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Businesses, facing an ever-increasing variety of complex problems, are in desperate need of good interim managers to help solve them. Such positions are highly rewarding, with the opportunity to explore new places, meet new people – and fill your plate with a steady diet of fascinating challenges.

Perhaps you’ve considered entering this growing field and becoming one of these people who jump into new companies at their moment of need, solve their problems and move on to the next sticky situation. Maybe it’s time to stop imagining this challenging lifestyle and think about making it a reality. So, what do you need to be in order to become an interim manager?

Why do companies seek interim managers?

Companies seek interim management services to fulfill a variety of needs that lie outside the expertise of their existing staff. Three of these reasons are tied to desired change within the company. One is tied to convenience.

Managing a turnaround

When firms undergo a crisis, they may seek interim managers who have experience troubleshooting – and solving – such problems. This kind of interim is the true Lone Ranger of the interim industry, riding in, setting things right and then riding off to the solve the next company’s problems.

This kind of interim requires an exceptional level of problem-solving skills and innovative thinking to pull the company through an unexpected crisis or shake it out of overall stagnation. It also requires the ability to quickly build consensus around solutions and lead staff in successfully implementing them.

Managing structural change

When organizations undergo strategic change, they may seek interim managers who have experience with that change. This change can involve external entities, such as with a merger, acquisition or disposal of the firm or its units. Or it could involve purely internal change, such as a major restructuring, reorganization or launching the company in a new direction.

This kind of interim requires extensive experience navigating the change in which the company is engaged. Experience in the company’s industry is also a strong plus.

Managing projects

When firms incorporate new technologies or enter other unfamiliar territory, they may seek interim managers to fill the knowledge gaps among the firms’ employees. These interims work towards fulfilling whatever tasks are needed to complete the project.

This kind of interim needs extensive skill in the element that the firm seeks to incorporate, as well as strong teaching and leadership skills to bring employees up to speed.

Filling vacant positions

When firms experience the unexpected unavailability of key personnel, they may seek interim managers to fill those vacant posts as a stopgap solution until the regular manager returns or the firm can find a permanent replacement. These interims simply carry out the job responsibilities of the vacant position.

That doesn’t mean that this kind of interim position requires no special skills, though. In addition to requiring a high degree of proficiency in the position he or she fills, the interim requires a great deal of flexibility to step into someone else’s shoes, quickly develop a rapport with other employees and keep things running smoothly until the position is filled.

Required base skills

Interim managers are normally specialists in their field, with extensive knowledge and relevant experience in the company’s industry. Overall, they play diverse roles in an organization. From handling crisis situations to introducing new technologies to keeping things afloat while a permanent solution is obtained, an interim manager must be quick, intelligent and fast to assess the situation.

In addition, interims need soft skills so they can manage the people with whom they work. Because they join a company for a short time, these skills play an extremely important role in their ability to successfully complete the job.

Other important skills

In addition, when an interim joins a new organization, he or she must quickly adapt to the corporate culture. Interims often arrive during a crisis. Thus, ability to adapt to the external environment is critical to success.

One of the most difficult tasks interims face is introducing change to the organization. To achieve this, the interim’s interpersonal skills must be very strong. He or she not only must lead, organize and motivate people but, at the same time, ensure that the job is completed per schedule.

Also important are speed and efficiency in solving the problem. This requires extensive experience with and knowledge about attaining the desired results

Finally, an interim manager must master the art of moving on. With the position tied to a specific goal, closing the book on one challenge and starting anew on the next is what being an interim manager is all about.

Conclusion

Companies are becoming increasingly specialized. That creates a need for people who can formulate ideas and solve problems quickly. The job of interim manager offers the reward of being able to constantly test yourself against almost limitless new challenges.

In other words, it provides a perfect opportunity to exercise your mastery of your field, your ability to assess situations correctly and your skill in delivering quick results. If these qualities describe you, the position of interim manager might be a good match for you.

Cryptosec is a leading provider of security solutions in the rapidly evolving world of blockchain, cryptocurrency, DeFi. Their specialist investigations arm, Crypto Investigators, offers expert services in blockchain forensics and legal investigations, leveraging deep industry knowledge and advanced investigative techniques to navigate the complexities of the digital age.

The post Do you Have What it Takes to be a Great Interim Manager? appeared first on Cryptosec.

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Are you hiring and using interim managers wisely? Why is it that some companies attain exceptional results from interim manager hirings and some are disappointed?

It has little to do with the quality of candidates. The only way they become candidates is by demonstrating exceptional skill in implementing the kinds of solutions that clients want. Why, then, do results sometimes go awry?

Unfortunately, some companies treat hiring an interims like a magic potion: Drop someone – anyone – into the position and wait for amazing results. That simply doesn’t work.

