There are many reasons to hire a fractional marketing operations consultant, also called a fractional marketing manager (read about some of them here). Once you’ve hired one, though, it’s important to maximize the relationship from the very beginning.

Fractional marketing operations plays a strategic role for many small-to-medium sized companies, bridging the gap between the goals of the marketing department and the tactical, day-to-day leadership required to achieve those goals. If you’ve brought on an independent marketing operations specialist, you probably have a specific vision in mind for what you want them to accomplish. To help guide that vision, we’ve put together some of our top tips for working effectively with a fractional marketing manager.

Be Honest About the Circumstances

If your marketing operations specialist was hired to lead an in-house team, be up-front about the circumstances of their hiring. What can they expect on their first day?

Are they replacing a marketing manager who was fired or left under less-than-ideal circumstances? (Considering that marketing has the highest turnover rate of any job function, it wouldn’t be surprising!) Or perhaps you’re a startup that has never had a marketing operations manager before and you need a little hand-holding to guide the process.

Whatever the circumstances, giving your new contract marketing operations manager a complete picture of the marketing department’s culture and needs will help them be as effective—and efficient—as possible.

Lay Out Your Expectations Before Hiring a Fractional Marketing Operations Consultant

Communication is one of the biggest factors in determining employee success and happiness. This is doubly true for fractional marketing operations specialists, who are often hired for a limited time period to help a company achieve a specific goal.

Since part-time marketing operations consultants are limited by time, failing to set clear expectations from the get-go can delay projects and undermine their effectiveness as a team leader. It’s important to let a fractional marketing manager know:

• What outcomes you’d like to see achieved
• The metrics you’ll use to measure those outcomes
• The scope of their role and who they report to/who reports to them

By providing this crucial information ahead of time, everyone will be on the same page and working effectively.

When it comes down to it, transparency is the name of the game. Your marketing operations manager can only be as effective as you let them, so make sure to keep them in the loop throughout the marketing project.

We’ve got more tips for working with a fractional marketing manager coming soon. If you’re interested in learning more about how fractional marketing operations can help you, contact us today.