Interim management has rapidly risen in popularity in recent years to become one of the most highly favoured strategic resources to effect fast change and progress when organisations need it most...

1. SUCCESS THROUGH PEOPLE
10 Steps to the Perfect Interim Hire

2. Interim management has rapidly risen in popularity in recent years to become one of the most highly
favoured strategic resources to effect fast change and progress when organisations need it most.
When it’s done right, hiring an interim manager can provide exceptional value for money and enable
a business to achieve its goals faster and with ease.
When the wrong interim is hired, the impact can be catastrophic. Significant delays, having to go
through lengthy recruitment processes again and internal political implications among key
stakeholders are all likely to cause long-lasting issues.
So how can you make sure you get it right?
1. Choose the right circumstances
When a business is facing a period of significant growth or instability, needs to undergo cultural change
or complete large-scale project/s, hiring an interim manager with a highly specialised skill-set could be
the right way to go.
An interim manager could also provide additional assistance to a business when there is a specific
knowledge or skills gap within a senior management team. The niche expertise and results-focused
approach of an interim could enable progress to happen right from their first day.
2. Create a detailed brief
The more information an interim manager can be given from the outset about the assignment and
organisation, the better equipped they will be to hit the ground running.
A brief overview of how the company has arrived at its current point will provide context for the interim
and enable them to quickly understand the end goals, while a list of key stakeholders and contact
information will save them time when they begin. Specific targets for the assignment must be clearly
outlined within the brief, with reporting mechanisms included.
You have every right to demand precision. The clearer the expectation, the higher the chance it will be
met.
3. Appoint an expert
Build a relationship with an interim management resourcing
provider. They will get to know your organisation, its needs and
goals and will therefore be better able to match the right
interim to each assignment.
They work with large numbers of interim managers who are
pre-qualified and trusted; although it is always worth checking that they have properly assessed and
interviewed each prospective interim manager they recommend for an assignment.
They will be able to present a small selection of candidates for consideration – saving you the task of
having to sift through hundreds of CVs and time-consuming interviews to create a shortlist.
It’s a good idea to meet your chosen partner face to face to make sure they understand the culture of
the organisation as well as the challenge which has led to the decision to engage an interim manager.
Your chosen partner should also be capable of managing the performance of the selected interim for the
duration of the assignment. They should provide regular updates on progress, targets and budgets.
4. Cut straight to the chase in an informal interview
In contrast to traditional corporate interviews for permanent positions, interviews with interim
management candidates tend to be more informal, uninhibited and even blunt.
“Build a relationship
with an interim
management
resourcing provider”

3. “The right
candidate should
leave you with a
feeling of
reassurance”
Think of it more as an audition rather than an interview. This approach is favoured by many recruiters as
it’s more transparent and straightforward. The interim should ideally be able to demonstrate past
experience of delivering similar results, outline their ideas for achieving the assignment’s goals and give
specific examples of their strategy.
5. Find out if they’re the right fit
The right candidate should leave you with a feeling of reassurance
that they are the person who is going to offer the business those
highly specialised leadership skills to achieve the objectives of the
assignment; that they will deliver substantial return on investment
by applying their skills carefully to each element of the bigger
picture.
If they don’t make you feel this way, they’re not the right interim manager for the assignment.
6. Set immediate targets and start seeing immediate results
A high-calibre, experienced and skilful interim manager should be prepared to put their money where
their mouth is and commit to what they are going to accomplish during their assignment. Defining and
agreeing a set of KPIs from the outset will not only help them to focus on the top priorities and make
reporting easier throughout the assignment, but will also make tracking progress very straightforward.
An interim manager does not need the normal bedding-in time an ordinary permanent new employee
might be allowed. They will expect to be given targets and deadlines to meet within their first week, so
there are demonstrable results from the word ‘go’.
7. Select a candidate who offers more experience than the job requires
Often interim managers offer capabilities and experience which outweigh the requirements of an interim
assignment. Appointing a candidate who fits this profile can be an excellent way of making sure that
they will be in a position to create swift solutions thanks to their bank of experience, make fast in-roads
with key stakeholders and deliver results quickly.
8. Act fast – a great interim manager won’t stay on the market for long.
Often highly experienced interims with strong track records rely on referrals and endorsements from
previous assignments when it comes to securing future work.
The more success they achieve during projects, the more highly they’ll be
in demand. They may have a number of interim recruitment specialists
lining up new assignments for them to begin immediately as they finish
another.
Work with your chosen interim resourcing partner to make sure you don’t
miss out on the highest calibre candidates as soon as they become
available. And once a decision has been made regarding who to appoint,
don’t delay.
9. Get stakeholder buy-in
Help to make it easier for the interim manager to integrate fast and hit the ground running as soon as
they arrive by spending time with their key stakeholders beforehand.
Explain the decision to bring in an interim and outline all the benefits this will bring – it will make the
interim’s job easier and enable them to make faster progress as soon as they start.
Some may have perceived ideas about the disadvantages of appointing an interim manager
rather than recruiting to a permanent position.
“A great interim
manager won’t
stay on the
market for long”

4. Myth-buster
Common reasons for reluctance include the following perceptions:
• that using interims is costly
When in fact the opposite is true; interim managers’ rates may seem high at first glance, but their pay
does not include the other significant costs to the business of a permanent salaried employee such as
bonuses, holiday pay, NI and pension contributions etc
• that an interim manager may not be fully committed to the assignment
The truth is, if the company is to get its money’s worth from hiring the interim, they will have been
given a detailed brief which sets out ambitious targets so they must remain committed, start delivering
results within their first week and make every day count – unlike many permanent employees. Also, their
future ability to find work may depend heavily on referrals and endorsements from previous contracts
• that engaging an external person may have internal political repercussions. Some may feel
threatened by the appointment of an interim, so it’s important to work to dissolve those feelings prior to
the inception of the interim’s assignment if possible.
Spending time breaking down any barriers before the assignment starts (wherever possible) will allow the
interim to immediately begin work on identifying quick wins, building key relationships and making
progress which means the business should see faster results.
10. And finally….develop an exit strategy
Collaborate with your chosen resourcing partner and the interim manager to come up with an exit
strategy for the final stages of the assignment. Decide what needs to be done to enable the interim to
complete the project, and which policies and procedures need to be created or refreshed once the
project comes to an end. Consider what training, planning and communication need to be developed to
ensure critical knowledge and skills are seamlessly transferred to the incumbent team.
If you would like to discuss your Interim needs with one of our experts,
get in touch on
Tel: +44 (0)1962 677013
cburd@network-executive.com