Fractional Finance Hires in Food & Bev
Growing businesses in the F&B space can quickly find themselves needing senior financial support - but there’s just one problem.
Permanent finance hires, particularly at the Chief Financial Officer/Finance Director level, are very expensive. Not only that, but F&B companies may only need support in very specific areas, or assistance with one-off projects, meaning a full-time hire might not be required early doors.
This is where fractional finance hires (also known as interim/portfolio hires) can be game-changers.
Fractional finance hires are essentially part-time contractors who can be hired by F&B businesses to cover specific responsibilities. They’re often hugely knowledgeable and can bring a wealth of valuable industry experience to the table, ultimately supporting CEO’s / Investors and Founders scale businesses.
Not only that, but fractional finance hires are also more flexible and affordable for growing F&B companies. They can be hired for a set amount of days per week/month, or even assigned to an individual project so offer a wealth of knowledge but importantly flexibility.
They will ordinarily operate on a day rate basis either through a LTD company or through an Umbrella company and can be hired in less than a few days depending on their other commitments. Therefore this is a swift way of hiring expertise into the business and bringing forward the timeline for strategic projects for example (given most FDs/CFOs are ordinarily available at 3 months notice in the permanent market).
In this guide, we’ll be explaining how fractional finance hires can benefit F&B companies, and outlining how the hiring process works for these interim experts.
How can fractional finance professionals support F&B business leaders as they scale up?
While fractional finance hires don’t work full-time, that doesn’t mean they won’t have a lasting impact on F&B companies. These experts can make vital contributions to scaling businesses, helping them lay down solid financial foundations for long-term growth.
Below are just a few ways that fractional finance hires can support senior leaders, founders, and investors in the F&B space:
Offering a vast amount of experience and expertise
Fractional finance hires are generally highly experienced and equipped with a wide range of proven skills. More importantly, these skills often extend beyond finance - portfolio hires can also offer expert support and guidance across the HR, IT, and legal departments.
Steering the financial ship towards growth
The addition of a fractional finance hire can instil a lot of confidence in investors looking at F&B companies. These finance leaders have a solid understanding of business best practices, meaning they can optimise processes, boost profitability, and give peace of mind to founders who might be looking to fundraise for example or who are just looking for a trusted set of hands as they scale.
Providing additional support across a business
Fractional finance hires are highly versatile. They can assist with funding initiatives, contribute to commercial plans, and even work cross-department (i.e. with sales teams or supply chain) to build efficient dashboards, analyse product performance, and implement growth strategies.
Delivering specialised F&B knowledge
If F&B businesses are searching for specialised industry experience, they can bring in portfolio hires with the requisite skills. For example, at Harmonic, we can refine our search to finance leaders with in-depth knowledge of the grocery space, or candidates with expertise in manufacturing processes.
Opening up access to a high-value network
Experienced CFOs and FDs have usually built up a valuable network of financial experts, investors, and industry veterans throughout their careers. Once a business hires a fractional CFO/FD, they can tap into this network for advice - or even hands-on support.
How much commitment is required from F&B businesses working with a fractional finance hire?
One of the biggest advantages of portfolio hires is their flexibility.
For example, a growing F&B company could hire a qualified fractional CFO for a few days a month or multiple days per week. It all revolves around the specific requirements of the business, which is fantastic news for challenger brands/scale-ups who might struggle to afford a full-time finance leader.
Fractional hires can even be recruited for specialised jobs or one-off projects, and F&B employers can then adjust their weekly/monthly contributions as the situation changes which is another huge benefit to the interim market.
The speed of the fractional hiring process is also extremely useful for food and drinks businesses. While a full-time CFO position often takes 4-8 weeks to fill, companies can engage and hire portfolio talent within a matter of days - and in the fast-moving world of F&B start-ups and scaleups, this can make a monumental difference. We aim to provide interim options within 48 hours given our network of candidates.
What does the hiring process involve for F&B businesses recruiting fractional talent?
Recruiting fractional finance talent may sound incredibly appealing to many growing F&B businesses. But how does the hiring process actually work?
While every situation is unique, the fractional hiring process can be broken down into three main stages.
1. Aligning as a management team
A crucial first step is to agree on your hiring brief as a leadership team.
Establish what you’re looking to achieve with your fractional hire, pinpoint 3-5 key areas for support, and outline any specific knowledge that may be required for the role. We can also provide profiling, budget ranges and example CVs at this point to support in shaping the hire.
2. Engaging with Harmonic
Once you have a clear hiring brief, Harmonic has the right experience, network, and knowledge to find your ideal candidate so we are well placed to support. We can help you to put together a world class job spec to go to market with which will not only outline the role and responsibilities but also the narrative,culture and big sell for working with you.
At Harmonic, we’ve been providing high-quality fractional recruitment services for years, which means we have the benchmarking data and market insights we need to hire the best talent. Our tight-knit community of candidates allows us to quickly identify the most qualified individuals and map out a clear hiring process.
3. Shortlisting, interviewing, and hiring
After you’ve worked with us to identify relevant candidates, it’s time to shortlist and interview the talent pool. Generally, shortlists at this level can be turned around within 2 days, meaning you can quickly progress to interviews and make a hiring decision. Harmonic manage the offer process from end-to-end and can provide guidance on this throughout.
What happens after a F&B business hires a fractional finance professional?
We’ve just established how businesses can successfully recruit fractional talent.
But what happens once this hire has fulfilled their obligations or completed a specific project? Or what if a F&B business has transformed dramatically during this period?
Well, there are a few different directions a fractional hire can go.
1. If a F&B company and a fractional hire have established a strong working relationship, they could offer a permanent position as CFO or FD.
2. The business may require less support from their fractional hire, and they might start recruiting a permanent team underneath them. In which case they would have a strong transition period and handover.
3. Some companies may just need to extend a portfolio hire’s contract and maintain the same level of commitment or this could be reduced down or ended.
Once again, fractional hires are all about flexibility.
Business needs and priorities are constantly changing, and the level of financial support needed will depend on the amount of growth a company is experiencing. Fortunately, F&B scale-ups have plenty of options when it comes to fractional resources, whether that means offering a full-time position, building up a permanent department, or reducing commitment.
Fractional finance hires can be incredibly useful for F&B businesses experiencing significant growth.
As more financial expertise is required, companies can bring on highly skilled leaders quickly and easily, plugging the gaps in their finance knowledge and helping them to maximise profitability.
Working with an experienced recruitment partner is key here. With the right recruitment strategy and candidate network, F&B businesses can ensure they’re onboarding industry-leading portfolio talent to hit the ground running and make an immediate impact.
For more details please contact [email protected] who can provide additional details and market criteria.
