Do you need an Interim Manager or a Contractor

There are still a large number Human Resources Managers who believe they want an interim manager when what they really want is a temporary member of staff.

At Aster we get regular enquiries from organisations suggesting they need professional interim managers when what they really need is contract or temporary staff. I think this confusion is brought about partly by ignorance because Interim Management is still a relatively new concept to many HR executives despite its existence for more years than I care to remember and partly by the failure of interim management providers to adequately sell the concept. I have written about this issue before and I have not seen any improvements over the past few year.

So what are the differences between contract/temporary staff and interim managers. Typically they fall into a number of categories:-

Contractors tend to work through agencies or umbrella companies whereas Interim Managers often have their own limited companies.

Interim Managers are often senior executives who have had their own businesses or have operated at senior levels with organisations but are able to offer client transferable skills whereas contractors tend to specialise in one area of expertise.

To be truthful experience comes at a price so days rates for interim managers are often in excess of those charged by contractors or temporary staff. In addition career interim managers have to fund insurances, marketing and limited company costs.

In order to attempt to improve the awareness of the benefits of interim management Aster has decided to run a number of seminars to attract both potential users of interim managers as well as some new talent to the interim management pool. More on this in the next few weeks.