What is interim management
Interim management is the temporary placement of an experienced manager into a company, typically for 6 to 18 months and on a full or near-full-time basis. The interim manager is in the company most of the week, leads the team in day-to-day operations and holds the position until the company finds a permanent solution. Formally they usually invoice, in practice they behave like a permanent manager.
How interim management works
Interim management came about as an answer to a simple problem: a key manager left, is on parental leave or was let go, and the company cannot leave the position empty for six months while a hiring process finds a successor. The interim manager fills that gap.
In practice this means an experienced manager, usually with a track record in similar roles at other companies, joins and takes over the role in full. They are in the office, run meetings, manage daily operations and make decisions. The duration is typically between 6 and 18 months. Helping to select and onboard a permanent successor is often part of the brief.
Formally it is usually an invoicing relationship, not an employment contract. In practice, though, the interim manager behaves like a permanent member of leadership. That is their defining trait.
When interim management makes sense
- A permanent manager left and the position cannot stay empty. The company has a built team and a working structure, it just lacks someone to lead it.
- The company is going through a transformation or a merger. The change requires the full commitment of one person to run it and then leave.
- You need operational leadership on a daily basis. The team is large or the situation is intense enough that strategic oversight for a few days a week is not enough.
The common denominator: the company already has marketing or sales built. Interim holds and bridges it, it does not build it.
When interim does not make sense (and companies still ask for it)
Here is the most common mistake we run into in the Czech market. A company asks for an "interim CMO", because it knows the term from HR. In reality it does not have a built marketing team that would need daily management. It has one marketer buried in execution and wants strategic leadership for a few months. It gets full-time offers for more than a hundred thousand a month and the price puts it off.
Yet what it is looking for has a different name: fractional management. An external strategic partner for 1 to 3 days a week, who sets the direction, leads the team and hands it over. The request was right, just mislabelled - and the wrong label cost the company months of searching in the wrong price bracket.
Interim vs. fractional: comparison
| Aspect | Interim management | Fractional model |
|---|---|---|
| Time commitment | Full or near-full | Part time (1-3 days/week) |
| Duration | 6-18 months, then exit | 3-6 months, with an option to extend |
| Purpose | Fill the gap after a manager leaves | Build strategy and get marketing/sales moving |
| Parallel clients | No, one company | Yes, typically 2-4 companies |
| Typical situation | The company had leadership and lost it | The company is building leadership or wants a jump-start |
| Price in the Czech market per month | 100-150 thousand CZK | from 38 thousand CZK |
Both models have their place. Interim is not worse, it is a different tool for a different problem. At fractional.cz we do the fractional model exclusively - if your situation fits an interim brief, we will tell you so in the first meeting and recommend you look elsewhere.
What to take away
The deciding question is not "interim or fractional", but "are we holding or building". If a director left a working department, you are looking for interim. If you are still building marketing or sales, want to raise it to a strategic level, or your team needs senior leadership for part of the week, you are looking for fractional.
Updated: July 2026
Frequently asked questions
How much does interim management cost in the Czech market?
An interim manager at CMO or CSO level typically costs 100 to 150 thousand CZK per month, because they work full time for one company. The fractional model at the same seniority starts from 38 thousand CZK per month, because you buy 1 to 3 days a week.
How long does an interim engagement last?
Usually 6 to 18 months. The interim manager holds the position until the company finds and onboards a permanent successor, or until the transformation they came for is finished.
Is an interim manager an employee?
Usually not. It is typically an invoicing relationship (a B2B contract, often a sole trader), but in practice the interim manager behaves like a permanent manager: they are in the company daily, run meetings and manage operations.
What is the difference between interim management and the fractional model?
An interim manager works for one company full time and holds the existing structure. A fractional manager works for 2 to 4 companies in parallel, 1 to 3 days a week, and comes to build something: strategy, a team, processes. Interim bridges, fractional builds.
The fractional model in practice
We describe what fractional leadership of marketing and sales looks like in a complete guide. And if you have a specific situation, let us meet over lunch. No slides, no commitments.