Just Who Are These Interim Operations Leaders, Anyway?

Interim Leaders Are Experienced Professionals Ready to Get the Job Done 

According to the American Management Association, only 14% of businesses consider themselves “well prepared” to handle a sudden loss in senior management. Add to that the fact that it takes at least four months to fill an executive role, and that manufacturers stand to lose thousands of dollars per unfilled position, and it’s no wonder that the interim talent market is growing. 

Like many manufacturers, you may be looking at interim talent as a way to fill a leadership gap and keep your business on track while you take the time you need to search for a permanent replacement. But should you choose to go the interim talent route, you may be wondering, who, exactly, will you be putting at the helm of your business? 

Here’s what you need to know about the interim leadership talent pool and what an interim leader engagement might look like for your company: 

Interim leaders bring decades of expertise to the table.

According to Senior Management Worldwide, over half of interim talent is hired to provide top-level expertise in C-suite, general manager, or VP roles. The average age of an interim worker is 53 years old. So they are veteran experts, often with specific experience addressing the types of challenges your company faces. When you work with a partner like TBM Leadership Solutions, LLC—a partner that specializes in operations and supply chain talent and that invests the time to carefully vet interim leaders for both technical and cultural fit—you can count on finding a temporary operations leader with the proven expertise you need. 

They can offer project-specific expertise. 

Ipsos, a global market research and consulting firm, reports that special projects accounted for 35% of interim assignment in 2012. Beyond filing suddenly vacant positions, interim leaders can be an ideal solution for plant management, heading up a specific improvement project, or leading a lean transformation. Interim leaders allow you to tap into very specific expertise for a pre-defined period of time without the need to invest in a long-term hire. 

Interim leaders are ready when you are.

One of the key benefits of an interim leadership solution is that it allows you to fill a gap quickly. At TBM Leadership Solutions, we can typically have an experienced and capable leader in place within two weeks of your request. We can respond fast because we maintain a network of vetted, ready-to-go operational resources. Since your business risks losing ground every day a critical role goes unfilled, getting a qualified person on board fast is of the essence. 

The average length of an interim assignment is 175 billable days.

Most interim leaders work 200 days or less per year. At TBM Leadership Solutions, our interim leaders are available for periods of 30 to 180 days. Research shows that about a third of interim assignments last between 60 and 120 days. 

Interim leaders won’t add to your administrative burden. 

If you work with a staffing solutions partner, like TBM Leadership Solutions, you won’t have to worry about the administrative aspects related to your temporary hire. In other words, you get the expertise without all the paperwork. TBM Leadership Solutions also handles periodic reviews throughout the course of the placement to ensure your ongoing satisfaction. 

Some interim leaders are interested in long-term placement.

Sometimes interim leaders are open to longer-term positions. In these instances, an interim leadership assignment can double as a working interview, giving you the opportunity to evaluate a candidate while he or she actually does the job and works within your environment and with your team.  Let us know if ahead of time if you are interested in a “working interview”. 

Consider Interim Talent for Your Operational Staffing Needs

TBM Leadership Solutions maintains a talent pool that offers pre-identified, fully-vetted contingent labor resources.  Read our recent infographic, Interim Talent: Your Solution to Operational Leadership Gaps, to find out more about the interim leadership trend and why it’s growing in the manufacturing sector.