Interim Management is one of the fastest growing employment sectors in the UK and America. It’s easy to see why it appeals to the people who do it: after gathering experience at management or executive level in the early part of their career, they can then bank that experience to work flexibly, and command a high price for their expertise.
Some companies find it difficult to see the times when Interim support is helpful to them. The perception is that you’d only hire an Executive Interim Manager in the direst of straits. Today we’re going to paint a clearer picture of when Interim talent can help a business, so you know just how useful it can be, and can take a better decision about when, or if, you need to find an Interim Recruitment firm.
Change
Interim isn’t just disaster management. If your company is facing any period of change, it can be an asset to take on temporary management specialising in shepherding companies through.
When your start-up goes through it’s first period of success, expansion and growth it can be difficult for the founding members. Your expertise is in the flexibility of making your service work in the early days: pivoting to meet new challenges, and turning problems into opportunities. Dealing with an influx of new employees looking for a more traditional professional structure might not be in your skillset.
Taking on an Interim Manager in this period can be a great idea. They can help to establish the systems that will keep your new workforce productive and happy long after the manager has left, whether that’s on the HR side, with systems for tracking leave and sickness, or offering some more traditional corporate management and identifying the leaders who will report into the board after they’ve moved on.
Projects
Another great time to use Interim support is if a project you’re relying on is out of deadlines and overrunning its budget. An Interim Manager can come in, identify the areas that are costing it progress and draining the budget, and redirecting people’s efforts to bringing it in on time.
The advantage Interim Managers have over consultants is that while a consultant will assess the situation and make recommendations, they don’t have any responsibility for carrying them out: those plans are for you to put into action. An Interim Manager will come and work directly with your employees to deliver the promised work, so you know you’re getting what you need.