What to send before day one
- Read-only access to the systems their function runs on. Waiting for an account on day one costs you a fifth of the first month.
- The last twelve months of whatever the function produces. Management accounts, campaign reports, the board pack, the incident log. Raw, not summarised for them.
- The three decisions you are stuck on, written down. This is the single highest-value thing you can send.
- An organisation chart with the real reporting lines, including the informal ones.
- Who they can talk to without asking you first, which should be as many people as possible.
What the first three days should produce
Not a plan. A diagnosis. By the end of day three a good operator should be able to tell you what they think is actually wrong, which of your assumptions they doubt, and what they want to do first. If they come back with a strategy document, they have been working rather than looking.
This is also the natural point to find out you have hired the wrong person, which is much cheaper in week one than in month three.
The three things that waste a fractional engagement
- Treating them as a consultant. If the output is a recommendation rather than a decision that gets made, you are paying senior rates for a report. Fractional people are hired to hold the seat.
- Routing everything through the founder. If they cannot speak to your finance manager, your agency or your biggest customer without a diary invitation, their day is spent waiting for you.
- Saving up questions for their day. A fractional executive who spends Tuesday answering four days of accumulated queries is not doing the job you hired them for. Answer things as they arise and keep the day for the work.
Tell the team before they arrive
A senior person appearing one day a week with no announcement reads to a team as a consultant sent to assess them, which is the worst possible starting position. Say who they are, what they own, how long for, and that they speak with your authority in that function.
The last part is the one people leave out, and it is the one that decides whether the engagement works. Authority that has to be re-established in every meeting is not authority.
Set the review date now
Put a ninety-day review in the diary on day one, with both sides knowing what it is for. It gives you a structured moment to end something that is not working without it being a confrontation, and it gives them a deadline to be judged against rather than an open-ended retainer.
Questions
- How long does it take a fractional executive to get up to speed?
- Two to four working days if the access and the material were sent before they started, which at one day a week means most of the first month. Sending system access, the last twelve months of raw output and your three stuck decisions ahead of day one is what compresses it.
- Should you tell the team you have hired a fractional executive?
- Yes, before they arrive. Say who they are, what they own, how long for, and that they carry your authority in that function. A senior person appearing unannounced one day a week reads as an assessor, and authority that has to be re-earned in every meeting is not authority.
- What should a fractional executive deliver in the first month?
- A diagnosis rather than a plan: what they believe is actually wrong, which of your assumptions they doubt, and what they intend to do first. A polished strategy document in month one usually means they have been producing rather than looking.