development, retail operations, and more. Many thanks for spending a few minutes of your time with us!