IMA research underpins campaign to promote the benefits of interim management in 2015 -Interim procurement should be driven by the Board.

The Interim Management Association (IMA), which represents the interim management provider industry, has launched a campaign for 2015, to promote

the value of interim management to UK business. The campaign is in response to the IMA's latest poll (1), which highlighted that, despite the steady growth in the usage of interim management over recent years, more than 8 in 10 (83 percent) of the UK's interim management provider community believe that the majority of UK organisations don’t fully understand the difference between interim management and contracting. 

Interim management is defined as the placement of highly experienced executives, who are asked to manage an assignment to provide specialist expertise at senior management or Board level. This is due to a specific skills requirement in order to successfully deliver a change initiative, or is related to executive absence or departure. A key differentiator for an interim manager is that they enable transformation and major change; they endeavour to leave a legacy of benefit with the organisation after their departure.

Simon Drake, IMA chairman and director at Penna plc, said: “Interim management is a relatively young industry, and is often procured further away from the board table. We come across many people in the public and private sectors who often don’t fully appreciate the differences between interim management, temping or contracting. It has always been a 'grey' area, but a number of factors do distinguish them. “An interim provides top level management expertise, providing both advice and implementation. A contractor tends to provide a specialist skill at a lower level, and is focused on project delivery. They tend to reports to a middle manager rather than a member of the senior management team.”

Steven Wynne, director at Macallam, (an IMA member firm), said: “This is a specialised sector, and as providers we often find ourselves in discussions with clients, highlighting the interim proposition and what it could mean for their business.” Simon Drake added: “The UK's interim management sector is one of the most established in the world and increasing numbers of organisations are seeing interim managers as a more cost-effective solution than management consultants. I'd argue that when it comes to bringing in an experienced interim manager, given the importance of the assignment, this needs to be driven by the top levels of management and the Board.”

(1) Survey ran on the Interim Management Association’s website August-December 2014, the question: ' Do you think the majority of UK organisations understand the difference between interim management and contracting?' was asked, with 177 responding with yes, and 825 with no.