STAFFING BLOG/NEWS

Fractional Employment:

What is it and why is it trending?

Aka: Transactional Leadership, GIG, GIG Economy, Flexible Culture

Organizations seeking top talent in Leadership roles are vital to achieving their goals. Attracting candidates can occasionally require utilizing a new approach, particularly in today’s competitive and ever-evolving market; the fractional staffing model is one of these.

So, what is fractional employment, and why is it beneficial?

Fractional employment are typically Solopreneurs such as a CFO who spreads his or her time across several companies, working a few hours a week at each organization. These companies get the benefit of a high-level executive without the steep costs of full-time hire.

This is an emerging employment model in which an employee works a fraction of the 40-hour work week as an independent contractor or “gig worker.”

This employment model is popular in roles such as HR Management/Director, Operations Manager/Director, SW Developers, CEO, CFO, CTO, VP, Sales Management/Director, and many other Leadership roles. This employment model can be viewed as a project-based model or consultancy-based model, in this model the candidate retains flexibility, and the Employer utilizes their niche and expertise where needed. A Fractional Employee may work as many hours as agreed upon with the employer or they may work a full-time fractional work schedule, which might look like working two days a week for two companies and working one day a week for a third.

Contractor, Fractional Worker, Freelancer: What’s the Difference?

A fractional employee is like a contractor or freelancer, but there are key differences between the three:

A fractional employee is a self-employed individual offering niche or advanced experience to several different employers during a work week.
A contractor (also known as an independent contractor or temporary employee) is a self-employed external employee who is contracted for predetermined long-term projects.
A freelancer is a self-employed individual offering specialized services to multiple clients.
ALL OF THESE ARE CATAGORIZED UNDER A 1099 for tax and legal purposes.

Who would work as a Fractional Employee?

Someone who got laid off from their long-term position.
Someone who seeks work/life balance and wants to design their own workday/week schedule.
Someone who is semi- or retired who wants to supplement their income and continue to utilize their expertise in their long-time field of work.
Also, Generationally the Millennials and Boomers are jumping on these opportunities. Millennials like flexibility and like working in a “GIG” Economy. Boomers are being forced to retire but don’t want to stop working! Fractional Employment is ideal for them.

Who would benefit from a Fractional Employee model?

A startup company that needs a niche skillset in a Management to C-Suite Level role but does not have the budget to bring someone on fulltime.
A company who is seeking a Management and or C-Suite level candidate but may not be able to offer a full 40-hour work week because the workflow of the role doesn’t warrant full-time tasks.
A company of any size seeking consultancy work vs. hiring a full-time employee

Intrigued? To learn more read the Pros & Cons

Pros for the employer:

Flexibility: Employee & Employer can create a work schedule to work on a variety of projects that hone-in-on precise skill sets and experience as needed.
Greater organizational commitment: Fractional Employees will be committed to you as if you are a client vs an employer, this will create retention to your projects, commitment, loyalty, and good work.
Remote: They don’t have to be in the office if you want them to be, their work can be performed from anywhere.
Better work relationships: Because fractional employment is project based, employees and companies can build lasting relationships over the course of their collaboration and work together as needed for future projects.
Reduced hiring costs: Employers can access specialized expertise without the costs of a full-time hire, paying only for the services they need.
Greater competitive edge: Employers can gain valuable industry knowledge from fractional hires, giving them a competitive advantage.
Full time-Direct Employee: If an opportunity were to open in your organization where you need this candidate on a full-time basis, you will eliminate having to recruit for a candidate saving you time and money because you can make an offer anytime to the working Fractional Employee. They just may accept!

Cons for the employer (there are only a few):

Pertinent/Confidential company information: In some cases, you may not be able to or want to share pertinent information with a Fractional Employee. However, you can have them sign a Non-Disclosure or a Legal agreement.
Working with competition: You should be cautious that the Fractional Employee is not working on other projects with a competitor.

Why use an Agency to help find a Fractional Employee:

Affordable flat fee
We match the BEST talent with your role, culture, and team.
We do all the work; sourcing, recruiting, and onboarding.
We have the resources to network with these like-minded candidates.
And we have been through trials and tribulations in the staffing industry for many years and we know how to do this, we know this is the next best thing in staffing as of right now!!!

We recognize that locating and retaining the talent in today’s market can be difficult and it doesn’t look like it’s going to be getting any easier anytime soon!

Our reputation precedes us, and our foundation is deeply rooted in the staffing industry, and we pride ourselves on the relationships we’ve established with individuals and organizations. We offer an unparalleled reach into local talent, niche skillsets and networking with hundreds of candidate options.