Recruiting an effective technical executive can transform a business’s ability to achieve its strategic goals, particularly where emerging technologies are concerned. The best executives bring a combination of technical expertise…
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Interim executives are temporary hires at the executive and upper management levels. They have fixed-length contracts and are hired to solve specific problems. Interim executives are tried-and-tested managers whose experience was gained in permanent senior positions, often C-suite positions, but who, at this point in their career, prefer the challenge of focused short-term problem-solving.
During periods of upheaval, interim executives are a valuable resource to fill vacant positions and augment a business’s capabilities. But temporary executive placements are an increasingly popular solution to the managerial and operational challenges businesses face in the ordinary course of business.
Businesses hire interim executives in response to many different challenges:
- To lead projects that require technical or managerial abilities the business lacks.
- To fill a vacancy until the right permanent hire is found.
- To augment their executive team with expertise in marketing, sales, finance, and other areas.
- To pivot or realign the operations of underperforming business units.
- To further the business’s goal for a particular product with experienced product managers and product marketers.
Historically, some businesses choose not to hire temporary executives. They had concerns about the cost, stability, and effectiveness of interim executives. But firms who have recruited the right executive for a temporary position know just how effective they can be.
Interim executives are cost-effective
Senior executives may ask for fees of several thousand dollars per day, depending on their experience and abilities. At first glance, that may sound excessive, but interim managers are cost-effective. Temporary hires are free of many of the costs associated with a permanent hire. They are paid only for the days they work. Businesses avoid a long-term commitment to the benefits, bonuses, and inducements involved in the recruitment of permanent executives.
Plus, if an interim executive can solve challenges a business’s permanent executives cannot, the ROI of a temporary hire can be large multiples of the cost.
Temporary recruitment is fast and flexible
Businesses take great care when hiring permanent executives. Discovery and recruitment can last many months. Recruitment mistakes are expensive, hiring budgets are constrained, and permanent executive placements need to be cleared with other executives and HR.
There are rarely such restrictions when recruiting temporary managers or technical employees. Temporary staff are often hired at the discretion of a managing VP and paid from their existing budget, allowing for agility that isn’t possible with permanent recruitment.
Temporary recruitment targets help businesses to achieve short-term goals
Temporary recruitment allows businesses to hire domain experts to solve specific issues and fix underperforming areas of the organization without a long-term commitment. For example, a business can bring in a temporary product manager for a few months. They will move on when their goals are achieved or be let go without risk if they fail to perform. The same applies to recruiting a temporary CFO to get the business’s books in order, a marketing executive to achieve specific marketing and sales goals, and so on.
TD Madison helps businesses to recruit interim executives and temporarily augment their staff. Contact us to speak to an executive recruitment and staff augmentation specialist.
