Sarah Winkless Interim Manager

While searching for a permanent role after being made redundant, Sarah was offered an interim assignment and has happily been an interim consultant in corporate communications for over 15 years.

Why I love being an interim manager

I have been an interim consultant in corporate communications for over 15 years. I started interim consultancy as an accident rather than by design. Having been made redundant, I was looking for a permanent role when an interim assignment came up and I have been happily working as an interim ever since! I have had the privilege of working with PR agencies such as Burson Marsteller, Hill and Knowlton and with some of the largest companies in the world - IBM, AstraZeneca and Visa. In addition, I have worked with smaller organisations and been acting Head of Corporate Communications in many different industries.

I have often felt that one of the key benefits of being an interim manager is that people are more likely to share their thoughts and opinions about an organisation and its inner workings with someone who is seen as an independent or impartial advisor. I love the variety of industries and assignments and the fact that there's always a light at the end of the tunnel – you get stuck into a project, deliver on your objectives and then move onto the next assignment. I have been offered a few permanent roles on the back of my interim work – and an interim assignment can offer a great insight into a company, and a chance to work out the key players,
before you commit to joining permanently.

But it's not all positive – there can be certain challenges too.......

"We'll leave that until xxx returns from maternity leave" and "not sure you should get involved in that project as you're only here for a short time" have been some of the more challenging comments that I've heard. Not from those that have hired me but rather in different areas of the business that I've had to deal with. In those cases I need to use my expert powers of persuasion that I can do just as good a job in an interim period as a permanent person. My mantras' are: "I'm here to do a job and I will do it well" and "you're only ever as good as the last job so it has to be good". Particularly if it is a maternity cover, where the person is likely to return, there can be some initial resentment (especially if they have good friends in the business) but the best way to overcome this is to gain trust by getting a few quick successes under my belt.

Organisations will often hire interim managers as a short-term solution, either because of a restructure, as additional resource or as cover for maternity leave. The contracts vary in length – anything from three months to an open-ended contract which is reviewed on a regular basis. For example, I have worked on what was meant to be a six-month contract which turned into 18-months due to changes within the organisation. But this contract gave me a great insight into the workings of the organisation and I was ultimately offered a permanent role at the end of it (unfortunately it meant a relocation so wasn't
appropriate!).

The work is extremely varied – interim managers can be brought in to deal with a specific crisis or communication challenge (both internal and external). I've been brought in to conduct an audit of existing communication structures and to determine what communication should be in place. This could be anything from creating a crisis comms plan or to designing a communications structure from scratch. And things often change unexpectedly: For example, I was brought in on one contract to conduct internal communications around a merger – however, at the last minute the merger didn't happen and it turned into crisis  communications with a number of redundancies. A difficult situation but a great communications challenge!

Benefits and drawbacks

  • I love the flexibility of being my own boss – the ability to control my own time and commitments.
  • The stimulating challenge of constant exposure to new people, issues and solutions and the experience of learning different sectors and their needs
  • The ability to learn and understand various corporate structures and how they operate.
  • Not being drawn into office politics – an interim manager is there to do a certain role and therefore does not have the same office pressures that can arise from a permanent role.
  • The drawback is primarily accountancy – dealing with the Inland Revenue and managing tax affairs (which are usually handled by an employer) can be difficult and it is advisable to have an accountant.
  • The concern when a contract is ending and where the next one will come from. You should always ensure that you have saved enough to see you through a gap in employment, which can and does happen. However, I have only ever been out of work for two months and during that time I had enough saved to see me through that period.

I would recommend being an interim manager to anyone. It is exciting and challenging to face different roles and I have had the immense satisfaction of working for many excellent organisations and establishing long-standing relationships and friends from my different assignments.

Being an interim manager means having the ability to hit the ground running and to accept and deal with
communication challenges quickly and effectively. It is exciting and offers a real opportunity to extend your knowledge and experience of the many varied disciplines in corporate communications. I have enjoyed myself along the way and have made a great many friends and contacts!