Temporary Manager for an SME: Cost and Mandate
Small and mid-sized companies use temporary managers differently from large groups: fewer days, tighter budgets, and a mandate that has to produce something visible inside a quarter. This is how to structure it so it works.
Why the SME version is different
A large group can absorb a twelve month mandate that only starts producing in month six. A company with twelve million euro in revenue cannot. The mandate therefore has to be narrow, the executive has to work rather than supervise, and the first quarter has to produce something the owner can see in the numbers or in the operating rhythm.
The mandates that work in an SME
- Rebuilding the commercial function when the founder has been carrying sales personally
- Professionalising operations before a generational handover
- Opening the first serious export market
- Stabilising a company after a bank has asked hard questions
- Bridging the gap between a departing manager and a permanent hire
How to keep the cost honest
- Buy days, not presence: two focused days a week beat five diluted ones
- Put the outcomes in writing and review them monthly with the owner
- Avoid parallel consultants: one person owning the result is the point
- Agree the end date at the start, and the condition for extending it
https://niklaslindahl.com/guides/temporary-manager-for-smes