Weigh The Options
When a company has well established procedures with no expected change of direction, the environment is good to hire an employee. If disruption is an issue or there is a need to manage an anxious staff, or a new direction is needed, it may be an environment best suited for an interim to establish the change, document the process then hire an employee. The interim can serve as a guide during the new employee orientation.
For the most part, companies don’t have “general” problems. Most often the problem is specific and immediate. For example, an unexpected vacancy, a supply chain failure, an inventory fulfilment matter, financial controls procedures, or process improvement, etc. The company may not have the skills bandwidth or intellectual horsepower internally to address the issue. Speed to the solution becomes a key driver.
In some cases, it is not appropriate for an internal employee to handle the project, i.e., divestiture of the business, employee layoffs, closing facilities, acquisitions, etc. Industry experience does not always translate into specific problem solving experience. Interims not only provide advice, they make problem solving decisions and execute on those decisions.
Hiring an employee is best when the nature of the work is regular and on-going. When the work has a beginning, middle and end (e.g., project work) an interim is the best choice. Honest evaluation of the company’s situation includes asking the following questions:
- Can the company afford to hire an employee at this time?
- Does the company have the management structure to take on more employees?
- Does the company really have a 40 hour per week position?
- Is the need seasonal or cyclical?
Weigh these options when considering to hire or not to hire.
Factor | Employee | Interim |
Immediate availability | No | Yes |
RESONABLY over-qualified | No | Yes |
Obectivity | No | Yes |
Contingent | No | Yes |
Outside views/hyper focus | Maybe | Yes |
Time to recruit/train | Yes | No |
onboarding costs | Yes | No |
Manage/monitor new Employee | Yes | No |
Benefits/taxes | Yes | No |
Immediate Results | No | Yes |
Full time task | Yes | No |
Added headcount | Yes | No |
career development NECESSARY | Yes | No |
All interims are not created equal. An interim search firm can help vet and select the interim that is best suited to solve a particular company’s specific challenge. In general, an interim cost about the same as paying an employee (including benefits). If the company ends up hiring the interim, the compensation is not wildly above the salary range. Think of it as on-the-job vetting and weigh the options.