Interim Management Personnel

The right interim management personnel can make a massive difference to business.

Increasingly More Strategic Roles

Whilst initially interim management personnel worked in tactical roles, such as; helping to plug temporary gaps in executive teams, more and more their roles and responsibilities have become enhanced and in particular strategic.

It's now not unusual for interim management personnel to be required to support strategic assignments such as:

business integrations following mergers or acquisitions
consolidating global purchasing activities
leading business critical cost-reduction programmes
leading regional supply chain and logistics re-engineering initiatives
strategic make versus buy programmes and plant consolidations

Wider Skill-Sets

Specialists in their own fields, interim management personnel today can be hired for any specialist assignment with an extremely relevant track-record of delivering business benefit. Although because of their levels of experience, they also tend to have developed broader skill-sets with for example: strong team leadership and team-player skills, formal programme and project management skills; a thorough understanding of how to manage change and sensitive political antennae in addition to the skills of their specialist discipline.

Greater Flexibility

As these personnel are hired for short periods of time, they're usually very prepared to adapt to clients' needs for the duration of an assignment. This might include working in an unpopular location, during unsociable hours and/or traveling a great deal to deliver assignment deliverables. Furthermore in accordance with the demands of the client, an executive interim manager's assignment can be extended or shortened as required; often at extremely short notice.

No Hidden Costs

When clients take on interim management personnel; what they pay is what they get. Other than expenses which are incurred, there are no hidden costs such as; national insurance, income tax, pension contributions, training, paying for holidays and sickness. These costs are all paid by the executive interim manager.

Fresh and Impartial

One of the most important strengths of an interim person is that being an outsider, brings with it a "new pair of eyes" and the fresh ideas that go with them. However an additional benefit is that because an executive interim manager doesn't expect to have an ongoing role in the organisation, they can sidestep otherwise prohibitive internal politics; and express opinions which are clearly unbiased. This fresh impartiality can make a huge difference in some organisations.

How to Choose Interim Management Personnel

Whilst the benefits from interim management personnel are many. To help you make a more informed choice, here are a few tips:

Look for executive interim management service providers with an appropriate specialism. They have to know enough about their field to understand the specific technicalities that you're looking for, and their impact on your business. Get them to demonstrate this.
If you want support for a particular programme or project, share what you can from the terms of reference (or brief) for the project itself, rather than just providing a job description.
The simplicity of email means that service providers receive a significant number of speculative enquiries. To ensure your requirement is taken seriously; meet with a representative from the executive interim management service provider face-to-face. A meeting also ensures the service provider understands something of the unwritten cultural challenges that may be associated with an assignment.
Avoid executive interim management service providers who rely on an "A List" of a few good generalists, and short-list them even if they don't have the specialist experience you're looking for. You shouldn't have to pay good money for an executive interim manager to climb a learning curve.
Understand how the executive interim management service providers operate and make sure that you're not getting just a CV/job description matching service.
Ask them to provide you with client references.

We at Executive Interims are here just to help you hire and utilise the best interim management personnel in the industry. Contact us for expert assistance for your organisation.