Becoming an Interim Manager

Interim Managers, as opposed to Contractors and Consultants, are appointed on a temporary/short-term basis to senior managerial positions within an organisation, which can be in a functional role or where a specific project needs undertaking. Interim Managers are usually very experienced senior managers and Directors who have moved into an interim career on a full-time basis.

An Interim Manager can be taken on for as long as is required - typically three to nine months or even longer - being expected to step immediately into a role or function being well qualified (even over qualified) for the position, requiring limited acclimatisation and training to get started.

As such an experienced Interim Manager can add tremendous value to your business during a time of need such as:

  • During merger and acquisition periods
  • Providing essential skills that are not currently in your management team
  • Undertaking specific projects
  • To cover during the recruitment of a permanent executive
  • Change management
  • Business improvement
    • Since most Interims are independent and usually have their own service company it is very easy for a client to engage their services with minimum administration and liability. The Interim will be responsible for his own National Insurance contributions, Income Tax, holiday pay, sick pay, pension contributions, bonuses, or car allowances, the client needing only to pay a daily rate for their services.

    There are many reasons why you may wish to become an Interim Manager; a few of the more common are:

  • Dissatisfaction with the ‘corporate’ life, especially company politics
  • Improve work life balance
  • Regain control over their working life
  • An opportunity to focus on what they are good at and enjoy
  • Redundancy and difficulty finding a permanent role
  • Taken early retirement but don’t want to retire
  • Just sold your business and want a new venture*
    • Becoming an Interim is definitely a ‘lifestyle’ decision, since not everyone is going to be happy working outside of a corporate environment, without the security of a steady source of income, and reliant on their own entrepreneurship and skills to win and successfully execute assignments. You therefore have to decide whether it ‘fits’ you or not. Do you have that independent streak that makes you want to own and run your own business? Do you have that personal credibility and self-confidence to tackle problems and quickly produce solutions, and the inter-personal skills and authority to implement those solutions, all in what will be, to you, a new operating environment?

    Whilst at first sight this may seem somewhat daunting, most who achieve the transition and become career interims find the lifestyle such that they would not willingly return to ‘permanent’ status. As with most lifestyle decisions, there are potential advantages and drawbacks that need to be weighed up**

    For further information there are a number of useful websites you may like to visit:

    The Interim Hub - www.interim-hub.com

    Competex - www.competex.co.uk

    Interim Management Association - www.interimmanagement.uk.com

    Institute of Interim Management - www.iim.org.uk

    * Source: The Interim Hub

    ** Source: Institute of Interim Management

    Links to other pages

    CV Review

    Interview Skills Training