Interim Executives Ready to Fill Immediate Gaps in Association Management

By Jane Rounthwaite, Principal, The Osborne Group  Print version

When executive directors and CEOs of non-profit associations leave to take on new challenges or perhaps retire after many years of service, a huge hole must be filled quickly to guarantee the health of the organization.

In many cases, there is time to manage the transition, but sometimes executive directors/CEOs leave suddenly for a variety of reasons – illness, family obligations or other personal reasons. Regardless of the why, it’s left up to the board of directors – volunteers – to figure out how to fill those shoes.

Taking the time to fill the position with the right person is a smart course of action. However, some associations may require someone to take the helm almost immediately. Sometimes a board member might be the right choice, albeit temporarily, or the organization is lucky enough that the outgoing CEO or the board, through their network of contacts, can find someone who can quickly jump in with both feet, either for the short term or long term.

However, if none of these choices are available, an association looking to fill either a CEO or senior management role should consider an interim executive instead of risking the health of the association as the management hole waits to be filled. Interim management involves the temporary assignment of a seasoned executive to manage an organization through a period of transition, crisis or change.

Interim management has been a widely-used and accepted business practice in Europe and the United Kingdom for more than two decades, born out of the need and desire for companies to avoid the complicated labour laws and resulting costs of hiring and firing. Traditionally interims were used for gapmanagement, filling a vacancy on short notice due to circumstances such as promotion, restructure, resignation, peaks of activity or maternity and medical leaves.

Over time, the concept has matured and the benefits of an interim executive have moved to the forefront of most organizations. While it’s still a relatively new concept in North America, it’s taking hold in Canada. The world is changing rapidly through globalization, with organizations and leaders being acutely aware of costs and the need for them to be constantly pursuing available, effective, cost containment alternatives.

Indeed, boards of directors are finding they are under closer scrutiny than ever before, either by shareholders or, in the case of non- profits, funding bodies and membership.

One of the major benefits of utilizing interim management is to fill management vacancies within days, thus allowing an association to keep moving forward with ongoing strategic initiatives. Because there are no long briefing sessions and interview processes, an experienced interim manager can be introduced quickly, hit the ground running, be readily available and be paid a daily rate. During the assignment of an interim manager, associates can draw on the experience to assist in the recruitment of the full-time replacement or newly created position and smooth the transition period of the new incumbent.

A departing executive director or CEO is not the only situation where an interim executive makes sense. Most associations are resource-constrained and often the CEO can get bogged down in the day -to-day operations of the organization. Consequently, they aren’t able to get to the more strategic projects that are on a wish list or developed by the board of directors.

Since associations are generally comprised of staff devoted to administrative tasks, an interim executive is an excellent choice for specific short term projects, such as a membership drive, a process improvement exercise, or re-branding of the association to keep it relevant. Whether the interim executive is brought in to temporarily fill a senior position or for a specific initiative, they can often be a catalyst for new ideas that benefit the association, especially those looking to make a change in direction to enhance their appeal to both existing and potential members.

In order for the interim executive approach to truly succeed, however, the association must prepare for their arrival, much in the same way a corporation prepares for a fulltime hire to start.

First, the association should build parameters around the interim executive’s mandate by ensuring the role is defined and what is expected by establishing benchmarks to evaluate the performance. This needs to be clearly communicated to interim executive.

Second, more than one person should be involved in the interview process, as the interim executive needs to deal with different parts of the organization and in order to truly hit the ground running, they must build relationships quickly, whether it’s with the board of directors, administration staff or volunteers.

Third, the association should communicate to staff, the board, and senior volunteers the arrival of the interim executive, the reason why, their experience and what they are expected to help the organization with (if it’s not to fill the CEO/executive director role).

Aside from doing the defined job, the interim executive gets to observe the association from within and can often provide valuable insight and advice to the board of directors. Additionally, they usually have an extensive network of other experienced professionals that can assist and advise in a wide variety of areas if required.

There are a few other things that should be considered and in some cases are more relevant to non-profit associations than corporate enterprises:

· An interim executive director/CEO should be exactly that: interim and not a candidate for the fulltime job. This keeps them clear of politics while a long term candidate is found, either by the board of directors and / or the outgoing executive director. This also allows them to take an objective view of the organization and act as a coach to the board, staff and volunteers.

· If you’re drawing on an interim executive who has a corporate background, be sure they understand the budget constraints that are the reality for non-profit associations – it’s often similar to the world of SMBs.

· Talent drawn from a corporate background – or even a government agency background – should have experience working with a variety of stakeholders including volunteers and members as well as some exposure with the not-for-profit mentality.

· If it’s for a project rather than filling a senior role, make sure they have specific experience for the task at hand and be sure to manage them as a finite resource – you don’t want them getting bogged down in the day-to-day operations.

· Finally, it’s important to point out the difference between an interim executive and a consultant. The latter can be brought in – usually at a premium price – to investigate, analyze and make recommendations, but often they’re not the one who will make the changes.

An interim executive takes a hands-on approach, whether it’s as the executive director or a project manager, evaluating and implementing as they go. They can also be brought back at a later date for new projects and as a result, they already understand the nature of the association and can quickly add significant value during the return engagement.

By Jane Rounthwaite, Principal, The Osborne Group