Is there a Fractional Integrator Option That is Right For Me?

Last article, we shared a story of how an Integrator Needs Assessment led to the company realizing they already had an Integrator in-house.  This lead to a very different recommendation than the obvious – specifically that we proposed something *other* than providing a Fractional Integrator to support the business.  


Having already discussed “What the Heck is a Fractional Integrator Anyway?”, it is time to describe exactly how an Integrator service provider can bring value to your organization.

Firstly, AJC maintains that an up-front Integrator Needs Assessment will help both the company and the service provider understand the current state around the Integrator role.  Our approach here is to interview one-on-one each member of the Leadership Team (and Executive Team, if applicable), as well as all managers or supervisors in the organization that have at one or two degrees of separation from the Integrator role.  We want to know how this role is perceived, what is happening already, where there are gaps, and how decisions and initiatives are being communicated and rolled out to the entire organization, and who people go to for questions or concerns.  We will also ask a subset of the interviewees to take the online Visionary and Integrator Assessments.  These are not perfect, though at least give an indication as to the “GWC” (Get it, Want it, Capacity to do it) around those two roles.     


Comments are recorded, aggregated, and analyzed for gaps and recommendations around the Integrator role.  The results and recommendations are then discussed in a Final Report that is delivered in person to the Leadership Team.  In our most recent Needs Assessment, we also added an Assumptions section that we confirmed in person with the Executive Team.  In many small-to-mid sized businesses, there are often some “non-negotiables” that the owner or CEO has in mind which will not change.  Rather than making recommendations in those areas, we would rather be realistic and articulate and validate those assumptions up front, focusing therefore on the areas where the most value can be realized for the organization.


After this, the opportunities could be one of the following:

1. Fractional Integrator at any subset of time during the week
2. Coaching an existing person to be strong or stronger in the Integrator role
3. Training the Leadership Team or organization further on EOS and/or how best to utilize an Integrator
4. Interim / temporary Integrator to buffer a period of time where there is no full-time employee Integrator
5. “Temp-to-hire” Integrator – possibly there is a need to evaluate an Integrator in the seat for a period of time before pulling the FTE hire trigger
   

Any of these options can be a way to move forward after an Integrator Needs Assessment, and each will benefit from the candid and objective results of this type of analysis.  Please ask us if you’d like to further discuss how this looks in “real life!”

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