Consulting · Interim management
Interim CFOs, COOs and executives, on site within days
When a key seat empties without warning — a departure, a merger, a crisis — the business does not stop while you recruit. We place an experienced interim executive into the role for a fixed term, with the authority to run it.
REGAL 3 has placed interim managers since 2010. It is how we take responsibility for our own advice: when a plan needs someone accountable for executing it, we put that person on site rather than adding the work to a management team already at capacity.
When it fits
When an interim manager is the right answer
Interim assignments vary greatly in scope. Six situations account for most of ours.
- Managing the organization through a major change — a merger, a restructuring or a sale.
- A short-term skills gap, or an unforeseen management departure.
- Turnaround and crisis management.
- Business development and marketing.
- Financial management, particularly cash flow and bookkeeping.
- Delivery of a key project.
The return
What an interim manager should be worth
That is the test we hold ourselves to, and it is the right way to think about the price: not the fee against a salary, but the fee against what an empty seat, a stalled merger or an unmanaged cash position costs for every month it stays that way.
What they bring
What an interim manager brings
- Starts on short notice.Professionals with capacity, available within a matter of days.
- Immediate contribution.Contributes to the business and solves problems from day one.
- Dedicated to the objectives.Flexible, tailored and dedicated to the specific engagement, not to career politics.
- Highly qualified.Highly qualified or reasonably over-qualified in knowledge, skills and experience.
- Objective perspective.An external perspective and an objective overview, without fear of opposing the boss.
- Simple entry and exit.No onerous employment agreements, no expensive severance package.
- Cost-effective.Highly cost-effective set against the potential cost of failure.
The roles
The roles we fill
Most often a CFO or a COO. Interim executives also step in as chief executives, directors, general managers, operations managers, project managers and specialist consultants, drawn from a team our clients can call on as a knowledge reservoir.
An interim manager should be over-qualified for the engagement. In a permanent appointment that would be a complication; in an interim arrangement it is the point. These are not temporary employees. They are professionals in their own right, engaged to reach a defined objective and then to leave.
How it starts
How an engagement starts
Interim management usually follows a business assessment, during which the need for specialized expertise is identified. The assessment itself is described under business turnaround.
- AssessmentTakes two weeks and no more than four hours of your time, to an accuracy of >90%. It names the gap.
- PlacementAn interim executive on site for a fixed term, with agreed objectives and the authority to meet them.
- HandoverObjectives met, knowledge transferred to your managers, and a clean exit.
Questions