Interim management is a temporary engagement in a company. In distinction to the consultant of management consultancies, the interim manager takes over line or project responsibility. They leave the company when the objectives have been met and the permanent employees or managers can take over. Interim managers are often used in crisis management when personnel gaps need to be filled at short notice or assistance is required for restructuring or reorganization.
  
The special case of the catalyst manager, who may well "burn himself out" during his assignment, can provide great services as a preparer for subsequent long-term staffing. Another field is the responsibility of the project manager, who leads or significantly contributes to a project that is often firmly defined. In this case, the company buys in specialist skills for a limited period of time, as these are only needed within the scope of the project or even only in parts of the overall project.
 
Development of interim management
Interim management emerged in Germany primarily in the 1990s. At that time, interim managers were mainly hard reorganizers. Since then, the landscape has changed. A new professional profile has emerged. Interim and project managers have firmly established themselves in the market for management services by the thousands and are increasingly competing with management consultancies due to their mostly unbiased view from the outside. Common characteristics of these interim managers are an appetite for new projects, new colleagues, companies and issues. They are geographically and mentally flexible.