Frequently Asked Questions
What kinds of clients do Penna work with?
We focus on Financial Services, Retail, Public Sector and Food and Manufacturing and have an excellent track record in these sectors. We also work with clients across many other industry sectors.
Do interim managers have to be prepared to work anywhere?
We only take on assignments that are reasonable and appropriate and we will always try to find a good match for you. However, due to the nature of interim management it is usually expected that candidates would be slightly more flexible on location than if they were considering a permanent role.
What kind of assignments are there in Interim?
In essence there are four broad types of interim role.
1. Professional Guardianship – normally this revolves around a senior gap within management. This is generally caused by difficulty in attracting top talent, long term absence or an organisational context that means any new hire's role would change dramatically over the next 6 months where a more specialist change orientated skill set is more appropriate.
2. Consulting or diagnostic roles – here the interim will generally be in competition with a management consultancy, both pitching to win the same piece of business. Whilst the management consultancy will have robust methodologies and tried and tested investigative approaches the interim is competitive as often they will be coming from a competitor organisation, understand the opportunity cost to the individual decision maker and generally have a more business specific skill set. One of Penna’s key competitive advantages in this area is our ability to effectively offer both interim and our own in house management consultants with our Penna Change Consulting brand. This provides our clients with a unique, integrated option ensuring the most appropriate approach.
3. Programme/Project Management – as an independent, the interim can better personify a change project as they are largely insulated from internal legacy politics and will be carefully selected for their track record of success in similar business situations. The interim will be judged on the success of the overall project, making agreed terms of reference, setting milestones and on-going communication critical to gaining a good testimonial at the end of each project.
4. Specific Skill Set based roles – these roles tend to be the best entry point for new interims. The organisation will have a specific set of deliverables and associated time frames. The interim will have to demonstrate a track record of similar successful delivery, generally within the same industry.
How long do assignments last?
Interim management is all about meeting immediate needs. The very shortest assignments could be just a week, but they average around three to six months.
Diagnostic or consultancy roles tend to last no more than six weeks, whilst programme management roles are rarely under six months.
Often an initial interim assignment if successful will lead to follow on work within the same client.
Will I still get the chance to work in teams?
Yes, you could well be asked to form part of an interim team. After networking, quite a few of our managers form loose teams with complementary skills and come together on assignments. You should also consider your Penna Interim Executive contacts as an extended team. Certainly we will act as an executive sounding board and a source of feedback throughout and after the assignment.
How do I select my assignments?
Quite often you will find that your availability dictates which assignments you will be able to consider. As you build a relationship with an interim provider they will learn more about what is suitable for you. The Penna template for a candidate assessing suitability for each assignment is
1. What are the minimum deliverables, and in what timeframe, that need to be achieved for the project to be viewed as a success, both internally, externally and to any relevant stakeholders.
2. Where are the areas where, as a suitably over-recruited interim, additional legacy value can be added above and beyond the client's initial expectations? This tends to be around internal coaching, systems, procedures and exit strategy.
3. How does this particular piece of work affect my portfolio and marketability going forward in the future, and my relationship with Penna Interim Executive?
Dealing direct or with 3rd parties?
The key dynamic here is deciding where a relationship can be more than transactional. The majority of interims will undertake a multi agency approach but in order to gain full value a number of those relationships must be prioritised and marketing time dedicated to building mutually beneficial business relationships. Certainly at Penna we expect our interims to view their relationship with us as a long term partnership where both sides are accountable.