To produce the exceptional results expected of interims, something more is needed than inserting just anyone into the position. The secret to getting maximum benefits lies in what happens even before an interim manager is chosen. Use these seven steps to improve your results.

Step One – Define your needs

Getting the desired result starts with determining exactly what result you want. Ask yourself some questions.

What do we want the interim manager to accomplish? Is our definition of his or her areas of responsibility clear and precise, or not? If not, spell them out in detail so both you and the interim are clear on desired results and how you will measure success in achieving them.

Step Two – Determine what you will provide

What kind of a team will the interim need to fulfill the job? What other resources will you make available? How will you ensure he or she has the necessary cooperation from the other employees? How much proprietary information will he or she need to accomplish your goals? How will you manage disseminating that information?

What level of decision-making authority will the interim manager need? This may vary depending on the situation. If the interim is guiding the organization through massive change, broad autonomy may be needed to avoid bogging the project down in repeatedly escalating decisions for confirmation. On the other hand, if the interim manager is filling a position as a stopgap arrangement, limited authority may be preferable.

Even when broad authority is granted, make sure that the level granted is appropriate to the situation. Sometimes, hot-button issues that lie at the root of company problems may seem, to someone not aware of those issues’ history, easy to render a quick decision on. Such issues may, however, if dispatched cavalierly by an outsider, blow up and obstruct the intended goal. Thus, thinking through the limits of an interim’s decision-making authority is essential.

Step Three – Determine the skillsets your interim manager needs

Only after you have a clear picture of what you want your interim manager to accomplish and what you will provide are you ready to consider the qualities you need in your interim manager. Now you can start to ask:

What relevant experience does our interim manager need? What technical skills are needed? How important of a role will interpersonal skills play?

Step Four – Choose your interim manager

Only after you are clear on all these matters are you ready to choose your interim manager. Having done all this homework will make finding the right person much easier.

Step Five – Communicate your expectations

With your interim in place, make sure he or she understands your goals. Here, again, the work you did beforehand makes this easier. Rather than hiring an interim manager and then setting him or her adrift to figure out what you want – and possibly going in the wrong direction – you can communicate the detailed expectations that led to the hiring.

Lay out the resources and background information you are providing. Explain what level of decision-making authority the interim will have and how to escalate decisions that lie outside that authority. Alert him or her to any business or personnel issues that need to be considered, so he or she can prepare strategies for potential obstacles. This will make the job easier and help achieve objectives fully.

Step Six – Monitor the project

Continue to give support and advice throughout the project. Facilitate the interim’s interdepartmental communications, as needed, as well as escalation of decisions that fall outside the interim manager’s authority. The more you can help him or her work toward the goal, the better the chances of completing it successfully.

Step Seven – Review the results

Reviewing the results when the job is complete will help you identify how to make future projects that involve interim managers run smoother. This also brings objectivity to the job. Permanent employees can view the changes more objectively and accept them faster.

Using these steps effectively – An example

Let’s see these seven steps as they were used in a real-life situation. An aircraft manufacturer decided to introduce a work booking system, wherein the time taken to perform each task would be recorded to identify and eliminate bottlenecks in the work process, thus increasing productivity.

Employees, however, were distrustful of this proposed system. They felt it was a tactic to detect redundancy and eliminate jobs. Complicating the matter was the fact that implementing the new system would require employee agreement to give up some elements of their existing bargaining agreement and replace it with one that reflected the new work process. This would be no small task.

Faced with this situation, management decided to hire an interim manager to facilitate the change. They clearly defined their desired results. They wanted not only to install the new system, but also to win employee acceptance of it. This placed a high priority on finding an interim manager skilled not only in the technical aspects of the change, but perhaps even moreso in earning employee trust and eliciting buy-in of the system.

With a clear vision of what the task would require, management was easily able to determine the resources and level of decision-making authority the interim manager would need. Only then did they search for a candidate with the necessary technical knowledge and leadership expertise to accomplish the mission. They went through thousands of resumes before choosing the interim manager that fit their specific needs.

They clearly communicated the potential obstacles and the desired results to the interim manager and gave whatever support he needed. The results were exceptional. He quickly won employee trust, persuaded them to update their agreement and implemented the new system. Due to the interim manager’s work, not only was the new system introduced with its increased productivity, but the relationship between management and employees was strengthened, as well.

Conclusion

Clearly, the success of an interim manager in an organization depends on both parties – the client and the interim manager. Choosing the right interim manager begins long before the company looks at candidates. Creating a clear vision for the proposed work and determining what resources and information the interim manager will need to achieve success are prerequisites to choosing the right person. Even then, success is not guaranteed. Once the right person is in place, he or she needs ongoing support to fully achieve the goal.

