Interim Insights - Caroline May

With more than two decades of experience in local government finance, Caroline May has built a career spanning a range of organisations, roles and opportunities. Having spent much of her career in permanent positions, she made the move into interim management after the pandemic, bringing her experience to new environments and supporting organisations to deliver change.

Now working as a Finance Transformation Lead at the London Borough of Ealing, Caroline has been able to apply her knowledge and experience to new settings, helping organisations achieve their objectives and make improvements along the way.

For this edition of Interim Insights, I sat down with Caroline to discuss her journey into interim management, the importance of adaptability and building strong working relationships, and how experienced interims can support organisations through periods of change. She also shares her thoughts on what makes a successful interim and the importance of leaving an organisation in a better place.

What led you to a career as an interim?

Before becoming an interim, I was employed in local government finance roles for 22 years. Prior to this, I was in further education environments and initially the private sector. All in all, I have had a long and varied career. Other than a brief period early on, I was always in a permanent contract. I was fortunate enough to secure lots of great and varied opportunities along the way, which enriched my career pathway.

After the pandemic, like a lot of people, I considered my options. Initially, I gave some tentative consideration to turning to the interim market, to bring opportunity to apply my experience in different settings. This seemed like natural progression after so many years in permanent roles. It took another couple of years to finally make the decision that this is what I wanted to do next. Since then, I have really enjoyed the placements I've had. There is something very rewarding about bringing experience to the table and fulfilling the requirements of a specific remit. It is also great to experience different environments and varied scenarios and adapt accordingly. After taking the plunge and stepping into the interim space, I haven't looked back.

What do you enjoy most about being an interim?

What I have enjoyed most so far is the opportunity to meet new people, to experience different cultures and to make a difference. It is fulfilling to be able to apply my skill set in this way, to do a good job and then progress to the next position. There can be more focus as there isn't so much involvement with local politics; you are there to do a specific job and to deliver on that basis. It is lovely when you receive positive feedback.

What are the challenges you face as an interim, and how important is leadership style?

Leadership style is very important and needs to be adapted to fit in with the environment, culture and remit, to gain buy-in. It is important to be approachable, as well as clear, to deliver the outcomes and provide high-quality service.

The flipside of increased flexibility as an interim is the need to deliver from day one. This means being able to quickly grasp what is required whilst building productive working relationships with a variety of stakeholders, including direct reports and peers.

A key to success is the importance of maintaining and nurturing networks. The support framework does change as an interim, whereby you don't have the same contractual framework as a permanent member of staff.

You also need to be self-accountable and ready to challenge yourself whilst ensuring you deliver the core required outputs of the brief. That is how you add value and build your reputation in the market.

What difference have you made in the organisations you've worked for?

I set out to deliver what is required whilst evaluating what else could be done to bring added value. I have delivered changes to reporting, making month-end reports more informative and uniform, to draw out key points and present in a user-friendly way to aid planning and decision-making. I have introduced process changes to improve the way things are done. I do believe in getting the basics right to ensure a solid foundation. I haven't been afraid to raise questions or challenge the status quo (in a positive way!). I have forged some great relationships and reconnected with some old contacts along the way. I like to feel that I have left a legacy and improved things during my contract. It is important to hand over well at the end of an assignment, so that there is continuation and a smooth pathway.

In your current role, if possible to share, what were the drivers that led to an interim being recruited? And why do you think an interim is the best way of solving that problem in this scenario?

I was recruited as a Finance Transformation Lead, which has been immensely rewarding, as it gave me an opportunity to bring learning from elsewhere into the role and apply this whilst delivering the programme objectives. The driver for recruitment was the desire to change, which is always a good starting point. The best organisations are, in my experience, learning organisations.

An interim was required in this scenario as there wasn't the capacity to deliver change alongside the business-as-usual requirements. My remit has shifted somewhat because of business need; it is important to be able to flex as an interim to support and deliver organisational change.

What makes a good interim in your eyes?

I feel that a good interim should leave things in a better place than when they started. Part of this is effective handover, so there is a continuation of the progress that has been made. Also, flexibility, whilst the remit does need to be clear, a good interim will be prepared to flex to get the job done, and to deliver what is in the best interests of the organisation. The importance of good people skills cannot be overestimated. Softer skills are essential for effective collaboration, to ensure a team ethos, to support effective delivery and gain buy-in. It is also vital to build trust and credibility as a finance professional; a good interim is a well-respected asset to an organisation.