Top 5 Tips For Successful Onboarding And Integration Of Interims

Although there are many different ways of hiring an interim into an organisation, once you have identified and engaged the right candidate, ensuring that they have a smooth entry into the business and have the correct level of interaction while on assignment, is crucial. Researcher Anja Peebles Brown explains the best ways to ensure your interim hire is a success from day one.

On Boarding Interims

You may have used your personal network, you could have spoken to interim providers, you might have researched using social media – but whichever method you used, you have found the interim (or interims) than you need, agreed the appointment, and sent out the necessary paperwork with a start date. But now what? The start of an assignment is probably one of the most crucial points in the interim engagement. Although you have just hired an interim, the importance of ensuring they have a professional and informative start in your organisation is key. Here are a few important points to remember when introducing an interim into a business:

1. Briefing

It is absolutely crucial that you ensure the candidate(s) is fully briefed and understands exactly what is required of them on assignment. Be clear from the outset the purpose of the role and why it exists. You need be clear on objectives and timescales in order for their time with you to be a success and keep them fully informed of any changes.

2. Expenses

This is a point that there should be no confusion on when onboarding an interim. As well as agreeing an all-important daily rate, it is crucial that you also agree areas such as expenses and payment method/timescales. Also, what constitutes an expense – e.g. travel and overnight stay. This is to avoid any confusion with no administrative obstructions.

3. Organisation

They may only be with you for a matter of months, but it is important that the interim has an in-depth knowledge of the way your business works, the reporting lines and organisational structure. As a result, they will be able to work around the organisation in an effective and efficient way.

4. Relationships

Following on from this, many interims enjoy the fact that the nature of their profession means they can simply do the job that is required of them, without getting involved in any of the day-to-day politics. However, it is important that you enable and encourage the interim to integrate and build appropriate relationships with peers and understand the culture of the company, so that they can achieve the necessary results. This is especially important with senior decision makers and should be, if possible enabled by a “board sponsor”…

5. Sponsor

Although your interim may be keen to get on with their assignment, obtaining buy in from senior staff cannot be disregarded. If not, then any changes put in place by the interim will simply disappear after departure. For these reasons, many companies find that ensuring the interim has a “board sponsor” is a good way of retaining faith in the assignment amongst board colleagues and ensuring the effectiveness of the interim is maximised and supported in the long term.

Have you used interims in your business? What are they key elements needed to ensure success from the start? Share with our community below.

Tags: business advice, interim manager

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