What are the advantages of interim management in the current economic environment and what are the opportunities and risks to be considered
Interim management refers to a temporary filling of management capacity or key roles in a company by experienced external managers or executives. The manager's industry experience often plays a subordinate role here; much more decisive for a successful mandate are high professional and social competence and, above all, leadership skills. This can be for a variety of reasons, such as managing change (transformation management, change management, turnaround), bridging short-term staffing gaps or implementing projects when current management capacity is insufficient. In the current economic environment, there are several advantages that speak for the use of interim management, but also opportunities and risks that should be considered.
Advantages of interim management:
- Rapid availability of expertise: Interim managers have many years of extensive experience as well as expertise in their respective fields. This enables companies to react quickly to specific challenges or opportunities without having to wait a long time to recruit a permanent manager.
- Flexibility: Interim manager mandates can be started at short notice but also terminated, depending on the needs of the company. This allows companies to adapt their management level more flexibly to the constantly, sometimes rapidly changing market conditions.
- Objectivity: Interim managers bring an external and objective perspective and fresh ideas to the company as they are not influenced by internal political factors.
- Resource efficiency: Interim managers are usually only paid for the duration of their project or assignment, which can be more cost-efficient than hiring a permanent manager with a long-term contract.
Opportunities and risks of interim management:
Opportunities:
- Specialised skills: Companies can benefit from specialised skills and years of experience that they may not have internally.
- Quick solution: Interim managers can intervene quickly to solve acute challenges or problems or to move urgent projects forward.
- Knowledge transfer: Interim managers can leave behind knowledge and best practices in the company that offer long-term benefits. A structured handover is necessary for this.
Risks:
- Cultural adaptation: Interim managers must adapt quickly to the corporate culture, which can lead to difficulties or delays. Accordingly, a transparent, open-minded introduction is necessary.
- Lack of continuity: Frequent changes of leaders can lead to unrest in the team and affect the long-term strategy of the company.
- Building trust: Trust is one of the most important basic elements for the implementation of a successful interim mandate. In addition to the client, it is important to inform the persons involved about the scope, tasks and objectives of the interim manager and to report on the status quo on an ongoing basis.
It is important that companies carefully consider and plan a possible interim mandate to best solve the current challenges. The selection of the interim manager and the clear definition of tasks and goals are crucial to maximise the opportunities and minimise the risks - I support you in this.
