The Maturing of the Interim Management Industry

Interim management in the UK has grown rapidly and with this growth has matured considerably.

Until a few years ago, interim managers were typically senior executives from line management backgrounds aged 50 and over, who had opted for early retirement and who had the financial and personal independence to become executive interim managers.

In the twenty-first century, the industry is attracting many more individuals with outstanding track records in their late 30's and early 40's, who have deliberately chosen interim management as a career.

They often enjoy variety and project-type roles and want to take greater control over their own career and be rewarded for delivering results without having to uproot their kids from school every three to five years.

Now in the UK the industry has its own professional institution: The Institute of Interim Management and its own trade association which defines the Code of Conduct for interim management service providers like ourselves. Numerous interim management books have been published which explore the nature of the role; and in Europe, where the approach began, specialist education and training courses for interim managers' continuous professional development have been set up.

Consultancy AND Interim Management

Whilst historically some argued fiercely about the differences between interim managers and consultants, as the industry has matured it's become clear that there is now some cross-over between the roles.

In fact most of the former Big Four supply chain consultants that Executive Interims - Supply Chain Practice can provide, have significant industry line management experience and so are equally able to deliver benefit in both interim management AND consultancy roles. Furthermore, because of their consulting experience, they bring with them the benefits of formal approaches to stakeholder, change and programme management plus outstanding analytical expertise and last but not least, the most cutting edge intellectual property in their specialism.

Not unsurprisingly then, this has led to the increasing use of the expression: interim management consultancies in relation to the services that companies like ourselves provide.

There will always be certain types of role though, such as highly analytical diagnostic assignments and perhaps part-time advisory roles, which are likely to suit a strictly consultancy skill-set more appropriately than a line management executive interim. As such, our view is that in many cases a former Big Four consultant can often be extremely effective in a traditional interim line management role, but an interim manager without any formal consulting background would not be considered by us for consultancy roles.

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