Hiring an interim manager is no magic potion. It requires clear vision of the desired results; deep insight into the path to reach those results; and clear, ongoing communication and interaction between both parties throughout the work process to get the greatest benefit out of the specialized skills of your interim manager. The effort, though, is worth it. By working in this way to get the most out of your interim manager, results can be magical.

Cryptosec is a leading provider of security solutions in the rapidly evolving world of blockchain, cryptocurrency, DeFi. Their specialist investigations arm, Crypto Investigators, offers expert services in blockchain forensics and legal investigations, leveraging deep industry knowledge and advanced investigative techniques to navigate the complexities of the digital age.

The post Getting the Most out of Interim Managers? appeared first on Cryptosec.

This is changing fast. An increasing number of managers – both men and women – have entered the market in recent years, intent on making a career of interim management. That’s no surprise. The rewards of interim management make it a great career choice if you have the skills and personality for it, and don’t mind its few disadvantages.

Interim management benefits

Interim executives enjoy the challenge of working on different assignments with tight schedules in various industries and various locations. Globalization and increased mobility create a truly global market for interim managers. They are a new breed of executive nomads who enjoy traveling the world, sharing their management expertise wherever they go.

Assignments focus on achieving specific business outcomes desired by the companies that hire interims. This limited timespan lets interims concentrate on achieving the solutions and largely frees them from the need to get involved in company politics, a focus and freedom that many interims find one of the most enjoyable parts of the job.

Interims also relish the opportunity to work on the most challenging of problems and leave the daily humdrum tasks that go into daily maintenance to someone else. Although interim managers are hired for their specific areas of expertise, they always face challenges that push them beyond their current knowledge, offering the opportunity to engage in lifelong learning and growth.

Compensation is not bad either. The best-paid interim managers earn between £250,000 ($380,000AUD) and £350,000 ($535,000AUD) a year:

• 42% charge between £500 ($760AUD) and £750 ($1,150AUD) a day.
• 17% charge between £750 – £1,000 ($1,150AUD – $1,550AUD) a day.
• 7% charge between £1,000 ($1,550AUD) and £1,250 ($1,900AUD) a day.
• 3% charge in excess of £1,250 ($1,900AUD) a day.

No wonder interim management attracts an exciting and diverse mix of highly skilled individuals! Before you decide to dive into it, though, be aware of its requirements and potential disadvantages.

Interim management disadvantages

Interim managers are highly specialized executives with vast experience in their field of expertise. You need an outstanding track record of achievement to get hired. In fact, without at least a decade of management experience and some clear, measurable achievements, it will be hard to find rewarding assignments. As an interim manager, you’re only as good as your most recent assignment.

Also, interim management does not provide the security of a permanent job. You have no guarantee when you finish one assignment that another will be waiting. Your networking and social skills are essential to finding new assignments. Even with good networking, you’ll likely experience occasional droughts where you find no new work. So, you need financial security to weather lean times.

Moving from company to company means constantly adjusting to new environments and a changing array of new faces. That requires openness to change, to new people and to new ideas, as well as the ability to adapt rapidly to whatever you encounter.

You will frequently enter an organisation amid trouble and tension. This requires diplomacy to remain out of the fray and focus on quickly solving the problems you were hired to solve.

Interim management trends

Interim management is a growing force in the management industry, and all indicators steadily point upward. The public sector employs almost 20 per cent more interim managers than the private sector, but private sector employment increases steadily because of growing awareness of the excellent reputation for quick and effective strategic management that interim managers are earning. That suggests that the excellent growth the interim management industry enjoys will only accelerate.

Interim manager profiles are changing, too. What was once an industry staffed by older workers seeking to extend their careers after suffering redundancy is growing younger, as demand for the specialized expertise of interim managers grows. Many now choose it not as an alternative to forced retirement, but as a preferred career option.

The average age of interim managers is decreasing. The number of interim managers in the 56-65 age group has declined nearly by half in the past five years, while the 36-45 and 46-55 age groups have increased.

In addition to the younger age of the typical interim manager, gender equality in the field is also on the rise. Merely 5% of the interim management workforce in 1999 was women, compared to 24% today. And that number is rising steadily. A 2011 study showed that women were 33% more likely to be hired for an interim management position than men, as an increasing number of companies find that the characteristics, skills and approaches that women bring to an interim management assignment are well suited to the cooperative effort needed.

The type of openings available for interim managers has remained consistent over the years. Most are in the fields of HR (Human Resource) or Finance, with HR employing more than 40% of the workforce. Lesser levels of demand include Purchasing, Supply Chain and IT, with IT and Managing Director/CEO roles commanding the highest remuneration.

