Interim Management Is Changing: Why Food Manufacturers Are Using Interim Support More Flexibly

The way food manufacturers are using interim management is changing.

Over the last 12 months, we’ve noticed a significant shift in the interim market, particularly around the amount of time businesses actually need an interim manager to spend within their organisation.

Historically, the majority of our interim assignments within food manufacturing would have involved someone joining a business five days a week for a defined period.

Increasingly, that isn’t the case.

Across the interim professionals we currently have working with clients, the average assignment is now around 3.5 days per week, compared with 4.7 days per week last year.

It points towards a different approach to interim management: one where businesses are increasingly looking at the problem they need to solve first, rather than automatically assuming they need somebody full-time.

Interim support doesn’t have to mean five days a week

There will always be situations where a food manufacturer needs a full-time interim manager.

A sudden vacancy in a senior position, a significant operational challenge, a major transformation programme or an urgent turnaround may all require somebody in the business five days a week.

But there are plenty of other situations where that level of support simply isn’t necessary.

We’re increasingly seeing food and drink manufacturers consider:

• Two or three days per week of specialist interim support
• A small number of days each month
• Defined projects with a fixed scope and cost
• Experienced interim managers providing oversight or mentoring alongside an existing team

It means interim support doesn’t necessarily need to be reserved for filling a full-time gap within the management team.

Instead, businesses can use experienced interim professionals much more selectively.

What can flexible interim support be used for?

One of the biggest advantages of a more flexible interim model is the range of challenges it can support.

For example, a food manufacturer may not need a permanent Technical Director or senior Technical professional, but could benefit from having an experienced Technical leader involved for a few days each week ahead of a major customer or accreditation audit.

A business could need additional Supply Chain or Planning expertise to work through a particular project, improve processes or provide additional leadership during a busy period.

There may be a Commercial project that requires expertise the existing team doesn’t currently have, or an Operations improvement programme where an experienced interim can provide additional capacity and an external perspective.

Businesses may also use interim support during periods of organisational change, to mentor or develop an existing team, or simply to access specialist expertise they don’t need permanently.

The common thread is that interim management can be shaped around the requirement rather than the requirement being shaped around a traditional five-day interim assignment.

Starting with the problem, rather than the number of days

For businesses considering interim resource, this creates a different conversation.

Instead of starting with:

“Do we need somebody five days a week?”

The better starting point can be:

“What problem are we trying to solve, and how much support do we actually need to solve it?”

That distinction matters.

If a particular challenge genuinely requires five days per week of support, then that may still be the right solution.

But if the requirement can be delivered in two or three days a week, through a defined project, or through a smaller number of highly targeted days each month, there is little value in paying for resource the business doesn’t need.

It can also give food manufacturers access to a level of experience that might otherwise have felt difficult to justify.

A more cost-effective way to access experienced food manufacturing talent

Cost has understandably been one of the reasons some businesses have been cautious about using interim managers.

Looking at interim support purely as a five-day-per-week solution can make the overall investment appear significant, particularly when the business isn’t trying to cover a full-time vacancy.

Flexible interim assignments can change that calculation.

A business might need a highly experienced Technical, Operations, Supply Chain, Commercial or senior leadership professional, but only require a proportion of their time.

Alternatively, there may be a clearly defined project where agreeing the deliverables, timescale and cost upfront makes more sense than engaging someone on an open-ended daily rate.

The important point is that the structure of the assignment should reflect what the business is actually trying to achieve.

When could an interim manager make sense?

There are numerous situations where experienced interim support can add value within a food manufacturing business without becoming a traditional full-time assignment.

These might include:

• Preparing for a retailer, customer or accreditation audit
• Strengthening Supply Chain or Planning performance
• Delivering an Operations or continuous improvement programme
• Supporting a new system, process or site implementation
• Providing additional expertise during a peak or particularly challenging period
• Mentoring or supporting an existing management team
• Delivering a clearly defined project where specialist expertise is required
• Bridging a capability gap without immediately creating a permanent position

There is no single model that works for every business.

The key is defining the outcome first and then deciding what level of interim support is required to deliver it.

Finding the right interim support for your food manufacturing business

Corvin Fox, we specialise in recruitment across the food and drink manufacturing sector and work with an established network of experienced interim professionals.

Increasingly, our conversations with clients aren’t simply about finding somebody who can start immediately and work five days a week.

They’re about understanding the challenge.

What needs to change? What expertise is missing? What outcome does the business need? How quickly does it need to happen? How much senior support is genuinely required?

From there, we can help scope what an interim assignment could look like, whether that’s a few days each week, a short-term project, ongoing fractional support ora defined piece of work with an agreed scope.

We can also provide a clear indication of the likely cost before a business commits.

If you’ve got a project, challenge or capability gap sitting on the agenda, but have held back because employing a full-time interim manager felt excessive or too costly, it may be worth looking at interim support differently.

Speak to Corvin Fox about flexible interim management support within food and drink manufacturing.

Jared Turner

Head of Recruitment