Advise · Fractional operations lead

A senior operator inside your business. A few hours a week.

A fractional operations lead, what many firms call a fractional COO, is a senior operator who works inside your business on a weekly cadence. At Compass AI Group that is Bobby Atwal: Lean Six Sigma Black Belt, 30 years running operations. Advisory or hands-on, working the list the diagnosis produced.

About one in six Bearings Reports says: do nothing yet.

Plot Your CourseSee how we work
Three months, one fix at a time
A sample thirteen-week plan for a fractional operations lead: a weekly review every week, fix one landed in weeks 1 to 5, fix two in weeks 5 to 9, fix three in weeks 9 to 13, and the number reported at weeks 4, 8 and 13.WEEKS 1 TO 13 · THEN MONTH TO MONTH14813Weekly reviewFix 01ranked firstFix 02ranked secondFix 03ranked thirdThe numberreported monthlyA sample thirteen-week plan for a fractional operations lead: a weekly review every week, fix one landed in weeks 1 to 5, fix two in weeks 5 to 9, fix three in weeks 9 to 13, and the number reported at weeks 4, 8 and 13.WEEKS 1 TO 13 · THEN MONTH TO MONTH14813Weekly reviewFix 01ranked firstFix 02ranked secondFix 03ranked thirdThe numberreported monthly
FIG. 00A sample plan, not a client’s. The fixes come from the ranked list a Bearings Report produced; each lands before the next starts, and the number is reported every month.

S.01One week

Every week nobody owns operations, the owner does it at night.

A fractional lead gives the job an owner for a few hours a week, works from the ranked list, and reports the number every month. Here is one week on the hands-on rung.

Run log: one week, hands-on rung
  1. MonReviewWeekly operations review with the owner: last week’s number, this week’s one fix, and anything stuck.
  2. TueMessageA vendor quote arrives. It is checked against the plan and answered by message the same day.
  3. WedOn siteHalf a day inside the business: sitting with the team that runs the fix, adjusting the checklist where the work does not match it.
  4. ThuBuildThe workflow build is checked against the plan with the Compass team, so nothing drifts between the diagnosis and the fix.
  5. FriNumberThe week’s number goes on a one-page scorecard. At month end it goes to the owner in writing.
FIG. 01A sample week at a sample business, not a client’s. On the advisory rung, Monday and Tuesday are the whole week.

S.02What you get

Two rungs. One operator.

Pick the cadence that matches how much of the operations job is currently unowned. When the business is ready for a full-time hire, you will know, and the role will be defined.

  1. 01

    Advisory

    Two to four hours a week: a standing weekly session plus availability by message. Priorities, hires, vendors, numbers and the next fix, decided with someone who has run the function before.

  2. 02

    Hands-on

    Half a day a week inside the business: running the weekly operations review, owning one improvement at a time, sitting with the team, and keeping the builds and plans on track.

Terms, in writing

Three-month minimum: long enough to change how something runs and measure it. After that, month to month with thirty days notice.

Offered after a Bearings Report or a first build, never sold cold, so the first three months already have a ranked list to work from.

No public price. Scoped in Charting after your Bearings call, with a fixed monthly fee in writing before the first week. See the Method

S.03Best for

Best for owners who are the operations department.

If you are still finding the bottleneck, start with a Bearings Report. The fractional lead is for making the fixes happen.

A good fit

  • You are the operations department, and it is costing you the work only the owner can do.
  • You have a manager who needs a senior operator to think with, not another hire to manage.
  • A Bearings Report ranked five fixes and you want them to actually happen this year.

Not yet

  • You are still finding the bottleneck. Start with a Bearings Report; the lead works from its list.
  • You need a daily coordinator. A fractional lead is the senior layer; if you need a full-time person, the report says so.
  • You want advice without anyone owning the change. This role owns how the work runs, one fix at a time.

Sometimes the answer is a better process, not AI at all.

S.04Questions

Fractional questions, answered plainly.

What is a fractional operations lead?

A senior operator who works inside your business part time on a fixed weekly cadence, what many firms call a fractional COO. At Compass that is Bobby Atwal: a Lean Six Sigma Black Belt with 30+ years operating, taking ownership of how the work runs rather than advising from outside.

Advisory or hands-on: which one do I need?

Advisory (two to four hours a week) fits an owner or manager who needs a senior operator to decide with. Hands-on (half a day a week) fits a business where nobody owns operations and the improvements will not happen without someone inside driving them. Most start advisory and move up when a big change is under way.

Why a three-month minimum?

Because a process change takes a few weeks to land and a few more to measure. Three months is the shortest period in which a fractional lead can change how something runs and show the number. After that it is month to month with thirty days notice.

Does this replace hiring an operations manager?

Sometimes it delays that hire; sometimes it defines the role and helps you make it. A fractional lead is the senior layer, not the daily coordinator. If the diagnosis says you need a full-time person, the report says so.

S.06Next step

Plot your course.

A free 30-minute Bearings call. You and the Compass team, talking about your business. An honest read on what to fix first, and whether AI belongs in it.

Book Your Bearings Call

Or reach the Compass team directly: batwal@compassaigroup.com, 416-409-2112