Why You Shouldn’t Hire a Full-Time Executive After a Pandemic
Why You Shouldn’t Hire a Full-Time Executive After a Pandemic
As your organization is recovering from the pandemic, you’re likely fighting fires on two fronts. Your company may have cash flow issues, which precludes you from investing in new executive talent. You may also struggle with bandwidth issues. Your team is simply too overwhelmed with day-to-day operations and “staying above water” to prioritize the more strategic projects that would accelerate your recovery.
Rarely can you find one solution that solves multiple challenges at once—yet that’s exactly what an interim executive can do.
Why an Interim Executive Makes More Sense
It’s faster.
You can get interim executives in place quickly—with resumes of vetted executives on your desk within a week*. That’s significantly faster than trying to hire a full-time leader the traditional way—with time-consuming interviews, background checks, and months-long processes. With Cerius, you can get highly experienced interim executives with deep industry knowledge placed in your organization immediately.
It’s cheaper.
If cash flow is a problem, hiring an interim executive makes even more sense. There are no job postings, no lost time by recruiters, no lagging projects sitting undone, and no need to pay for benefits on top of a full-time salary. You get more bang for your buck.
It’s more efficient.
With an interim executive placed immediately, you get the same level of executive experience and proven results as you would from a full-time hire, but often with more laser focus since they aren’t distracted by other aspects of a full-time position. This only adds to their ability to accelerate results. In addition, because interim executives have deep expertise and years of experience, they are often highly networked in the industry, which can provide an extra advantage to locate resources and accelerate growth.
It’s more flexible.
There’s no long-term commitment with an interim executive. You get assistance when you need it—and only as long as you want it.
“In business, the only constant is change,” said Kristen McAlister, President, Cerius Executives. “The talent we need today will likely be different than what we need tomorrow, especially as the company grows and outgrows its leadership team. An interim executive is the right expertise for when you need it. This leader can help identify the change that’s needed, be the catalyst for change, and even change themselves out for what your company needs next. An interim executive’s goal is to work themselves out of a job by either solving the problem or setting the company up with a longer-term solution, such as a full-time lower-level employee. That employee now has the tools of an executive without the higher overhead cost.”
It’s relatively risk-free.
Hiring an interim executive lets you work closely with an executive leader and get to know his or her leadership style and skills, which can help guide your company’s criteria in choosing a full-time hire. You can “try before you buy” to see if the leader is a good fit with your culture. It also takes the pressure off your recruiting team, since you’ve closed the leadership gap immediately.”