Moving from a permanent to an interim management career can be a rewarding and lucrative one. Find out where you should start in making a successful transition from permanent to interim management.
Industry reports and surveys from organisations such as Ipsos show that interim management is a sector that has strong growth rates. That trend, alongside the after-effects of the global recession, explains the increase in highly experienced professionals transitioning from permanent to interim management.
Many fields - such as HR, finance and procurement - have reported an increase in the number of people choosing to build a career in interim management. Interims, it seems, place a high value on the opportunity to work in a variety of industries and organisations.
Tips for Moving From Permanent to Interim Management
If you are interested in making the leap from permanent to interim, there are a number of factors that you should consider in planning how to become an interim manager:
Scope your Worth
Interims generally work on a self-employed basis and charge by the hour or day. In order to present your services to the outside world, the Institute of Interim Management recommends that you define the following:
- The market(s) in which you intend to work
- Your key skills, competencies and levels of expertise
- How you would approach and work with clients (including how you would market your services)
- How you will run your own business.
As part of this, it’s essential that you decide what rate you need to charge in order to achieve the particular lifestyle with which you are happy. This rate needs to take account of tax, national insurance, holidays and time spent on non-chargeable work activities.
Get Professional Advice
Some consultants start on an informal basis but then never get round to setting up properly what is essentially a business. To establish your role effectively as an interim manager, you may find it useful to obtain guidance from the following bodies:
- Institute of Interim Management for information on the sector, career advice and assignments
- Chartered Institute of Taxation to seek details on appropriately qualified tax advisors
- Association of British Insurers for guidance on public liability and professional indemnity cover.
In addition, talk to some experienced interim managers for tips on how to get started. They may be happy to advise you on the early mistakes they made and how you can avoid them.
Contact Interim Management Providers
Not all interim assignments are managed through specialist provider agencies but ignoring them means missing out on a significant section of the opportunities available in the interim sector. Interim management providers give you access to organisations with which you may not otherwise have been able to secure a meeting. Registering with one or two reputable providers who can demonstrate experience in your specialism will expand your reach as an interim manager.
Build Productive Networks
It goes without saying that networking is an integral part of creating a successful interim management career. The challenge for most new interims is to expand their contact list beyond their field of expertise or industries in which they have worked.
There’s a lot of debate on the value of networking online versus face to face. Only you can decide which mix will work best for you but there are certainly interim management and business groups available on LinkedIn that you can use as a platform to promote your services. It’s essential that you devise a networking portfolio of tools, such as local Chambers of Commerce, industry events and breakfast network meetings, that will deliver results.
What are the most important lessons you have learned so far in how to transition from permanent to interim manager? Please share your thoughts with the rest of our interim community.
