The "fractionalize" everything or "outcome focused work environment" is really appealing. But it has some serious limitations...especially in startups.
There is no reason to track time to determine FT employee status any more...no one should care if you work 28 hours one week and 48 the next...you do the work that needs to be done.
But if you are only working on outcomes, there a few things that have to be defined:
What is the desired outcome? (That is hard for startups --> many things are tests and there isn't a reasonably defined measurable outcome.)
What is the financial compensation for achieving the outcome? Should that compensation be variable if the outcome is partially achieved or significantly surpassed? (Variable expenses that aren't tied specifically to revenue-generating activities can be a huge cashflow killer for a startup.)
What about work that evolves and emerges over time? If I am a outcome based worker, and my leadership asks me to do something that is not 100% related to achieving my outcome, I should ask to adjust my compensation model to include this new task. That means every time there is a task or responsibility added to someone's plate, the compensation needs to be renegotiated. That is a ridiculous level of emotional and management overhead.
Outcome based work is terrific for individual contributors. For an outcome based worker, they need to have as much control as humanly possible around their work so that they can meet the outcomes. This makes teamwork, collaboration and shared goals much more difficult to manage.
Outcome based work is largely focused on a discrete set of inputs and outputs. Startups, especially, have incredibly variable inputs and outputs...so the outcome based work needs to be constantly renegotiated.
The best companies are trying to leverage the cooperative work of multiple people, groups and departments to accomplish a mission. Fractional or outcome-based workers are uniquely compensated to focus on THEIR output rather than OUR output, and that does set up an environment where the outcome-based worker might be executing their responsibilities as expected, but has no impetus or obligation to investigate how their work can positively impact the outcomes of other workers, team and groups.
In startups, nothing is defined. Roles and responsibilities change frequently. Metrics and definitions of success change frequently. An outcome based worker isn't well suited to a fluid environment. Employees who buy fully into the mission/culture/team have a greater sense of responsibility (and therefore fluidity) than those who are measured on specific discrete outcomes.
The best is a mix of committed team and fractional or outcome based experts that if they are successful create more opportunity for the organization as a whole.
Tim Kilroy
The "fractionalize" everything or "outcome focused work environment" is really appealing. But it has some serious limitations...especially in startups.
There is no reason to track time to determine FT employee status any more...no one should care if you work 28 hours one week and 48 the next...you do the work that needs to be done.
But if you are only working on outcomes, there a few things that have to be defined:
In startups, nothing is defined. Roles and responsibilities change frequently. Metrics and definitions of success change frequently. An outcome based worker isn't well suited to a fluid environment. Employees who buy fully into the mission/culture/team have a greater sense of responsibility (and therefore fluidity) than those who are measured on specific discrete outcomes.
The best is a mix of committed team and fractional or outcome based experts that if they are successful create more opportunity for the organization as a whole.