These are often  ideal situations in which to utilize an interim manager.  Why?

1. An Interim Manager can add value to an organization by using their skills and expertise to achieve successful outcomes.
2. Unlike consultants they are accountable to someone in your organization and can provide quick results, even in difficult times.
3. Interim Managers can be up and running within days. Many are what we consider to be  ’sensibly over-qualified’, enabling them to quickly access a situation and  immediately contribute positive results.
4. Interim Managers are not encumbered by company politics or culture so they can  add new perspectives and concentrate on the work at hand.
5. Unlike ‘temporary workers’ they are not seeking a job with your organization, allowing them to approach their assignment with a straight forward approach.

The bottom line: use interim management as part of your human resources tool kit.

How to Become an Interim Senior Manager

by The Art of Potential – Kristin Hiemstra, posted Aug 9 2011 1:31PM

 The primary reasons for this trend include:

• Lack of internal resources – Following the massive layoffs that preceded and continued during the financial crisis, many companies rid themselves of the unique skills that were utilized only infrequently.  Now, when that same company is trying to start new initiatives, the talent needed make those initiatives a reality is nowhere to be found.
• Lack of bench experience – Having already cut staff to the bone and working remaining employees long hours, the company has little or no capacity to take on additional tasks or work on projects that can assist in increasing revenues/profits.  The bench of future project leads, managers or executives is very lean or non-existent.
• Fresh Perspective – New perspectives that bypass the “this is the way we have always done it here” mentality can provide breakthroughs that no one thought possible.
• Desire for confidentially – Sometimes the CEO (or other executive) wants to undertake studies that he or she does not want to make known to others.  Additionally, the executive does not want to utilize the current staff to delve into projects that may have a significant impact on the company’s future.
• Time-sensitive need – Many important, critical projects can have a short duration.  Companies are reluctant to staff projects with new employees.  They are also hesitant to pull someone off of the daily work they are performing to work on short-term initiatives.
• Need to take action – Unlike consultants who analyze situations and offer recommendations on solutions, interims actually take the actions that get results.
• Unexpected vacancy – The departure of a key employee can leave a huge gap in an already strained workforce.  As companies conduct the search for a replacement, they have needs that are not being fulfilled.
• Avoid making hiring mistake – Given the high visibility of making a new hire during a time of fiscal crisis, many managers and executives are reluctant to hire an unproven individual and potentially bear the wrath of peers and other employees should that person not “hit the ground fully running.

In short, companies want the knowledge, expertise, experience and abilities that interims can provide cost-effectively, with no long-term commitments.

• Transferable skills
• Available quickly – usually within 10 to 14 days
• Sensibly overqualified, experienced and focused
• Flexible
• Hands-on
• Can add a fresh perspective and be objective concerning solutions
• Serve as mentors who support the talent around them
• Less political and goal-oriented
• Self-motivated therefore requires little supervision
• Adds value from day one
• Dedicated to the goals of the client
• Cost effective when compared to alternatives

How does an organization utilize the talents of these individuals? How can they add value, benefit and create opportunities? The roles of the Interim Manager can be varied:

• The sudden departure of a senior manager can easily be filled while a search for the permanent position is conducted
• Filling position for those employees who are handling special projects, are ill or on a family sabbatical
• Manage an acquisition until all the right pieces are in place
• Effect a culture change
• Coaching/Mentoring of upcoming and promising employees (creating personnel loyalty and retention of talented employees)
• Downsizing or restructuring a business
• Setting up a new business or closing an old one
• Assist in business development projects and strategic marketing initiatives

In a previous BLOG, Getting Into a Hiring Mode,  we highlighted an assignment that demonstrated how we provided an Interim Manager  to research, analyze, and propose new product lines for an organization interested in diversification and expansion.

Over the next weeks I will provide actual case studies of Interim Managers and review their contributions to an organization. In each instance the  Interim Manager provided a valuable service and a positive experience.

The key is how do you ramp up quickly?  As you examine your current needs and look at how to increase business opportunities consider utiizing interim talent.   Their flexibility and expertise are values that are often difficult to match.

