Executive Leadership on Demand

Osborne has over 17 years of experience in successfully providing interim management services to its broad range of clients. For us, interim management is not an after thought, it’s at the core of what we do. Our contract executives join our team looking to transfer their skills into your team for a set period and then move on to the next assignment. We are nimble, flexible, and highly responsive to your needs. Collaborative, communicative and cooperative underpin our values.

What is Interim Management?

Interim management is the use of experienced executives on a temporary basis to provide leadership across a wide range of competencies within the structure of the organization. Interim contracts are typically flexibly structured to provide a 4-8 month “buffer” for reassessment of needs and successful recruitment of the long-term employee for the position. It is a cost-effective solution to provide private companies, not-for-profits and charities with the capacity they need to continue operations during periods of change and transition. 

What is Fractional Management?

Fractional management is a form of interim management that is well suited to smaller growing organizations that are trying to scale their operations and manage with more limited resources. They can contract an experienced manager for one or two days a week or a fixed number of hours a month with the mutual understanding that there will be flexibility, depending on what the job requires over time. 

Can Anyone with the Correct Job Qualifications Fill an Interim Management Role?

In many cases yes, but it’s to the client’s benefit to work with an interim management firm who has executives that understand the nature of the interim role. They need to be able to step in with their experience and hit the ground running. In many cases they might be over-qualified compared to the eventual full-time hire. An interim in a senior position needs to be adept at assessing the state of the organization. There will be important issues that require immediate attention but there will be others that, because of their long-–term impact, are best left for the incoming hire. This is not about one “making their mark so to speak”. It’s important that an interim provide a level of calmness to other staff during a period of transition. 

What is the Cost of an Interim Manager Versus an Employee? 

An interim manager is a contractor and therefore is paid on a set hourly, daily or monthly rate or retainer. There is no obligation on behalf of the client to withhold taxes, provide benefits, vacation pay and in many cases, anything more than minimal notice to terminate the contract. By using an interim management firm, the company avoids recruitment fees for this position and can focus on taking the time needed for the full-time executive search to be successful. In the end, when one compares the cost of an experienced interim with the real compensation costs of an executive employee, there is real value realized.