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Why choose BIE?
What's New?The role of the interim manager
Overcoming the barriers
One of the biggest problems facing interim management is an understanding of the terminology. We are probably stuck with the word ‘interim,’ but if used with the term ‘executive,’ it helps to outline the seniority of the position. Says Martin Wood, head of BIE Interim Executive: “We have to get across to the businesses who might engage interim executives just how capable these people are. The best interims have worked at the highest levels. They are accustomed to the atmosphere of the board room so they are coming to the job with strong qualifications. In fact they are always over-qualified for the role they take on, having undertaken more senior jobs previously in their careers. Unlike permanent recruits, they are stepping down in responsibility, not stepping up to a greater challenge. They are therefore immediately effective.”
Perhaps the most important area that needs to be breached when trying to assess the value of interims is the psychological aspect – not the mindset of the interim, as he or she will have adjusted their outlook to work and management some time ago – but the mindset of the client. The client is not buying a paid servant but an independent professional.
At the heart of the free agency style of working is a strong thread of trust between interim, intermediary and client. Anyone who engages an interim needs to be quite clear that an interim executive will arrive with expectations. He will need agreed clear terms of reference and should be assigned understood lines of authority.
Finally, there is the vexed question of numbers. Some interim management agencies have as many as 5,000 names on their databases. But some databases are maintained more thoroughly than others with potential interims met face to face and vetted as to their suitability before entry into a database. The ability to quote a large number is less important than evidence of regular database “cleaning.” It is not always easy, therefore, to identify genuine interim managers.
Making interim management a career
We can see that interim management has been evolving steadily in the past 20 years and it will evolve further in future. Today many managers and executives of all ages are coming to the role and more women are moving in to interim management. While finance executives formed the vanguard of the interim sector – they are still the most popular positions, according to the MORI survey for BIE – demand for other functions is growing.
A seasoned interim finance director points out that the role can seem glamorous to some. As a fluent Spanish speaker he has undertaken several assignments in Spain and Portugal over the past seven years as an interim, but he warns that the work is tough and that it takes a measured approach to deal with the uncertainty at the end of a job. On average in those seven years he has worked about eight months of every year with four months off.
He had been part of a management buy-out in 1993, with equity in the business that was later sold “not at a great profit but enough to set me up so that I could start doing other things.” He stresses that anyone contemplating interim management should ensure that they have a reserve of capital to tide them over lean times between assignments.
“The big difference with true interim management is the implementation and that’s the most difficult part,” he says. “Often you find yourself tackling a change management programme and some people don’t like change. One of the great advantages of an employing company is that the interim will not be getting embroiled in any politics. They are not concerned about manoeuvring to look after their future career. Their only concern is getting the job done and adding value. People are paying a lot of money for their services and need to see results.”
In its early days, the classic entry into interim management was redundancy. Many fine executives lost their jobs in the often ill-conceived clear-outs of the nineties, but there was again a problem of mindset. Some employers believed the interim was “on trial” for a full-time job. Some interims, also, still craved the security of the permanent post. These attitudes have changed. Today fewer and fewer interims conceive of being employed by someone for life. They relish the interim “career.” At the same time, more and more clients are recognising the qualities of the people they engage in these project-based roles. Permanency is accepted as not part of the deal.
Conclusion
Interim management should be seen as an evolutionary form of working at the forefront of a wave of change moving through business and society. Interim executives are riding the crest of that wave. It can be thrilling, risky, highly rewarding and sometimes tough. But the people engaged in this work can see the future. There is no looking back.
By Richard Donkin, Financial Times journalist
To discuss your interim management requirements with BIE call +44(0)20 7222 1010