As hospitals seek growth opportunities, financial strain may limit their ability to hire full-time senior executives to support them in executing on key goals. Enter part-time senior leaders.
Increasingly, companies are hiring fractional leaders, or part-time senior talent, experts wrote in a July 2 Harvard Business Review article. Part-time senior leaders typically hold 20 to 30 years of experience, and while they have the necessary skills to serve in a full-time C-suite position, they instead choose to work with multiple organizations.
"This arrangement enables organizations to benefit from senior leadership without the expense and commitment of a full-time hire, and it allows senior executives both career flexibility and stability," the authors wrote. Over the past few years, the number of people who identified as fractional leaders on LinkedIn has risen. In 2022, there were just 2,000. By early this year, that number reached over 110,000.
The authors spoke with several organizations that have hired part-time senior leaders and 11 people in such roles to learn more about the pros and cons of utilizing fractional leaders. Aside from financial advantages, key benefits included having leaders who serve as advisors and mentors to other C-suite leaders and who employees may see as more approachable to share new ideas or concerns.
Organizations considering these arrangements must select part-time leaders carefully, the authors wrote. Given they won't always be available to address organizational needs promptly, they must excel at using their time effectively and be able to manage multiple clients with a wide range of needs.