9 success factors for successful recruitment

What should you consider when hiring an interim manager? How do you get the right person in place within 2 weeks when a permanent manager recruitment takes 6 months? We give you valuable tips for a fast and spot-on recruitment.

Most companies rarely need to hire an interim manager. But once the situation arises, the rules of the game are different from those for permanent recruitment. We outline 9 success factors for a fast and spot-on interim recruitment.

In the vast majority of cases, an interim assignment is a temporary solution for a permanent line role. This means that long-term strategic work often takes on less importance and operational work more focus during an interim assignment. As the time horizon for the assignment is shorter than for the permanent role, the requirements profile should also be adapted to current needs and priorities.

Consider what is most important for the role in the next 6 months. For example, the role may require specific competence or experience to drive current improvement work.

When recruiting an interim manager, it is not necessary to take into account all the factors that may be important for a permanent position. For example, if you cannot find the right competence locally, many candidates are open to weekly commuting.

Above all, don’t be afraid to include slightly overqualified candidates in the selection process. They are motivated by joining a new organization with new challenges. Therefore, take the opportunity to hire a really experienced person who can be a competence injection for the business. Most people who take on consultancy work are unpretentious and can work both high and low, even if they have held prestigious titles in previous employments.

Most interim placements require speed. As a result, there is no time to advertise positions or have lengthy recruitment processes. At the same time, the quality of the recruitment process must be as high as in a normal recruitment process. Many traditional recruitment agencies currently offer interim services but have not adapted their work methods. An interim recruitment has different characteristics and requires specific processes to be successful. What are the recruiter’s references from similar assignments and what feedback have they received from their clients and sub-consultants?

It is crucial to both have a large candidate database and to keep it up-to-date. The recruitment company must be proactive on an ongoing basis to keep full control of its candidate database and candidate availability. In particular, timing is a key factor when it comes to interim management. A reputable interim agency can attract a wide variety of all current candidates on the market and reach even the most selective ones. However, in the case of niche roles, only a small selection of candidates will be able to fully match the requirement profile, cost level, geographical location and availability.

For these reasons, Brightmill has created a unique digital platform for interim management that optimizes our processes and ensures the quality of our work, even if it’s really fast. This means that after just a few days of work, we can present qualified candidates, even for the most challenging assignments.

Another critical success factor is the competence of the person carrying out the recruitment assignment. Many recruitment agencies divide the work between a senior recruiter who has contact with the client and conducts candidate interviews, and a junior member of staff who is responsible for the search. That’s why our executive recruiters handle every single step from the first client dialogue until the interim assignment is completed and closed. That’s one reason why our customers have given us top ratings on Trustpilot.

We know that competence-based recruitment delivers the best results, including for interim placements. In contrast, it is rarely successful when a hiring manager brings in someone from their own network as interim manager. We do not favor candidates whom we try to hire in the first place, as is often the case in a consulting company with unoccupied consultants. This means that we always take into account the specific needs of our clients for each individual assignment.

With a competence-based selection process, we ensure the right person for each assignment. The effect over time has been that Brightmill appoints half women and halfmen, despite the fact that there are 70% men in the interim market. Moreover, age is rarely an issue that our clients take into account when making interim placements. Ultimately, it is the competence, experience and cost that will determine the decision-making process.

In light of this, we use a tool developed in-house that provides a clear comparison of the candidates’ competence profiles in relation to the prioritized competences in the requirements profile.

Make sure to pre-book possible interview times with candidates in advance to keep the recruitment process on track. This allows you to compare several candidates at short notice within a few days. Similarly, the candidates do. When they are available for new assignments they seek assignments in parallel. They then meet several potential clients and usually choose the assignment they are offered first.

Even if you are in a hurry to decide on a final candidate, you should always do a background check and take references. Accordingly, we always carry out a background check on candidates before they are presented for an assignment. It is equally important to carry out reference checks as a quality assurance measure, whether you take the references yourself or leave it to the recruiter.

The fee for an interim consultant varies in the same way that salary levels vary between different positions and industries. As with permanent recruitment, you pay more for the most sought-after candidates.

The cost includes the consultant’s salary, social security contributions, occupational pension, vacation, sick pay, recruitment fees, liability insurance and other minor expenses. There is always a premium for hiring an interim consultant compared to the cost of having someone employed in the same position. The reason is that a consultant, whether self-employed or employed by a consultancy, can never count on 100% occupancy in a year. As a customer, you can therefore expectto pay a certain premium to be able to hire the right competence quickly and have flexibility in the length of the assignment.

Have an open dialog with the recruiter about your expectations on the consultancy fee. With this in mind, the recruiter can, early on in the recruitment process, screen out candidates who have too high expectations on compensation. Thanks to more than 10 years in the interim industry, we have solid knowledge of the market prices for different roles and assignments. This means that we always negotiate market-based consultancy fees before presenting candidates to the client.

Give the consultant a good start by:

• Make sure there is a clear set of expectations from the start. Clarifies responsibilities and powers, as well as the results to be achieved under the mandate.
• Plan a structured induction where the consultant is provided with the necessary information and access to key people to quickly familiarize themselves with the assignment.
• Make sure that the computer and telephone are in place on the first day, and that logins to different systems are set up.
• Set up procedures for reporting and follow-up with the consultant. Good communication is a prerequisite for good cooperation.