The Past, Present, and Future of Interim Executives

How interim management has evolved from what it was 200 years ago to how it is today and its great potential for the future of Interim Executives.

Interim Executives and the interim workforce, in general, is a fast-growing market in the 21st century. This coincides well with the fast-paced and highly automated corporate world we live in today.

Interim Executives Historically

Historically, interim management was the way people worked. It wasn’t exactly on an “interim” basis, but the gist of it was the same. People were independently working for themselves as farmers and small business owners. This ended once the industrial revolution kicked in and we saw flocks of people moving into urban areas to work for large corporations leading to the unionization of workers.

The struggle of workers rights culminated into what we now know as full-time employment and benefits. This was the one point where we saw a sharp decline in the modern term of interim management. Finally, this shifted once we hit recessions in the ’80s and ’90s. Things such as globalization and technological advancements allowed for access to cost-cutting measures, such as cheaper labor.

Interim Executives Today

This leads us into the present day. With all of the cost-cutting measures in place due to automation, the demand for expertise on an as-needed basis has increased, thus independent or interim work has grown significantly.

It has reached the point where even things such as a company’s management are kept on an interim basis, since they may only require a specific skill for a certain amount of time. This growth can also be attributed to the fact that modern Americans like to work on their own accord. Some like facing new challenges, or get bored after working in the same company for multiple years. This freedom is what is so intriguing to not only workers, but organizations as well.

The Future of Interim Executives

Not only will interim management continue to rise, but other interim positions will also grow to the point where a majority of positions will have a ridiculously high turnover rate. As previously mentioned, this is because the needs of companies changes on a daily basis, thus keeping the same employee who is only good at one thing does not make sense financially. Instead, you can constantly swap employees with others that fit your needs at a given time.

For this to be successful there will have to be changed in things such as health care and tax laws, so interim management and interim workers, in general, can reap the same benefits as full-time employees, but if you are thinking about working for multiple companies on an interim basis, the time to do it is now.

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