- Template item
As the number of marketing channels and tools grows, a job that could once be handled by a single marketer now requires an entire team. If the hiring budget is tight, this shift can be particularly concerning.
It shouldn’t be, though, as there’s a new hiring approach in town—fractional. This model lets you hire marketers and executives on a part-time, flexible basis. Instead of settling for lower-quality talent or forcing low-workload roles into a full-time schedule, you can hire a fractional marketer and pay only for the time you need.
In this article, you’ll learn all about fractional hiring in marketing and how it compares to traditional hiring approaches. You’ll also discover the best practices for recruiting and collaborating with fractional marketers. Finally, we’ll introduce you to MarketerHire, a handy platform that lets you connect with today’s top fractional marketing talent.
What Is Fractional Hiring?
Fractional hiring involves hiring an employee for only a portion of their time. You can engage them on a fixed-term or project basis, adjusting their hours according to your needs. Due to their flexibility, a fractional employee can work 40 hours per week during particularly demanding projects or scale back to just a few hours during quieter periods.
Because of their limited availability, the fractional employee usually focuses on one project or area at a time. For example, in the case of fractional CMOs, that area is usually strategy.
Still, their scope of work isn’t as narrow as that of freelancers, who are “in and out.” In contrast, fractional workers typically engage with their employer for longer periods. While both types of employees are considered independent contractors by law, fractional ones are integrated into the team and closely collaborate with its members. They also have a more structured pay arrangement than freelancers.
Here’s a brief comparison of the different work models to help you understand them better:
In marketing, fractional executive roles such as CMO or marketing director are the most common because they offer high-level expertise at an affordable cost. Still, most marketing specialists can be hired on a fractional basis, including:
Key Benefits of Fractional Hiring
The main reason the fractional recruiting model has become so popular is its lower cost, which lets small businesses access high-quality talent despite budget restrictions.
Still, affordability isn’t the only perk. Here are some other reasons behind the rise of fractional hiring, especially in the marketing sphere:
- Flexibility and scalability: For smaller businesses, marketing is only an occasional effort. Also, regardless of the size of your business, you need to keep up with market trends and react to shifts quickly to keep the ball rolling. Hiring fractional talent addresses all of these concerns since you can do it when and for how long you need to
- Fast time-to-hire: When hiring full-time, you need to wait to get the necessary funding, losing out on many marketing opportunities along the way. Meanwhile, the fractional model lets you get expertise quickly. Fractional talent is also usually more readily available due to their flexible hours
- Diverse perspectives: Because of the lower costs and flexibility of fractional hiring, you can form an all-star multi-talent team and achieve stellar results in every marketing channel you use. Also, since they’re not as closely involved with your company as in-house staff, fractional marketers may be less biased and bring in out-of-the-box ideas
- Testing new talent and channels: Hiring fractional talent is an excellent way to explore new marketing approaches and evaluate potential full-time employees. It comes with much less risk than committing to in-house employees from the get-go
When To Use Fractional Hiring
You can hire a fractional marketer whenever your marketing team needs an additional pair of hands. Here are five examples of situations in which hiring one makes perfect sense:
- Interim help: If a key marketer from your team is absent for longer, a fractional hire may take their place to ensure work continues as planned
- Critical points: A fractional marketer, especially an experienced one, can come in handy during important or busy periods. For example, a fractional CMO can guide a startup as it enters the market or launches a new product
- Channel testing: When exploring new channels or tactics, you can bring in a fractional specialist, such as a fractional content marketer, to set yourself up for success
- Specific campaigns: Fractional experts are ideal for campaigns you run intermittently, such as event marketing campaigns
- Various issues: If a campaign isn’t yielding results or your team isn’t working efficiently, you can hire a fractional expert who specializes in the area to analyze the causes and come up with a solution
Making the Most of Fractional Hiring
Collaborating with a fractional marketer is not that different from collaborating with a full-time one. You should respect their expertise and autonomy and help new hires integrate into the team by including them in meetings and other activities. While fractional contracts usually don’t imply benefits, it’s good practice to offer some incentives to attract and retain talent.