Conclusion

Interim management today is much more than an alternative to retirement for highly skilled specialists. It is a vibrant career choice with plenty to offer those who have the skills and personality to handle it.

It offers ongoing new challenges and lifelong learning opportunities. It offers a chance to work around the world in a variety of top companies, without getting embroiled in the day-to-day humdrum and politics of them. And it offers exceptional compensation while enjoying all those other benefits.

Interim management isn’t for everybody. But if you have the expertise and mindset to embrace both its benefits and drawbacks, it can be an exciting and rewarding career choice for you.

Cryptosec is a leading provider of security solutions in the rapidly evolving world of blockchain, cryptocurrency, DeFi. Their specialist investigations arm, Crypto Investigators, offers expert services in blockchain forensics and legal investigations, leveraging deep industry knowledge and advanced investigative techniques to navigate the complexities of the digital age.

The post Interim Management as a Career Option appeared first on Cryptosec.

It’s called Interim Management, and it’s one of the latest forms of troubleshooting management techniques to emerge in recent years. While similar to bringing in a management consultant, it has striking advantages that can help your business recover far sooner and far more effectively than a management consultant can.

What is Interim Management?

According to the Interim Management Association, “Interim Management is the rapid provision of senior executives to manage change or transition”. In simpler terms, an interim manager is a highly experienced and specialized executive whom you can employ for a short time to solve a specific business problem. He or she is a master project manager who will not only give you advice, but also implement your solution.

For example, consider a family-run company that has lost its competitive edge in the market the past five years due to internal politics amongst family members. To make things worse, the Managing Director has suddenly resigned and the Chairman realizes that the existing management team is too inexperienced to run the company.

The Chairman has two alternatives. He can source a senior-level executive from another company as a permanent hire. But that drains valuable resources and may destabilize the company further, as family members feel threatened and leave. Worse yet, if the new executive is the wrong choice, removing her will be difficult.

The other alternative is an interim manager with specialization in the needed field and experience in short-term troubleshooting and company efficiency. The choice is obvious. Hiring an interim manager not only puts someone in place faster, but avoids aggravating the internal politics currently strangling the company.

The Chairman can speedily select from a panel of highly qualified executives assembled by the interim management agency, and spend less resources on the legwork. Existing employees will feel less threatened by the interim manager because of his or her limited time with the company.

So why bother hiring at all? Wouldn’t both of those benefits come equally well from sourcing a management consultant? After all, isn’t “interim manager” just a fancy word for a management consultant?

Not at all! Essentially, an interim manager is a management consultant, but a management consultant is not an interim manager.

How are interim managers and management consultants different?

The two share some responsibilities, but interim managers offer benefits beyond what management consultants offer in almost any way we compare them:

In short, an interim manager meets your specialized needs, is more motivated to look out for your best interests, is actively involved from start to finish on achieving solutions, works with your own people and reports directly to you. He or she develops the strategies and then implements them.

Interim managers simply offer a more complete service – and companies have taken notice. A recent survey of 100 senior directors reported that 78 per cent of them feel that interim managers are a better option than management consultants and the interim management industry is growing as a result.

Interim Management Trends

The interim management industry emerged in the European market in the 1970s and 80s, in response to the long terms of notice and high termination payouts typical at the time. The oil crisis further disrupted industries, creating a need for highly skilled and experienced managers on an immediate basis to rebuild failing companies.

The interim management market encompasses various areas of specialization, each highly competitive, with different rates of demand. The highest demand areas are schools of Human Resources and Finance & Operations, which account for almost 20 per cent of all assignments. Lesser levels of demand include Purchasing, Supply Chain and IT, with IT and Managing Director/CEO roles commanding the highest remuneration.

The public sector employs almost 20 per cent more interim managers than the private sector, but private sector employment increases steadily because of growing awareness of the excellent reputation for quick and effective strategic management that interim managers are earning. That suggests that the excellent growth that the interim management industry enjoys will only accelerate.

What does this mean?

Interim management is a growing force in the management industry, and all indicators steadily point upward. In fact, current trends suggest that interim managers will replace much of the role of current management consultants, as companies become further specialized and require even quicker solutions.

That offers individuals an excellent opportunity to get in “on the ground floor” of this growing industry. The opportunity is there, and now is the time to seize it.

Cryptosec is a leading provider of security solutions in the rapidly evolving world of blockchain, cryptocurrency, DeFi. Their specialist investigations arm, Crypto Investigators, offers expert services in blockchain forensics and legal investigations, leveraging deep industry knowledge and advanced investigative techniques to navigate the complexities of the digital age.

The post What is Interim Management? appeared first on Cryptosec.