3 Benefits to Hiring an Interim in Construction

Hire Interims Ellis Fox Blog

At a time when all industries – not just construction – are struggling to fill job positions, many companies are looking for alternate ways to fill the most urgent gaps. When it comes to senior roles or areas of specific expertise, an interim is often the best bet. Interims can deliver a huge amount of value and in the long term can be a very cost effective solution to move the business forward. In this article we highlight three key benefits of hiring an interim:

1 – Specialist expertise

While many senior professionals have a wide range of skills, bringing in a specialist has significant benefits. For one it enables other managers to focus on their daily tasks while still being able to collaborate with the specialist interim as he or she drives the special project. Too often companies seek to solve problems in house and task managers with additional projects. It’s not that they’re not capable, but the problem is that this stretches their capacity and divides their focus. By instead bringing in an interim it significantly reduces the pressure on existing management and increases the prospects of successful outcomes.

2 – Outside unbiased perspective

Within an organization cultures are entrenched. When it comes to implementing change or introducing new systems or technologies it’s often met with resistance. Also there are relational dynamics at play where employees or managers don’t wish to upset colleagues by instigating change. By contrast, an interim has an unbiased outsider perspective. Their focus is on achieving outcomes and empowering people regardless of their position or history within the organization. This outside perspective can often also highlight additional opportunities for improvement that may not have been identified internally.

3 – Outcomes focused

It’s easy to get bogged down in the red tape of an organization, especially when employees are resisting new ideas or change and there are many daily tasks demanding a person’s attention. An interim is tasked with achieving specific outcomes within a specific time frame and their professional reputation hinges on achieving them. They rarely get caught up in internal politics because they have the management (and negotiation) skills necessary to move a project forward and achieve the desired outcomes.

When compared to a salaried employee, interims may appear more expensive. However, the specialist expertise they bring, combined with their ability to deliver on specific project outcomes, makes hiring interims a very valuable investment.