Still, you should pay extra attention to the following:
- Communication: From the job ad to well after onboarding, you should communicate honestly and regularly with your fractional hires. Before work starts, agree on the terms regarding the output, schedule, and short- and long-term goals. Afterward, check in on their progress and offer feedback
- Confidentiality: As they may work for other companies like yours, have your fractional hire sign an NDA to protect your company’s sensitive information
- Burnout: Your fractional marketer will likely have a busy schedule, so respect their availability. Don’t tack on additional tasks as they may become overworked
Challenges of Fractional Hiring
Fractional hiring is no simple feat—like with any hiring method, you need to invest significant money, time, and effort into the recruiting process. You must source, assess, and interview candidates before extending a job offer, especially for an executive position.
There’s also a risk of the marketer not being the right fit despite your screening efforts. If they turn out to be incompetent or quit, you’ll have to deal with not only another hiring process but also any potential damage they’ve done while employed.
Although it requires an upfront cost, partnering with an on-demand recruitment agency or platform like MarketerHire is a much safer and more profitable option than in-house recruitment. These platforms often pre-vet candidates and offer refunds and other quality guarantees to ensure you’re satisfied with your fractional marketer.
What To Look For in Fractional Hiring Services
From cheap freelancing platforms like Upwork that don’t vet candidates to expensive generalist agencies that take ages to procure talent, there’s no shortage of lackluster options for fractional hiring. Yet, affordable and effective solutions exist, but you have to know how to find them. Prioritize these qualities when selecting your platform for hiring fractional marketers:
Why Is MarketerHire the Best Choice for Fractional Hiring?
If you want to try your hand at fractional marketing, look no further than MarketerHire. This marketing-oriented recruiting platform connects you with pre-vetted expert marketers for any role or engagement type.
MarketerHire is trusted by some of today’s best-known brands, including Netflix, Lyft, HP, and Forbes. Since its inception in 2018, the platform has made over 25,000 successful matches.
A part of MarketerHire’s success can be attributed to its rigorous screening process. The platform’s experts pre-vet each candidate using a complex process that comprises:
- Detailed skills reviews
- Live interviews
- Test projects
Only the top 1% of candidates end up joining the network, and many of them have worked for household brands, so you’ll get best-in-class expertise no matter who you’re matched with.
Another reason behind MarketerHire’s recruiting success is its advanced matching system, MarketerMatch. The system uses human and artificial intelligence to identify the most suitable candidate for your vacancy in mere days, allowing you to fill your skills gaps quickly.
With its white-glove services, MarketerHire eliminates the hassle and risk of recruiting. You only have to share your needs, and the platform’s experts will take care of everything else. The first two weeks with your hire are free, and if you decide they’re not a good fit, MarketerHire will rematch you for free.
How MarketerHire Works
The typical hiring process with MarketerHire goes as follows:
- Describing your needs: Hop on a brief call with your dedicated marketing manager to discuss your company and project
- Meeting your marketer: MarketerHire’s team will identify the top candidate within only 48 hours
- Project kick-off: You can start collaborating with your fractional marketer within three days
The contract is flexible and short-term, so you can scale up, scale down, or cancel with no strings attached.
The platform is compatible with most marketing roles, including marketing analysts, social media managers, and brand marketers. You can hire them for hourly, full-time, or part-time engagements. MarketerHire also gives you access to vetted full-time Expert Assistants who can help your marketing, design, or sales team with repetitive, time-consuming work.
Trust MarketerHire’s experts with your fractional hiring needs and connect with A-list marketers on demand. Reach out today and make a hire in only days!
Other Fractional Hiring Resources To Check Out
See the table below to discover additional reading materials on fractional hiring in marketing:
