Interim Management Short Explanations

FAQ regarding Interim Management and HANSE Interim

Definition: Interim Manager

We hope that all FAQ regarding Interim Management will be of service to you. If not, please give us a call!

Interim Managers (latin: ad interim = meanwhile, for the time being), also called temporary managers, are managers in the highest levels of management, who temporarily take on management responsibilities and who assume full responsibility for the results, as opposed to management consultants. They leave the company as soon as the problem has been solved, stable company or division management has been established or after the relevant strategic business unit has been relaunched (source: DDIM).

What Is Interim Management?

Interim management means temporary management. Management tasks are taken on by an external manager, called an interim manager. Normally, an interim management is hired by a company for a restricted amount of time or during a project period.

Interim Management Is Characterized By the Following:

• Time limit
• Integration of a person coming from outside of the company
• Experience in management
• Working inside the company
• Overcoming shortages
• Being fully included into the task and responsibility hierarchy of the company
• Not bound by instructions when conceiving an approach to handle the task
• Allowed to give instructions to internal, subordinated employees

(Source: Vera Bloemer „Interim Management“)

Are Interim Managers Permanent Members of Staff?

This is one of the prevalent FAQ asked regarding interim Management. And the answer is: No, they are not. An interim manager works as a freelancer, be it he works with a provider, an agency or none of those. The interim manager works under a service contract, which is generally restricted to several months.

What Is the Difference between an Interim Manager and a Management Consultant?

In practical terms, the line between a consultancy mandate and an interim project can indeed be blurry. Nevertheless, by definition, the difference is that while a management consultant carries out consultative, analytical and conceptual tasks, the interim manager carries out operative, managerial tasks and assumes full responsibility for the results.

What is the Difference between Interim Management and Temporary Work?

Apart from the fact that temporary work is carried out on a permanent employment contract and that interim managers work as freelancers (even when they are brokered by providers), the level of responsibility and the complexity of the tasks carried out by the professionals differ to a great extent. An interim manager mostly works as a project manager or a manager on the high levels of management, whereas temporary workers often carry out commercial or ancillary tasks.

How Many Interim Managers Work on the German Market?

Experts do not agree on the relevant numbers. The professional titles: „Interim Manager“, „Interim-Manager“ or „Interimsmanager“ are not legally protected in Germany, therefore, a specific statement cannot be made. Some representatives of the sector state that there are 2,000 interim managers in Germany, others say there are 20,000. To us, interim managers work in the first and second level of management, therefore, we assume that there are no more than 10,000 managers in Germany, who can successfully take on that kind of position temporarily.

Would It Not Be Easier for Companies to Look for Interim Managers Online, on Their Own Terms?

This option may come at a lower cost for the company, but it surely will not be the better option. To look for jobs online is entirely different from taking on an important managerial position. The question regarding the costs for a broker or a trader is as old as the brokerage or the trade business themselves. Needless to say, companies can save the cost of a brokerage fee, which is included in the daily rate, by lookung for an interim manager themselves. However, it is advisable to consult a broker who has already done the market screenings and quality assurance and has examined the references, especially in an ever growing market that is becoming increasingly complex. We are able to proficiently judge our candidates and their hard skills, and on top of that, we can also tell our client whether or not the manager (and their skills) will suit the specific company or task. We provide a matching process tailored to your needs, that is why we like to think of ourselves more as artisans and not as pertaining to an industry.

Functions of Interim Managers

What Are The Responsibilities of an Interim Manager?

Interim managers can carry out all kinds of managerial tasks. They can serve as division manager, department manager, production or facility manager, manager in finance, HR manager, procurement manager, controlling manager or quality manager. Apart from these specific positions, our interim managers are often hired for general management as executive directors or member of the board of directors in the scope of change management processes and restructuring processes. In times of crisis, interim managers can also serve as CFO, CEO, COO or CRO. Oftentimes, re-engineering processes and rationalisation processes can only be successfully managed by external management staff. Besides that, we broker interim managers in all European countries.

In Which Sectors Do Interim Managers Mostly Work?

Interim Management is not as established in Germany as it is in The Netherlands or the United Kingdom, for example. In those countries, interim managers are hired in almost all sectors to serve as an effective management tool. In Germany, interim managers are often hired by companies from the so-called TIMES sector (telecommunications, IT, multimedia, entertainment and security services) and the automobile supplier industry. Other important clients are companies from the mechanical and plant engineering sector, the electrical engineering sector, the food industry and the packaging industry. In the services industry, the interim management sector is at the early stages of a very positive development.

What Does ‘First and Second Level of Management’ Mean?

HANSE Interim exclusively brokers interim managers to fill top management positions temporarily. Our interim managers take on management and responsibility for employees and for budgets. That is why we like to talk about the ‘first and second level of management’.