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Change Management (CM) is a tricky process as the best of times – getting it right can reap significant rewards for your organisation, but getting it wrong can be equally damaging. When it comes to making changes at the management level, there is always the choice of bringing in someone on a permanent basis or deciding that an interim manager is the wiser choice to make given the pressing needs of the situation.

As with all important decisions, the context within which the decision is being made determines which course of action is best and this is no different when it comes to going permanent or interim. However, it always helps to understand some of the advantages and disadvantages of each approach to reach a clearer perspective about which course of action will be best for you to take.

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Why Interim Management Can Work

While advocates of permanent management solutions will point to the stability and long-term vision offered by such an approach, in many cases a permanent solution is simply just not feasible and can in fact be an inadvisable approach in an unstable, ever-changing landscape.

Implementing permanent solutions is a significant long-term commitment to make, something that many companies and organisations aren’t in any position to make. This is why many organisations bring in interim managers who can survey and deal with the situation at hand within a flexible timeframe without any need for a long-term commitment.

Interim solutions are also quick to implement, making it an excellent way to fill sudden vacancies and emergency positions. It can be difficult to find suitable permanent candidates to fill a position for the foreseeable future, especially in critical scenarios where someo