Most businesses find themselves experiencing a need for change at some point – this may be organisational reconfiguration, a move to becoming more digital or a need to scale down (or up!) the workforce. Many businesses consider hiring interim staff to oversee or work towards this change. But is this a worthwhile investment?
Hiring interim managers can be a real positive when it comes to having a fresh pair of eyes look at the situation and facilitate change. Ideally, interim managers will have a wealth of experience in business transformation as well as the charisma and communication skills needed to get staff and stakeholders on board with any changes. By bringing a fresh perspective, they can quickly work out where a business’ weaknesses are and begin a process of change.
But it’s so expensive!
Business budget holders might baulk at the cost of an interim manager, but when you pay it back, are they truly as pricey as they may seem? It’s all about value. Yes, the day rate may be high, but the business will probably not be responsible for on-costs such as holiday and sick pay.
But most crucially, interim managers hit the ground running, making a valuable contribution to business processes from day one. Organisations such as https://iim.org.uk/ provide a wealth of advice on all aspects of interim management and its value.
How can we measure their worth?
It can be useful for businesses to identify some results or targets against which interim managers could be measured, according to business experts LinkedIn This may be quantitative such as sales figures, or qualitative such as staff feedback.
Worth their weight in gold
Thanks to their years of experience in helping businesses to facilitate change, most organisations find that interim managers provide an enormous return on investment. A fresh look at how things are currently running, new ideas and being unaffected by existing internal politics can mean that changes can be identified and started in a short space of time, leading to improved business productivity, engaged staff and ultimately, increased sales.
