An Introduction to Interim Management

This introduction to Interim Management describes the concept and the commonly used definitions specific to this industry, and gives an idea of the size of the market for Interim services. It also summarises the attributes of a professional Interim manager, identifies some of the occasions when Interims are used, and the benefits they bring to clients. Finally, for clients who plan to use Interims, we give some pointers on how to get the best from them.

Concepts and Definitions

Interim Management is the use of senior, professional directors and managers on a fee and fixed term basis to achieve a high impact on specific roles or objectives. Interims are skilled professionals operating at a high level, sensibly over-qualified for the assignment, and able to bring a breadth of experience and skills to facilitate prompt results. They are typically used at short notice for short and medium term high impact roles, and can incorporate the roles of consultancy and project management, planning and implementing change, so ensuring seamless delivery and full accountability.

Interims operate on a freelance basis, and are either self-employed or work through their own limited companies. Interims are not temporary employees, but are professionals in business on their own account, with the risks and rewards that that implies. They are responsible for their own arrangements for holiday, pension, health insurance etc, and will normally carry professional indemnity insurance.

The commonly used terms you will come across in the industry are:

• Interim manager / Interim: The individual delivering the services required by a Client.
• Client: The organisation requiring Interim management services.
• Assignment: The role / task to be performed by the Interim manager for the Client
• Intermediaries: Organisations that formally or informally act as introducers between the Client and the Interim. They include lawyers, accounting and consulting firms, venture capitalists and Providers
• Provider: A specialist search and selection agency which acts on behalf of the Client to locate Interims with the appropriate skills and experience to carry out the assignment. Most of the largest and long established Providers are members of the Interim Management Association
• Candidates: Interims registered with one or more Providers, and included in a Provider’s candidate database as potentially able to carry out Interim assignments.

Size of Market

The very qualities that make Interim management attractive to clients – accessibility, flexibility and speed of response – make it difficult to get an accurate view of the market. The variety of definitions of ‘Interim’ and the fragmented nature of the industry (the absence of any dominant suppliers / intermediaries / brands / customers) make it difficult to plot statistically. As a further complicating factor, on average Interim managers find two thirds of their work direct from clients, with only a third of assignments coming through Providers and other intermediaries; some Interims never seek / obtain assignments through Providers, and their activities may therefore go unrecorded in any statistical compilation. However, the consensus estimates the total market for Interim management services at approximately £500m pa in UK and €750m in the rest of Europe, with sustained long-term growth of 15% per annum.

Similarly, it is difficult to measure how many Interim managers are in the market, as individuals will change between temporary, contract, consultancy and Interim roles to meet clients’ needs, as well as transfer to permanent employment or retirement. However, it is widely accepted that there are about 2,000 career Interim managers in the UK, with a further 7,000 to 8,000 ‘passing through’ – in other words, doing Interim work to fill a gap in permanent employment. Most Interims register with a number of different Providers and other intermediaries, so the resulting multiple registrations in candidate databases add to the difficulty in arriving at a number for Interim managers in the market.

Attributes of a Professional Interim Manager

• Seasoned / mature approach with self confidence (but not arrogance)
• Credible, diligent & enthusiastic
• Self-motivated, independent & objective
• Comfortable with accountability
• Action orientated – hits the ground running
• Results focused
• Informed risk-taker
• Flexible – thinks laterally and strategically & operates hands-on
• Flexible / adaptable – fits in, not status conscious, a team player
• Resilient with a realistic outlook
• Excellent communicator, influencer & leader
• Able to handle ambiguity
• Politically aware, sensitive to the situation – but does not get involved in corporate politics or compromise their core values
• Undertakes CPD to keep ahead of the game in both their function or profession and as an Interim manager
• Acts ethically and to a Code of Conduct

Why Do Clients Use Interim Managers?

Interim Managers are used across virtually every sector and business function in both the private and public sectors. Traditionally, Interims were taken on as a ‘distress purchase’, to cover a sudden and unexpected senior level departure. As organisations have come to understand the skills and experience that Interims bring, they are now making much more use of Interims on a planned basis to cover strategic and/or tactical needs:

• Managing the organisation through a major change – for example, a merger, restructuring or company disposal
• Managing functions to fill a short term skills gap
• Changing business culture
• Business development
• Leading projects
• Implementing cost and staff reductions
• Turning around businesses and organisations in crisis

What Interim Managers Bring to Clients

The benefits that Interim Managers bring to clients are, to a large extent, the flip-side of the attributes of the professional Interim manager listed earlier:

• Transferable skills
• Able to start at short notice – often within days
• Add value to the organisation from day one
• Quick resolution to issues – delivering results and lasting benefits
• Very flexible - tailored to task in hand
• Sensibly over qualified, experienced / focused
• Dedicated to the client / task
• A balanced external perspective, bringing breadth of experience to bear
• Objective overview
• Source of specialist / senior management skills
• Simple entry / exit procedure
• Frees staff to run day-to-day business
• Highly cost-effective when compared with the potential costs of failure

For Clients: Some Ideas on How to Get the Best out of Interim Managers

Both clients and Interims have a vested interest in ensuring that an assignment is successful – the client because it wants results delivered and value for money, the Interim because the success of the current assignment sells him/her for the next one. Responsibility for a successful outcome does not fall solely on the shoulders of the Interim – clients have their part to play, and the following pointers may help, particularly if you have not used an Interim before, or have used an Interim but did not get the best out of the relationship.

• Be clear on why you are using an Interim
• Have well defined outcomes/expectations
• ‘Sell’ the appointment internally
• Give the Interim the requisite executive authority
• Allow adequate ‘space’ to do the job without ‘over-management’
• Expect effective senior outputs, and provide the necessary ‘environment’:
  • Not a desk in the middle of a hot desk area
  • Treat with respect as senior team member
  • In the information ‘loop’
• Explain how things are around the business unit:
  • Appoint a liaison contact – day/week one
  • Ask at intervals if they have what they need
• Meeting of minds
  • Talk regularly and understand their processes
• Remember – skills are usually transferable. Is industry knowledge as important as you think?
• Don’t necessarily look for a “clone” of your permanent employees. The Interim should bring a breadth of experience which your full time staff may not have
• Choose the Interim manager on overall value for money, not lowest daily rate.