Fractional COO or an interim COO?
An interim COO works 5 days a week for 3 to 9 months, for a turnaround or to cover a departed COO: £13,417 to £24,917 a month on the same band. A fractional COO designs and holds the operating model for part of a week, with no end date: £5,367 to £9,967 a month at two days a week. Pick interim when the operation needs somebody present every day.
Below is what each one actually owns, what they cost on the same basis, how each one fails, and when to pick the other one.
| A fractional COO | An interim COO | |
|---|---|---|
| Who owns the outcome | The operating model and the rhythm that keeps it | A turnaround: cost, cash and the hard calls, every day |
| Commitment | One to three days a week, flexing with the work, no end date assumed | 5 days a week, usually for 3 to 9 months |
| How it is priced | £700 to £1,300 a day | A day rate for 5 days a week, often through an interim agency that adds a margin, so a month of interim cover costs well over twice a month of two fractional days. |
| Typical monthly cost | £5,367 to £9,967 a month at two days a week | £13,417 to £24,917 a month at 5 days a week, before any agency margin |
| How it fails | Being asked to run a turnaround two days a week, where cash, suppliers, redundancies and a demoralised team all need somebody present every day. | Being brought in full-time by a company that needed an operating model designed rather than a crisis managed, so a full-time rate buys a temporary manager and the design work never happens. |
| Pick it when | The operation runs and needs designing rather than rescuing | The COO has left and the operation needs somebody running it every day until the permanent hire starts |
What an interim COO actually is
An interim COO is a chief operating officer engaged full-time for a fixed stretch, usually 3 to 9 months, to lead a turnaround or cover a COO who has left. Every working day, with an exit and a handover built into the role from the start.
What each one owns
| A fractional COO | An interim COO |
|---|---|
| The operating model and the rhythm that keeps it | A turnaround: cost, cash and the hard calls, every day |
| Taking decisions off the founder, permanently | Running operations in person while a COO search runs |
| The structure and the hiring plan as the company grows | Stabilising a site, a supply chain or a service that is failing |
| Coaching the operations director into a bigger seat | A defined exit, with the handover written into the brief |
What neither of them does
Neither fixes a strategy problem. A turnaround or a new operating model can make a company run well at the wrong thing, and if revenue is falling because the offer has stopped selling, the operations seat is not where that gets solved.
How each one fails
The fractional COO: Being asked to run a turnaround two days a week, where cash, suppliers, redundancies and a demoralised team all need somebody present every day.
An interim COO: Being brought in full-time by a company that needed an operating model designed rather than a crisis managed, so a full-time rate buys a temporary manager and the design work never happens.
What they cost, on the same basis
A fractional COO charges £700 to £1,300 a day, which is £5,367 to £9,967 a month at two days a week. A day rate for 5 days a week, often through an interim agency that adds a margin, so a month of interim cover costs well over twice a month of two fractional days. The monthly and annual arithmetic for the fractional side, against a full-time equivalent, is on the cost page for this seat.
Pick an interim COO when
- The COO has left and the operation needs somebody running it every day until the permanent hire starts
- A turnaround needs cost, cash and restructuring decisions made in person, at pace
- A site, a supply chain or a service is failing and needs a full-time owner for a defined stretch
We would rather say that plainly than win an engagement that was the wrong shape. Nobody pays us to list on the bench, so there is nothing in it for us either way.
When you want both
In sequence. The interim stabilises the operation or covers the gap; once it is steady, a fractional COO holds the operating model part-time, or the permanent hire takes over. Both at once is rare and usually means one of them is redundant.
Turnaround or cover: the two interim briefs
Most interim COO engagements are one of two briefs, and they need different people. A turnaround brief is about cash, cost and pace: cutting what is losing money, renegotiating suppliers, restructuring teams, and doing it in weeks. A cover brief is about continuity: keeping a working operation running while the search for a permanent COO runs, without making changes the new hire will have to unpick.
Ask which one the company is buying before choosing the person. A turnaround specialist placed in a cover role tends to change too much; a steady caretaker placed in a turnaround tends to change too little. Neither is a fractional brief, which assumes the operation is stable enough to be led part-time.
Common questions
Should I hire a fractional COO or an interim COO?
An interim COO works 5 days a week for 3 to 9 months, for a turnaround or to cover a departed COO: £13,417 to £24,917 a month on the same band. A fractional COO designs and holds the operating model for part of a week, with no end date: £5,367 to £9,967 a month at two days a week. Pick interim when the operation needs somebody present every day.
Is a fractional COO cheaper than an interim COO?
On a like-for-like basis it usually is, because you buy the days you need rather than all of them. A fractional COO runs £700 to £1,300 a day, most often one to three days a week. A day rate for 5 days a week, often through an interim agency that adds a margin, so a month of interim cover costs well over twice a month of two fractional days. But cheaper is the wrong question if the work genuinely needs the other one.
When is an interim COO the better choice than a fractional COO?
The COO has left and the operation needs somebody running it every day until the permanent hire starts. A turnaround needs cost, cash and restructuring decisions made in person, at pace. A site, a supply chain or a service is failing and needs a full-time owner for a defined stretch.
Can I use a fractional COO and an interim COO at the same time?
In sequence. The interim stabilises the operation or covers the gap; once it is steady, a fractional COO holds the operating model part-time, or the permanent hire takes over. Both at once is rare and usually means one of them is redundant.
What is an interim COO?
A chief operating officer engaged full-time for a defined period, usually 3 to 9 months, to lead a turnaround or cover a COO who has left. They work every day, manage the operation in person, and hand over to a permanent hire or a fractional COO when the stretch ends.
How much does an interim COO cost per month?
On the UK band for the seat, £700 to £1,300 a day, full-time interim cover works out at £13,417 to £24,917 a month on 46 billable weeks a year, before any agency margin. Two fractional days a week of the same seat is £5,367 to £9,967 a month.
Should a company in trouble hire an interim or a fractional COO?
Interim, if the trouble is operational and immediate: cash running short, a failing site, a supplier crisis, a team without a leader. Those need somebody present every day. Fractional, once the crisis has passed and what remains is designing an operation that does not produce the next one.