Companies choose to use interim management services when they need a particular kind of expertise to perform a job. This can be when the firm is entering or exiting a new stage of development such as establishing a new company, entering or exiting from a boom or bust cycle, or starting or ending a change process within the firm. A firm also employs interims when it has reached a point of stagnation and needs new ideas to stimulate it.Four Job Categories
An interim manager is normally a specialist in a particular field. He has extensive knowledge and relevant experience in a certain industry. Since he is brought into an organization for a pre-defined period of time and with the aim of completing a particular task. The interim’s job can be largely categorized under four basic categories. These are:
- As change managers – When an organization is undergoing a particular strategic change due to the internal or external environment, then interim managers are employed to help the firm in dealing with certain aspects of this change due to the specialist capabilities of these managers. This change can be in the form of a merger, acquisition or disposal of the firm or a unit. There could even be a major restructuring or reorganization as well.
- To fill in vacant senior positions – Interim managers are also employed by firms to fill in vacant posts as a stopgap solution when their own managers are not available.
- As Turnaround managers – When a firm is going through difficult times and needs an outsider to solve its problems, then in such situations, interims are employed to handle the crisis.
- As Project Managers – Project managers are those who work towards the fulfillment of a particular task and interims fill this role perfectly. This could be in the form of a short-term project or a particular project for which specialist knowledge is required which is not available within the firm itself.
Other Important Skills
Now, besides these roles, there are several other challenges and situations that interims have to face when they enter any organization. In order to be capable of handling these situations, there are extremely important characteristics that an interim has to have to perform his job to his fullest potential.
When an interim joins a new organization, he has to be able to quickly adapt himself to the corporate culture. Normally, since interims are brought into an organization during a crisis situation, his/her ability to adapt to the external environment is critical to his success.
One of the most difficult tasks that interims face is when they have to bring in change in the organization. In order to achieve this goal fully, his interpersonal skills have to be very strong. He has to be not only capable of leading, organizing and motivating people but at the same time focus on completing the job as per schedule.
Another important factor is speed and efficiency. Especially when an interim is inducted into a firm to handle a crisis, then his speed and efficiency in solving the problem become extremely important. So to be able to be fast, the interim has to have a lot of past experience and knowledge about his work. This is where his knowledge is put to real test.
Besides these, an interim manager also has to master the art of moving on. Since he is employed in a firm for a particular task, he should be capable of carrying onto newer tasks once his job is finished.
Conclusion
Companies are becoming increasingly specialized in nature today. They need people who can give them ideas and solve their problems fast. Thus, the job of an interim manager is becoming more and more challenging as time progresses. He not only has to be a master of his field, but also be capable of assessing situations correctly and delivering quick results.
- Anna Fedorova is the CEO of InterimManagement.com
