Interim management has become an established management practice. Its use is growing rapidly as organizations realize it offers cost effectiveness and flexibility. It enables an organization to use the skills of a highly experienced person to fulfill its needs at a particular moment in its life. An interim assignment can vary in length, but it is likely to be between three and six months.

As interim managers are often hired to deliver a specific project, they are unlikely to operate as temporary cover simply to maintain the status quo. In fact, they are more usefully employed to bring change and fresh thinking to an organization.

Effective interim management should be about embedding good practice and leaving a legacy of improvement and it is important that both parties feel satisfied that this has been part of the outcome.

In interim management, Universal Hunt specializes in executive placement at the highest level. We find outstanding senior executives to provide immediate short-term injections of management skills, which in the long-term add value to your business.

As a leading global executive search firm, we have an unrivaled reach among senior executives, including those who prefer to use their experience on an interim basis. Our pool of available interim talent includes interim executives whose experiences cover all disciplines and a wide spectrum of businesses.

We have an exceptional consulting team with members who have board level and senior management experience, both as permanent and interim, in a wide variety of business sectors and disciplines.

Our interim executives have all been rigorously vetted, which enables us to respond to executive placement needs quickly and to ensure a match in terms of corporate culture, ethos, and personal chemistry.

Our experience in providing interim executives is supported by the detailed understanding of every client's business and culture. A proven methodology for matching the right executives to each assignment.

Interim managers are employed for a number of reasons:

• Crisis Management: They can be used at the time of crisis to turn around a failing service or business. They may offer expertise to a challenged management team. This could mean bringing sound financial management or wise counsel to an organization with specific focus area.


• Specific Solutions:As well as the ability to tackle issues such as grievances, poorly managed commercial relationships, broken procurement contracts, or problems in internal relationships.


• Change Agents: Interim managers may also be brought in at the time of change for an organization. Start-ups, new business development, mergers or acquisitions, or restructuring within a company are all productive areas for interim managers.


• Recruitment Gaps: Equally an interim manager can give a company or organization some breathing space during the recruitment of a permanent executive or a period of temporary absence of an existing executive. This is to avoid building pressure on management to select a senior executive in time of vacuum created due to unexpected situations. The temporary internal manager can be more dangerous due to ongoing internal relations and expectation management.


• Innovation:Many clients who are seeking to improve or innovate take advantage of the specialist cross-sector skills interim managers offer to develop new products and services. For example, if you are thinking of developing a new revenue stream, then bringing in a retail expert may be the right solution. Thinking of outsourcing your HR service? Then hiring someone who had done it before makes sense, but it’s unlikely you’ll need them forever. Indeed in our opinion the most effective use of interim management is when it is deployed in a focused and controlled way with outcomes and timescales clearly defined and managed.

In our view, one of the key benefits is the outside independent view an interim manager offers. With no history or axe to grind, a talented interim can boost the morale of the team and provide tangible short-term solutions or longer term strategies.

Interim managers are cost-effective because they have a variable cost, not a fixed overhead. In addition, they offer flexibility in terms of their availability, working hours, work location, and role. The short-term nature of their contract also offers room for maneuver when necessary.

Interim managers are result orientated and used to working towards a specific goal and delivering to a deadline

An interim manager recommends an approach, agrees on this and then implements changes and solutions whilst on assignment. An interim manager’s practical experience and skills in line management are essential here. Interim managers typically work on one assignment at a time on a five-day week basis. On occasions, however, a part-time solution is appropriate.

A management consultant tends to recommend a number of alternatives and then leave it to the client to implement them. They are often trained in theoretical techniques and don’t have as many hands on experience as an interim manager. They are more expensive and often work on a number of projects at the same time.

Advisors are more senior and are there to hold discussions and to guide an executive team but not to implement the outcomes. They generally work for a client for only a few days per month.



Whether you are new to interim management or an old hand, as a potential interim you would be represented in the market by Universal Hunt, a leading global executive search brand, who understands your skills and whose brand is right for marketing your talents. We know how important it is to have access to a wide range of assignments, and the benefits of a real cross-sector business should not be underestimated. Using your skills in a variety of environments will provide a constant challenge and will ensure your continuing professional development.

We also make sure that you receive the right guidance and sector intelligence as to your market rate, and we guarantee swift, efficient and clear assignment management, invoicing and feedback. Our pricing is transparent, as is any of the information we hold on record for you. We maintain prompt and accurate systems that make it easy to keep your details up-to-date and visible.