The benefits of hiring interims

What are the main benefits of hiring interim professionals? And what is the most common challenge? We´ve listed them in this article.

When considering the difficulty of hiring the right full-time talent, it is logical for businesses to give their existing staff the opportunity to expand their skill set, and take on new projects or additional work.

However, increasing an individual’s workload due to a gap in skills in the organisation, or awarding someone with minimal project experience a high value/high-risk change programme can have a detrimental effect on productivity and the quality of work.

 Where a project involves high risk and investment, taking on a specialist interim with relevant and proven experience can be the best way to mitigate this and ensure successful delivery.

To ensure we can best advise our clients on the ever-evolving landscape, we’ve explored the benefits and challenges of hiring interim staff in today’s market.

1. You hire temporary expertise

In order to stay ahead of the competition, companies must constantly innovate. There is barely time to implement a new technology or strategy before the next one comes along. It is impossible to have all of this expertise in-house.

Interim managers often specialise in a specific field. They bring a wealth of experience from previous projects. While they implement the new technology, you’ll have some time to recruit an employee who can work with it later on.

2. You can cover long-term absences

The practice of taking some time off in the form of a sabbatical is becoming increasingly common, also at the management level. Moreover, employees in senior management roles may be absent for longer periods of time due to illness or pregnancy. The problem with this is that corporate management and strategy cannot be put on hold.

The great advantage of interim managers is that they have often built an entire career before deciding to go freelance. Thanks to their extensive experience, they are able to hit the ground running when they enter your organisation.

3. It becomes easier to handle workload increase

Every company goes through periods of increased workload. Just think of launching a new product, an audit, the end-of-year process or changes to legislation and regulations.

At such times it is nice to be able to hire an expert who can help get the job done without a training period. Interim managers offer that expertise. They are effective and result-driven. Moreover, it is in their interest to complete the project on time.

“Interim managers are highly skilled and experienced candidates, who usually have an industry background and decided to share and bring their knowledge to different companies for projects or backlog situations. They will help you solve your issue, whatever it is, and get it done. As they want to move on to a next project (normally) afterwards, they don’t spend too much time on the social aspects of office life”, says Valentin Ohlhorst, Manager, Interim Management at Michael Page.

4. You can see potential candidates in action

Hiring an interim to cover a position or lead a project is a great way to support the business at short notice without adding to the headcount. It is a highly efficient and flexible solution. Not to mention, this also allows you time to see potential candidates in action, and can sometimes lead to a permanent member of staff joining the team.

Speed is required when hiring interim professionals

A common challenge when hiring interim staff is the speed required to fill the post. Dedicated contractors are well networked and often have a plan in place for their next assignment. If you are looking for a candidate who is immediately available, you should expect them to have multiple opportunities on the go. It is crucial to have a streamlined recruitment process in place to avoid any delays. Valentin confirms: “The biggest challenge is normally the time constraint – it’s really hard to find candidates who possess the highly specialized skill-set needed in such a short timeframe.” His advice: “Plan ahead – get professional support from a recruitment agency with experience in Interim management as soon as you are aware of upcoming projects.”

If you are looking to recruit in your sector get in touch with one of our specialist recruitment consultants today.