In a few words, you are an interim manager if you are hired to fulfil a management task for a specific time and expected result.
The remark about the timing is especially important. This is not a permanent role, and it shouldn’t ever be. Instead, an interim manager will find a permanent replacement who fits well in the business.
The dedication can be full or part-time. And in the second case, we call it a fractional manager. In my opinion, an interim manager should work something between two and twenty hours per week. Less than two it’s just an advisor. More than 20 hours means you need a full-time role but cannot afford it.
From a technical point of view, an interim manager acts very much as a referee. We are part of the team, even if we are not employees. But we cannot shield ourselves behind the traditional “The client is always right” tag. We are not there to do what we are told (again, we are not employees). We are experienced professionals and we must challenge our clients’ decisions if we consider them harmful to the business.
We must guide, engage and fill the gaps in the organisation. We are there to ensure that the requirements are correctly captured and transmitted. We are there to validate and sanction their partners. We are there to explain and anticipate. We are the voice of the experience, and we need to talk. And a lot.
Some examples of interim management
- Interim CTO: A Real Estate company needs an ERP, and they have received several quotes asking from £15,000 to £300.000. An interim CTO will help to capture the requirements and find the solution that will fit best the business needs. Works for as long as the project lasts.
- Fractional CFO: A successful startup is scaling up but needs to understand how to invoice 10,000 clients per month. A fractional CFO can help to define the procedures and identify the best platform to work with.
- Fractional Community Manager: a coworking space company needs to engage the tenants with the appropriate tone. A fractional community manager can visit the place once per week, discuss and compose the campaigns, and let all the work done for the next seven days
- Interim Sustainability Manager: a company is looking for a new office, but wants to be as carbon-neutral as possible. An interim Sustainability Manager can explain how to approach contractors and providers to obtain the cleanest environment.
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