An interesting bit of information came from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. They reported that 2.2 million U.S. workers were employed temporarily in November 2010, up from 1.7 million in September 2009.  This reflects a growing trend in today’s world of work. For many companies the use of interims has played a key role in helping then through this recession. According to a recently released survey by the Institute for Corporate Productivity, a Seattle-based research organization, more than 9% of companies say they use temporary workers in management functions to a “high” or “very high extent”.  Because the value of using interims has been demonstrated, the trend to use an Interim will continue after the recession is over.

Companies are creatively examining the diverse ways of using an Interim.  At Executive Smarts, we recently placed an interim with a company that was looking to identify opportunities to increase sales and profitability through diversification and/or expansion of their product lines.

Executive Smarts quickly provided an experienced business analayst (from our talent pool) who examined potential domestic and international market options and created several detailed business proposals. To insure that the company’s culture and philosophy was protected, the Interim worked closely with one of their Vice-Presidents to develop detailed business plans for presentation to their board.

As you begin to ramp up for your future hiring needs and begin to think about utilizing the skills of an interim, you may be interested in our Resource Cost Analysis. Designed to assist you in analyzing a compensation package for hiring an Interim, we compare the compensation of an Interim vs. the hiring of a full time employee.

Some of the worst fears that many people have about interviews are the questions they might be asked.    Hard interview questions do happen because employers today are interested in how you think.  

Click below to read the article.

Offbeat interview questions asked to make you think – USATODAY.com.

The “Silver Tsunami”

We have all heard these comments during our work lives, but today we are hearing them more frequently and louder.  The squeeze is on and has been for some time as companies demand more results from a downsized staff.  And with the uncertainty of the near-term, let alone the long-term future, they are unwilling to add expensive talent to get needed tasks accomplished.

The economic downturn is into its third year for many companies.  And while there are signs of an uptick, hiring is still being restricted.  Yet there are demands to increase business, and create new product/service offerings with existing employees who are pushed beyond any type of normal bounds.  The economists call this “productivity gain;” those of us affected call it “unbearable.”

One alternative to hiring, while still achieving the increased demands, is to use a very qualified (often, sensibly over-qualified) interim employee to do the work.  Interim Managers/Executives can step in and be productive very quickly, doing the work, not just figuring out what needs to be done.

An interim executive can take the place of a permanent employee, but for a defined period of time – No long-term commitments.  No expensive fringe benefits.  No participation in the company bonus pool.  Just hard-working expertise that helps the company achieve desired results.  Interims do not merely give advice and suggest alternatives, they get their get their hands dirty by leading, managing and doing the work.  They are an active part of the leadership team, albeit for a limited period of time.

So, when your company needs to get more accomplished but can’t or won’t hire more talent, using a qualified interim executive or manager may be the best solution:  you get the results you want and, when the assignment is completed, the interim leaves without impacting your unemployment rate, your internal reputation or the morale in the organization.  Is now the time for your company to consider interim management?

Tom Englander, Executive Smarts, LLC

Increasing shareholder value in today’s business climate presents significant resource challenges for many companies.  Too often, this gap is being filled by high risk external recruitment of permanent staff or consultants.

To address the resource challenge quickly and mitigate risk, companies are increasingly calling on interim executives to fill crucial roles, round out leadership teams, deal with a crisis or assist with a business restructuring. Boards, investors and executive teams are turning to seasoned executives, working on an interim basis, to navigate their companies through turbulent times. Whether a company is merging, acquiring a competitor, re-structuring operations or simply redirecting its supply chain strategy, high impact interim executives are increasing being used by companies to supplement executive teams on a short-term basis.

Finding the interim executive with the right skills, experience, personality and track record can be a daunting task. For companies in the midst of a crisis or an executive absence, hiring the wrong interim is costly and the last thing they need.

The most important criteria for evaluating an interim executive for your company are:

• Specific, relevant skills. Do you need a supply chain expert or a team builder? Will you be pursuing additional financing or making tough workforce decisions? When hiring an outside expert, be sure to get an exact match on the skills you need. Sometimes, the best fit is from with interim executives outside your industry.  Relevant skills are frequently more important than industry experience to achieve high impact results.
• Experience Level. The key here is not to get one of the best names in the industry. What’s more important is that the candidate’s experience matches your specific situation and requirements. The right candidate is sensibly overqualified. Better than you need for the job, but not so over-qualified that the engagement will not be challenging for the interim executive.
• Personality. The candidate’s personality/chemistry must complement your existing leadership team. Work style, ego and cultural fit must all be considered when selecting an interim executive.

