Interim management is a practice in which an experienced manager is hired for a short period of time to perform specific tasks or manage crisis situations in a company. This ensures business continuity and enables faster resolution of problems that have arisen in the company, such as a lack of leadership, financial crisis, change of strategy or restructuring. An interim manager can be hired for several weeks or months and is responsible for implementing specific measures to achieve the desired results.
Why is interim management different from consulting?
The difference between interim management and consulting mainly concerns the duration and scope of cooperation. What is interim management? It can be explained using a metaphor – a consultant would be a doctor who examines you and prescribes medication to help with a specific condition. The appointment is short, but that’s okay because you don’t need in-depth tests or comprehensive help. You go to the pharmacist’s, buy the medicine and feel better after just a few days.
Consultants, whose support is sought by companies, work in a similar manner. Such assistance is useful when you have a specific, not very complex problem to solve. The consultant will quickly familiarise themselves with your business situation and present you with proposals that you can implement immediately.
An interim manager, as a “company doctor”, works in a completely different way. They perform an in-depth analysis of the current situation, taking into account many business factors. This can be compared to the increasingly popular holistic approach in medicine. On this basis, it prepares a detailed action plan, i.e. long-term goals that will lead to the implementation of lasting changes. And, importantly, the interim manager coordinates the entire process and actively participates in it.
An interim manager is a person who manages a project, selects employees for their team and ensures that objectives and deadlines are met. Unlike a consultant, they are not someone who appears when needed and disappears when their task is completed. For a specified amount of time, they become an integral part of the team. In this aspect, they are no different from a full-time expert.
Who is an Interim Manager and why is it worth hiring one?
Is the help of a consultant not enough for you, hiring a full-time manager in the current situation will not work, and consulting services are... not what you need, either? In this case, it’s very likely that you’ll benefit from the support of an interim manager. More and more companies cooperating with Redegate opt for this solution. Before you join them, find out how long-term cooperation with such an expert can help you and in what business situations it’s worth considering.
Interim managers are sometimes called “company doctors” in English. This term gives a good idea of what an interim manager does in a company. Who is an interim manager? They’re a highly qualified expert who joins the team as a manager to solve strategic problems and implement changes. They do this by taking over the management of the company in a designated area – but not permanently, only for a period specified in the contract. An interim manager can take on the role of CEO, chief operating officer, chief financial officer or senior manager.
When you employ an interim manager, you can entrust them with tasks related to:
- Diagnosing the existing problem.
- Proposing a strategy to resolve this problem.
- Creating a project team.
- Planning actions that will result in the implementation of changes.
- Project leadership – team management, goal achievement.
What can an interim manager do for your business?
Temporarily taking over the management of selected areas of a company’s operations is a solution that is primarily used in large private-sector companies. We don’t have data from the Polish market (the role of interim manager is still new here), but research shows that 65% of such specialists work in private corporations.
In our experience, we can say that companies from the financial, manufacturing, construction and technology sectors most often decide to work with interim managers from the Redegate database. Our clients look for support from people experienced in project management, financial consulting and operational management. Such business assistance is provided to companies by an interim manager.
In fact, you may need an interim manager in any industry. The location of your business is definitely more important than the area in which you operate.
Interim managers most frequently take on management responsibilities when:
- A company is in serious crisis and ad-hoc assistance proves insufficient.
- You’re planning to make fundamental changes to your business strategy.
- A full-time manager is leaving the company and you don’t want (or for various reasons can’t) replace them permanently.
- You intend to carry out a project that requires specific management skills or specialist knowledge that no one in your team has.
Which industries hire interim managers most often?
Temporarily taking over the management of selected areas of a company’s operations is a solution that is primarily used in large private-sector companies. We don’t have data from the Polish market (the role of interim manager is still new here), but research shows that 65% of such specialists work in private corporations. In our experience, we can say that companies from the financial, manufacturing, construction and technology sectors most often decide to work with interim managers from the Redegate database. Our clients look for support from people experienced in project management, financial consulting and operational management.
In fact, you may need an interim manager in any industry. The location of your business is definitely more important than the area in which you operate. Interim managers most frequently take on management responsibilities when:
- A company is in serious crisis and ad-hoc assistance proves insufficient.
- You’re planning to make fundamental changes to your business strategy.
- A full-time manager is leaving the company and you don’t want (or for various reasons can’t) replace them permanently.
- You intend to carry out a project that requires specific management skills or specialist knowledge that no one in your team has.
How long does cooperation with an interim manager last?
Important changes aren’t implemented in a matter of days. Or even weeks. It should therefore come as no surprise that cooperation with an interim manager usually lasts at least several months. On average, it lasts between 3 and 12 months. However, projects lasting longer, e.g. 1.5 years, are not uncommon.
How long you will need support depends entirely on your needs and the interim manager’s capabilities. Such issues are usually agreed on at the beginning, when the scope of the project is already known. In most cases, external managers are flexible and there is nothing to prevent them from extending their cooperation with the company.
Discover the benefits of interim management for your company!
Entrusting tasks to an interim manager is a type of employee outsourcing, which is commonly associated with cost reduction in a company. Indeed, using the temporary support of an expert can be a way to reduce the expenses that a company would have to incur if it hired a full-time manager.
However, the services provided by interim managers are about more than just savings.
The benefits you can count on also include:
- Access to the specialist knowledge and skills of an expert.
- The interim manager’s commitment to the project – at a higher level than in the case of consultants or advisers.
- Effective project implementation without additional involvement of management staff.
- A fresh perspective on the company’s situation – a good interim manager brings their own ideas, enthusiasm and drive to achieve goals.
A survey conducted by a leading specialist recruitment agency showed that as many as 90% of finance directors in the UK intend to use the services of interim managers.
No such research has been conducted in Poland yet, but the result would certainly be lower. However, there is nothing to stop your company from being at the forefront of market changes and taking advantage of the opportunities offered by working with an interim manager.
Not sure where to look for such experts? We did it for you! If you fill in the form on our website and let us know that you need an interim manager specialising in a specific area, we will definitely select someone perfect for you from our database.
Why is it worth using the support of interim managers?
An interim manager is a person who joins a company for a short period of time and acts as a replacement manager. This type of cooperation has many advantages. Firstly, it allows for quick implementation of changes and corrective measures. Companies often lack the right personnel or they are too busy to take on a new project. An interim manager, on the other hand, is a specialist in their field and can therefore quickly and effectively achieve the set goals.
Secondly, interim managers bring new ideas and perspectives to the company’s operations. This allows for the introduction of innovations that contribute to the enterprise’s growth. Furthermore, external interim managers are independent of internal arrangements and relationships, which allows for an objective approach to problems and effective company management.
Hiring an interim manager is an investment that benefits not only the company but also its employees. It allows them to learn from a specialist in their field and gain new experience. It is worth noting that interim managers often work in teams and share their knowledge and skills with employees, which also has a positive influence on the working atmosphere.
For enterprises that want to implement changes quickly and effectively, as well as for those looking for new solutions, hiring an external interim manager can be very inspiring and strengthening for the business. Do you want to grow your business and achieve market success? Interim management can effectively help you do this. With this support, all your business dreams will come true!
