Interim Vs Consultancy
Written by - Henry Peters
Within the industry there appears to be a fine line between the role of an interim and a consultant, which can lead to appointing the wrong resources to meet your requirements. To assist our clients, we have put together an overview of what we think are the differences between the two.
One of the main differences between a "consultant" and an "Interim" is time. Consultants in the main are used for short term specific projects that require particular skills whereas an interim resource is filling a defined role such as filling in for the temporary absence of a key member staff or enabling a project.
Engagement
Interim
Immediate Requirement
Fixed Term
Skills/Resource Gap
Consultancy
Take time to negotiate and agree terms
Can be very short term and specific
Methodology
Experience Based
“Implementation” driven
Tried and tested solution.
Involves process of Analysis
Standard methodologies
GAP Analysis
Benchmarking etc.
Skills
Specialism within role
Select “best available” for role
Cross fertilisation from other markets
Specific skills requirement
Needs to have sector and market expertise.
Responsibility
Immediate executive responsibility
Empowered to make key decisions
Purely advisory
Client responsibility to execute
Reporting
Directly within client organisation
Part of the client team
Focus on project deliverables
Continually look to develop further opportunities
Resource
Associate directly delivers project
Team approach dependent on operational engagement requirement
We hope this has clarified what we believe are the differences between the two, whether you want an interim or consultant, we are able to help in supporting you to achieve a successful delivery of your projects.
Case Study by Henry Peter
Using many years of experience in operational management in the facilities management industry to help clients access the right skills to meet todays’ challenges. This involves providing access to dependable external project support through a network of skilled and reliable resources.
As a Director of myfm, I put together project teams to help:
• Develop strategic business models
• Carry out operational management reviews
• Design and evaluate space requirements
• Conduct benchmarking exercises for hard and soft FM services.
I can also place experienced and qualified people into your business to help you manage peaks in workflow, or to provide specialist technical expertise, using our extensive bank of over 200 associates – some of the best people in the industry.
