To avoid disappointment 2-3 months into the engagement, my #1 recommendation is to have a very specific and well written statement of work that you mutually agree on so that it’s perfectly clear what your expectations of them are.
When our fractionals didn’t work out, it was always because we had expectations that the fractional wasn’t able to live up to. And in hindsight, simply spelling out the work in a SOW would have avoided the misalignment.
In general, there are a lot of fractionals who don’t like to roll their sleeves up to do real work. IME most fractionals could simply be described as “paid advisors”. For our company, when we’ve had fractionals not work out it was always because the fractional simply didn’t want to do anything other than join meetings and advise.
Again, all solvable by simply having a clear SOW and making sure mutual expectations are clearly communicated.
It’s extremely tempting to just engage a fractional because it’s easy and quick, especially when you’re desperate to get someone in the door. Don’t make that mistake and take your time.