What is a fractional Head of Product?
You may already be familiar with the term ‘fractional’ from the technology and IT space; we are seeing greater numbers of highly experienced professionals choosing this way of working. Commonly, you’ll see fractional Chief Technology Officers or Chief Information Officers, but how often do you see fractional Chief Product Officers? Even less common is seeing fractional Heads of Product – but why is this and why might hiring one benefit your business?
In this sense, fractional essentially means a fractional commitment of time and cost. These roles are not based on a full-time or part-time contract as with an interim position, instead they are freelancer, consultant, or contractor type contracts. In other words, they are not treated like permanent employees on your payroll and with entitlement to other company benefits.
The roles are on-demand, which means that there is a high degree of flexibility built in with flexible termination clauses as standard. This isn’t really any different to the classic freelance model where a skilled professional works for multiple clients at the same time.
In my original marketing specialism, this is the norm; although this way of working has extended to digital, growth, and optimisation fields, it is still fairly unusual in the digital product arena for all but the most senior levels.
So why is this way of working so appealing for product professionals?
Firstly, the recent pandemic redefined how and where we work with each other. Secondly, it’s an attractive way of working due to the flexibility this mode of working brings for both parties – any people don’t want to fit into a standard nine till five, five days a week pattern of work.
Those with family commitments or who enjoy the variety of different clients and projects, benefit from the flexibility the fractional model brings. For me, it supports both a better work life balance and it means I can grow my business at the same time as working with some exciting products and brands.
Which types of organisations benefit from using a fractional Head of Product?
Flexibility is mutually beneficial in a fractional engagement but not every organisation needs this so it suits some better than others.
For many mature organisations, product is too important a function to use a fractional model. Typically there is a requirement – such as plugging a gap left by an unexpected departure or a longer than expected recruitment process – which might be better served by alternative models which provide support five days a week (more on these alternative models later).
However, there are a few types of organisations who require high levels of flexibility in product support and for whom fractional can be a viable model to consider.
Firstly, start-ups who are still small in headcount (up to 50 employees) but starting to find product market fit and gain market traction may not yet have the cash flow to hire a more experienced product leader. The founder or CEO may be doing the majority of product development but due to maturity needs to focus on wider responsibilities. To start the transition, a dedicated product person on flexible terms will be a good option to support continued growth.
You also benefit from working with people more like yourselves without having to give up a portion of your business to make them a director.
Secondly, agencies or consultancies who have a variable flow of work where the need is client or project specific. In this scenario, due to scale and nature of work, project delivery, account management and product may be meshed into a single role. Note this is significant as for many ‘pure’ product professionals, this mix will likely not appeal – candidates may be used to working alongside others who are solely responsible for these areas and question the mix of project and product. More pragmatic candidates may not have an issue however!
Thirdly, organisations who have a smaller product function may not need a 5 day a week product professional. There may be a small team to manage or shared responsibility for this area.
The benefit to all of these organisations is that they are likely to get access to someone who is very highly skilled and experienced but who chooses to work in a more flexible way. You gain both strategically and tactically from the significant amount of commercial experience they bring.
Even though their hourly rate can be higher, the total cost will probably be less than their permanent equivalent.
Flexibility is also a major benefit, as you can quickly scale up and down based on short and medium term priorities. You don’t have the constraints of having to deal with a permanent member of staff if the relationship doesn’t work out.
There are some downsides that should be considered too however:
Be careful you don’t end up with a strategist if you really need someone to be 100% hands on – important in a small organisation for example where people have to wear multiple hats; Conversely make sure you don’t hire someone to lead your strategy who thinks only in a very tactical way.
You will likely get a blend of strategic and tactical skills but it is best to be clear on your requirements and the nature of the engagement up-front.
Don’t let using a fractional hire distract from growing your permanent team and scaling – it should enhance and bolster, not replace people strategy. A decent fractional can potentially help you source, onboard and bed in new product hires, so they should have strong coaching and mentoring skills to support the introduction of new permanent staff.
Fractionals will benefit from having large, established networks of contacts due to their level of engagement with multiple organisations and professionals in the industry. Use that to your advantage but make sure you are clear on any expectations on this area upfront.
Finally, there is a lot of risk sitting with those providing this service, though arguably no less than with contracting.
What does a fractional Head of Product do?
Think of a fractional Head of Product as like a consultant. Rather than more traditional line management or company admin duties which wouldn’t represent efficient use of their time, fractionals may focus on some or all of the following areas:
- Strategic product development – work to structure out and mature product strategy covering proposition, roadmap planning, market analysis and strategic alignment
- Building or optimising new products and product teams – leading the creation and scaling of new product lines and/or teams to deliver at pace; leading the transition to permanent leaders
- Key business initiatives or major release specific activity that requires strong leadership and rapid execution
- Supporting discrete pieces of work to transform product capability, secure funding or address a critical short-term problem
- Product management – hands-on help with operational or management tasks, helping to lead, align and support multiple teams
- Establishing simple frameworks or sets of processes to enable creation of the product organisation and help scale product development.
Establishing a clear scope of work with defined outcomes collaboratively will help create a solid foundation for a successful relationship.
It is also okay not to fully involve a fractional in every aspect of your business – this won’t be the most efficient way of working in the long-run.
How do I work with a fractional Head of Product
Fractional Heads of Product typically work up to 20 hours a week for a single client. To provide even more flexibility, I offer some clients a bank of hours that they can use within the month.
Fractionals can work remotely, in person or hybrid as with a permanent role.
Is a fractional Head of Product right for my organisation?
To assess if a fractional Head of Product is right for your organisation and where they will be of most value to focus, there are a number of points to consider:
- What level of maturity and scale is your organisation currently at and will your budget allow for a full-time product leader?
- Looking ahead at your growth forecast and sales pipeline for the next 12 to 18 months, will you be able to sustain this level of spend based on your forecasted revenue?
- Are you a founder or CEO who is still heavily involved in leading the product development at your organisation and not ready or able to hand these responsibilities over? You’ll need to hire someone who you can develop a good relationship with and who is strong on collaboration, someone who is entrepreneurial in nature.
Think about your wider people strategy and assess that against different models such as:
- Interim – a full-time commitment for a define period and on your payroll
- Contract – based on a day rate / time and materials basis
- Value or project based – based on a specific set of outcomes.
The fractional model offers a high degree of flexibility but many product professionals work with clients using a variety of different models in order to best fit their client’s needs.
Interested in hiring a fractional Head of Product?
If this model of working sounds like it would suit your business needs, or if you are interested in exploring the concept in more depth then please get in touch.