When a leadership position opens up unexpectedly, a company faces an uncomfortable calculation: filling it permanently takes months, but the responsibilities do not wait. This is the gap an interim manager is built for – an experienced executive who takes over the role for a defined period, rather than advising on it.
The German market often calls this "Manager auf Zeit" – a manager for a limited time. The wording matters, because it describes the situation from the company's side: a seat needs filling, not a concept developed.
Four situations account for most mandates.
The vacant seat. The managing director leaves, the plant manager is out, the head of finance moves on at short notice. Operations continue; decisions pile up. An interim manager keeps the organisation able to act until the permanent appointment is made – and hands over in an orderly way.
The project without capacity. A site relocation, an ERP rollout, a carve-out. The task is time-limited but requires leadership experience that is not currently free in-house. Here the interim manager does not replace a position but adds one.
The crisis with a deadline. A liquidity squeeze, a quality incident, a lost key account. What counts in these situations is less the perfect analysis than someone who decides and carries the decision through. Profiles for this sit in our Restructuring and Operational Efficiency area.
Parental or sick leave cover. The most predictable case – and the one companies plan for least often. Searching two weeks before the start means paying a premium for urgency.
The difference is not qualification but role. A consultant analyses, develops options and recommends; the decision and the implementation stay with the company. An interim manager occupies the position: they decide, lead people, own budgets and carry the results.
Three practical consequences follow:
The two models are not mutually exclusive. It is common for a consultancy to develop the target picture and an interim manager to deliver it. Our article on interim managers in transformation goes into the distinction in more depth.
Most often those where an absence hits the result immediately:
The usual range is three to twelve months. Shorter mandates occur where the task is tightly defined, longer ones in transformation programmes. What matters more than duration is whether the end is defined from the start: a mandate without a described target state is rarely handed over cleanly.
The temporary nature also raises legal questions – in Germany in particular, whether the engagement runs as a service contract with a self-employed professional or falls under the Temporary Employment Act. We cover this separately in our article on the interim management contract in Germany.
Engagements are almost always billed on a day rate. Depending on function, industry and scope of responsibility, it typically sits in the mid three-figure to low four-figure range per working day. Managing-director level and crisis mandates sit higher; operational specialist functions lower.
The day rate on its own, however, is the wrong comparison. The meaningful benchmark is the cost of the alternative: an unfilled position. A deferred investment decision, a delayed production ramp-up or a late year-end close usually costs a multiple of the difference between a day rate and a pro-rated annual salary.
Three steps that have proven themselves in practice:
Is an interim manager an employee?
Usually not. Interim managers are typically self-employed and engaged under a service or works contract. Models via temporary employment agencies also exist; the classification should be settled before signing.
How quickly is someone available?
Where the need is clearly described, suitable profiles can be presented within days. The longer part is usually not the search but the internal alignment on what the mandate should actually cover.
Does this work for smaller companies?
Especially there. In mid-sized companies a single function often depends on a single person. If they drop out, there is no second tier to step in.
If you need to fill a position temporarily, the first step is not the search but the description of the mandate. Tell us which responsibility should be handed over and by when – we will present suitable profiles from our network. More on interim management at consultingheads or describe your requirement directly.