Before you launch your search for an interim executive you must identify your needs and determine the scope of the assignment.  This should include:

• What are you trying to achieve that can be best done by an outsider?
• How do you expect an interim executive to add value to your company?
• Decide the caliber of person you need. Do you need an advisor and report writer?  In this case, you might choose a consultant. Or, do you want someone to run things and be accountable? In this case, you should choose an interim executive.  An interim should be able to do both.
• What are the qualities you are seeking from an interim executive? Determine the balance of expertise and experience the job requires.
• Define the nature of the assignment or project, the key tasks and the time-frame.

If you and your team have concluded there are issues you cannot fix, engaging an interim executive to make it happen is a logical decision.

By Vincent J. Papi, Executive Smarts LLC

Interim Management: The temporary provision of management resources and skills. Interim management can be seen as the short-term assignment of a proven heavyweight interim executive to manage a period of transition, crisis or change within an organization. In this situation, a permanent executive may be unnecessary or impossible to find on short notice.

A short history

The roots of interim management can be traced to the mid 1970s, when employees in the Netherlands were protected by long notice periods for lay-offs and companies faced large costs when terminating employees. Employing managers on an interim basis presented itself as an ideal solution as it offered a flexible way to acquire additional resources.

In the 1980’s interim management spread throughout Europe, especially in the UK. It has since seen annual growth rates of 20%.  In fact many Europeans in their 30’s now embrace interim management as a viable career option.

In the United States the use of interim management first gained headway to fill the seat of a CEO, COO, or CFO who suddenly left a company.  Interims were needed to step-in and provide critical leadership on short notice, while a permanent replacement was recruited—a process that often took months.

Today interim management in the US is expanding, offering an ideal solution to a wide range of corporate situations. These include project management, restructurings, business closings, acquisitions, mergers, and start-ups. Interim managers go into organizations for a short time, make significant contributions, and then move on.

Why aren’t interim executives more widely used?

The concept of ‘interim management’ is not widely understood. As a result many companies, when they require additional management resources, still seek permanent replacements or utilize consultants.

The wide spread downsizings and reorganizations that occurred during the most recent downturn have changed the business landscape. Companies recognize that, in today’s volatile economy, they must respond rapidly to changing markets and new business opportunities.  As a result they are now beginning to view interim management as a viable solution.

So what are interim executives?

Interim executives are seasoned managers who can quickly establish themselves as a strategic resource. They are typically utilized for a three to twelve month period to focus on specific programs or projects, a shortfall in management depth, a need for mentoring, or a rapid change in business performance and culture.

Interim executives understand the importance of company values and culture. Without the concern about internal politics or job security, they can provide sound business advice and take the appropriate actions.  An interim executive’s value also comes from taking advantage of vast experience that may be missing internally in an organization. Often a business cannot justify hiring a person since the assignment may be required only on a one-off or occasional basis.

With experience that allows them to be productive immediately they are responsible and accountable to company managers and are often “sensibly overqualified”, working one to two levels below the positions they once held in their professional careers.

Interims provide effective short-term solutions for a variety of situations.  These include:

• Managing key projects
• Dealing with supply chain issues
• Filling a position while the search for a permanent person is conducted
• Back-filling positions for managers out on other assignments or special projects
• Coaching and developing senior executives
• Introducing new products
• Integration of acquisitions and mergers into the organization
• Managing a business downsizing or restructuring
• Labor Negotiations

How does a consultant differ from an interim executive?

A consultant reports to his or her employer firm and is generally retained to make recommendations that would then be acted upon by the hiring organization’s management team.

An interim executive reports to a senior manager within the client’s organization and can both recommend and implement the agreed upon strategies.

They are being recognized as a best practice for companies of all sizes and for a wide-range of situations. Organizations that have experience with interim executives find that they are an effective and lower-cost way to implement change or transition.  Because of these factors these organizations often become multiple users of interim executives.