The benefits of interim management are many. Hiring the wrong person into a senior leadership position is one of the most damaging and costly mistakes an organization can make.

Due to the nature of medical practices, doctors and their staff cannot fully commit to run the practice at an optimum level of performance with a key position vacant. As a result, anxiety over the length of time that’s often required to find the right candidate can lead to the temptation to “settle” for someone who’s almost right for the position. Then your practice may find you are back to square one in 6 months, or your team continues to run not as efficiently as it should.

Using interim management can prevent your organization from falling into this dangerous trap and making a costly mistake. Consider all these good reasons why interim management may be right for your practice:

• Instant access to highly qualified professionals. Most interim managers can be brought on board within 10 – 15 days.
• Flexibility during periods of change: available on a contract, as-needed basis.
• Bridging capability to provide coverage until an executive search can be completed, thereby reducing staff stress.
• Buying time to clarify the position specification and genuinely find the right person.
• Focusing on key priorities: require little or no supervision and are focused on achieving agreed-upon results, less likely to get caught up in the day-to-day demands of operations.
• Neutrality: are generally less political, more objective, and goal-oriented than longer-term, permanent employees, and can provide a neutral, objective perspective.
• Position the new hire for success by serving as a mentor and helping with onboarding.
• An outstanding value for the cost: usually more experienced yet less expensive than consultants from large consulting firms.

Obviously, there are a variety of situations and circumstances working together that will determine whether or not interim management is useful for your practice. Frequently, however, employing an interim manager in the right position at the right time can help your organization move forward in significant ways. With the expected number of leadership transitions rising due to upcoming retirement projections of existing leadership and the continued growth of the sector, it very well may be that an interim manager is the solution your organization determines is necessary at a particular time.