The benefits of this approach are well documented. Lean companies are not only cost- efficient and profitable, but have the flexibility to respond at short notice to changes in their business objectives or operating environment. But problems can arise where special needs are required.

"These downsized, outsourced companies simply don't have the personnel in-house to cope with special skills needs, " said Deirdre O'Shaughnessy, General Manager-Designate at Interim Executives. "In former years, unforeseen demands for special skills could be met through fasttrack promotion or double-jobbing, but those solutions are simply no longer available."

This is despite the fact that the need for specialist input is much more likely to arise nowadays than previously would have been the case. Irish firms are following international trends, not only in terms of their leanness, but also in accelerated rates of innovation, diversification, and M&A activity . . . and these are the very circumstances where specialised input is required.

Moreover, these are events which require the rapid deployment of a specialist, at short notice, for a limited period, and within a defined budgetary window; permanent hires are unsuitable and unwanted, and, anyway, take so long to process that avoidable delays could damage the entire organisation's prospects.

Britain, which is still some way ahead of Ireland, has responded to these trends with a greater resort to interim managers and contract personnel. Some figures put the growth in the UK interim management sector alone at 20% per annum in recent years, and estimates of the size of the market in the UK range as high as �1 billion stg.

While there are no corresponding figures for Ireland, our phenomenal growth rates, high levels of M&A activity, and near full employment all point to a corporate HR environment in which the need for specialist skills regularly arises, and where the deployment of suitable people on short or medium term assignments makes incontrovertible good sense.

The challenge, in an Irish context, is for corporates here to appreciate the flexibility, efficiency, and impact of interim management.

"Interim management is misunderstood even among those that are aware of it, " said O'Shaughnessy. "Too many firms see it purely as a stop-gap, making up for short term management shortages. But the reality it that it works best as part of a structured, ongoing HR strategy, whereby management structures are pared back to a lean, mean efficient model that can be supplemented with special skills on an as-needed basis".

Interim Management is the leasing of experienced executives at short-notice on a temporary basis for a wide range of corporate needs, including: Change Management ? Specialist On-Site Expertise . . . such as in the introduction of new products or processes, diversification into new markets ? Mergers and Acquisitions . . . where specialist skills can speed up the integration of newly acquired businesses ? Covering for planned or an unplanned short term management needs, such as resignation, maternity leave, secondment or long-term illness.

What is Interim Management?

Interim Managers are highly qualified and experienced executives with well-established track records. They possess the people skills necessary to work in unfamiliar surroundings and the incentive and initiative to apply their knowledge and expertise to the client's needs.

The greatest benefit to clients is that interim managers 'hit the ground running' and deliver measureable and verifiable results from the very outset.