Using interim management to compensate for the long-term absence of a manager

Sick leave, a transfer, maternity leave, paternity leave, sabbatical leave – when a senior manager leaves their position for a prolonged period of time, it can rapidly upset the organisational balance. To compensate for the absence of a key employee, interim management is an infallible solution for ensuring the continuity of the position under the best possible conditions.  

Challenges and issues related to the absence of a manager

When a manager is absent for a long period of time, it can be difficult to assign their job tasks to another in-house employee. The local manager occupies a key function within the company. They manage teams, ensure operational efficiency and act as a link between management and employees. They have a high degree of responsibility, as well as specialised skills, specific to the department they manage (marketing, sales, finance, legal, etc.). This manager of managers thus has a strategic function and plays a decision-making role which makes the transfer of their tasks all the more complex. While it is possible to hire a new manager on a fixed-term contract during the period of absence, this process is often time-consuming and fastidious. It also implies a transition period during which the new recruit has to find their feet. In such a context, recourse to interim management to compensate for the absence of a manager or a director can therefore prove invaluable.  

What is interim management?

Interim management consists of using an interim executive manager to fill a key position that has become vacant on an ad hoc basis. The function can be performed until the return of the absent employee, or until a replacement is hired. This expert can be brought in to replace a manager who occupies an operational and/or strategic position in the company: operational manager, manager of managers, HRD, sales director, CFO, general manager, etc.  

The advantages of interim management

The use of interim management to replace an absent executive is beneficial on many levels. First of all, the interim manager is able to intervene in an emergency and take up their duties in the company at short notice. More importantly, the interim manager is operational as soon as they arrive, ensuring perfect continuity of the position. This high-flying manager is also highly qualified and can offer solid sector expertise, the result of a long and prestigious career. An interim manager is therefore able to take over the responsibilities of the absent employee with operational excellence, and to achieve the objectives set within the given deadlines.  With a fresh perspective, an expert eye, know-how and interpersonal skills, the interim manager can identify dysfunctions, optimise processes, boost productivity, and unite, lead and motivate teams with unparalleled efficiency. These executives also offer solid advice, take charge of transmitting the necessary skills to teams, and facilitate the transition before their departure. Their contribution is therefore truly lasting.  

Interim management with WAYDEN

At WAYDEN, an interim management firm, we provide companies with a rich pool of almost 2,000 highly qualified managers and executives, selected according to criteria of excellence. As natural leaders, these men and women of action can take up any managerial challenges they face. With 15 to 25 years of experience in demanding positions in various environments in France and abroad, they are adept in adapting to all managerial contexts. They also have all the qualities required to replace a key player in a position of great responsibility at short notice: leadership, audacity, pragmatism, great interpersonal skills, dynamism, charisma, rigour, etc. We can mobilise, urgently if necessary, an interim manager or executive, specialised in your company's sector of activity (financial, industrial, banking and insurance, etc.), and in the targeted function to successfully carry out the functions of the absent employee.