InterIM Executives Ltd . . .formerly known as InterIM Solutions . . . has, since 1998, pioneered the area of interim management in an Irish context. A subsidiary of executive search group MERC Partners, InterIM Executives supplies interim and contract personnel on assignment to corporate clients.

Essentially, interim management is the leasing of highly qualified, experienced managers for a defined period of time. It is a solution which negates the need to spread the absent manager's workload among others in the company, and minimises the requirements for consultants. Interim management achieves its objectives by putting in place a person of sufficient ability and experience to take over the reins from day one. The managers are more qualified than temps, and hit the ground running, working with permanent staff to achieve short and longer term objectives, and making a valid contribution from the outset.

Interim managers will be employed because of their experience, which may be specific to given fields (financial, managerial, HR, technical, etc). But because of their vast experience in disparate sectors, they may also benefit the organisation by bringing fresh perspectives on the sector in which they have found themselves working.

As part of a new service, InterIM Executives will now also supply contract personnel on assignment to corporate clients. These personnel will be executives with between three and five years experience, working in areas such as HR, financial services, financial back office, marketing, supply chain, and life sciences.

"There is a real need for quality personnel at this level in the Irish market, " said InterIM Executives Managing Director, John Kelly. "The aim is to bring to the contract personnel market the high service standards associated with the company's interim management operations. The new service is a response to a growing demand among the company's existing client base for executives, just below the levels the company has traditionally provided."

In general, interim management has a number of benefits for a company. Firstly, those working around the interim manager tend to be quite receptive to any new ideas because they can view them in purely objective terms (everybody knows that the interim is there only for the duration: to get the job done and move on). But the interim manager is also part of the team, and must inspire the trust of those around them.

This is a great strength of the interim management solution: while consultants can be drafted in to address a company's weaknesses or short term management needs, they can only observe and produce recommendations. Interim managers are at work from the moment they take up the assignment, achieving results in both the immediate and longer terms.

In a nutshell: consultants tell, interims do.

Of course, InterIM Executives ensures that it has only high-quality interim managers on its books. It does this through the provision of screened candidate shortlists and systematic pre-placement briefings to evaluate client needs, as well as continuous communication with clients prior to, during, and after placements. A postplacement Quality Assurance Process is also in place to ensure the supplied candidate adequately meets the client's needs, and, thanks to the company's established executive network and its associations with third level institutions and professional bodies, it can guarantee a supply of prime candidates.

This is backed up by the already strong reputation of InterIM Solutions Ltd and the MERC Partners group.