Interim HR recruitment: Why waiting for the right permanent hire shouldn’t mean putting your business on hold

Whether you're waiting for budget approval, recruiting for a permanent vacancy or managing an unexpected absence, interim HR support can help maintain continuity without compromising your longer-term plans. Sophie Atkinson, Interim Recruitment Lead at Macmillan Davies, explores when interim recruitment makes sense, how it works and why it could be an option more businesses should consider.

Recruiting the right person takes time, particularly when you're looking for someone with the experience, technical knowledge and cultural fit to make a lasting contribution to your organisation. There's often a lot to consider before a permanent appointment can be made, from securing budget approval and agreeing the scope of a role to finding suitable candidates and navigating notice periods.

While all of this is happening, the demands on your HR function don't disappear. Employee relations matters still need managing, managers need support, projects have deadlines and the wider business continues to rely on its People team.

For Sophie Atkinson, Interim Recruitment Lead at Macmillan Davies, this is one of the most important reasons for businesses to consider interim recruitment: "Businesses often come to us knowing exactly who they want to recruit permanently, but they're still working through the process of getting someone in place. What they sometimes haven't considered is how they're going to manage in the meantime. Interim recruitment gives them another option, without having to compromise on finding the right permanent person."

Why consider interim HR support while recruiting permanently?

For many businesses, the natural response to a vacancy is to begin permanent recruitment and manage the workload internally until someone joins. Depending on the role and the capacity of the existing team, this can work well, but it becomes more challenging when recruitment takes longer than expected or the vacant position carries significant operational or strategic responsibility.

A permanent recruitment process can involve several stages, particularly for senior or specialist HR positions. Even once the right candidate has been identified, their notice period could mean waiting several more months before they join.

Interim HR recruitment provides an alternative to leaving that gap unfilled. An experienced interim professional can take responsibility for business-as-usual activities, support employees and managers, or lead specific projects while the organisation continues its search for a permanent hire.

This can be particularly valuable when a business wants to take its time finding the right person rather than feeling pressured to make an appointment simply because the workload is becoming difficult to manage.

What if your permanent recruitment budget hasn't been approved?

Budget approval is another common reason why HR vacancies remain open, even when the business has identified a clear need for additional support.

Whether an organisation is working through its annual budget planning, reviewing headcount or waiting for a wider business decision, there can be a period when the requirement exists but the permanent position hasn't yet been authorised.

In these circumstances, it's worth exploring whether a defined period of interim support could be approved separately, rather than assuming that recruitment needs to stop altogether.

An interim arrangement can offer greater flexibility around the length of an assignment, the number of days required and the specific responsibilities involved. For example, a business might need an experienced HR Business Partner three days a week to manage employee relations and support its leadership team, without necessarily requiring a full-time appointment during that period.

Sophie explains: "Not every business is in a position to sign off a permanent hire straightaway, particularly when budgets or team structures are being reviewed. That doesn't necessarily mean the need for support has gone away. Sometimes a shorter interim assignment, or even a few days a week, can make a real difference while those decisions are being made."

Of course, interim recruitment still requires an agreed budget and appropriate approvals, but it gives organisations another option to consider while longer-term plans are being finalised.

The impact of leaving an HR vacancy unfilled

When an HR professional leaves an organisation, their responsibilities are often distributed across the remaining team. While this can be a sensible short-term response, it isn't always sustainable, particularly when those colleagues are already balancing their own priorities.

Over time, additional responsibilities can affect the capacity of the wider HR function. Strategic projects may be delayed, operational work can take precedence and senior HR leaders may find themselves spending more time on day-to-day matters rather than focusing on the wider People agenda.

There are also situations where the expertise of the person leaving isn't easily replaced internally. A complex employee relations matter, organisational change programme or HR transformation project may require specialist experience that the existing team doesn't have available.

Bringing in interim HR support can help protect that capacity and maintain continuity, ensuring that important work continues while the organisation addresses its longer-term recruitment needs.

When should a business consider interim HR recruitment?

Although interim recruitment is often associated with senior leadership appointments or large-scale transformation programmes, it can support a much wider range of business needs.

Some of the most common reasons organisations engage interim HR professionals include:

• Permanent recruitment delays: Providing experienced HR support while a business identifies and appoints its next permanent employee, including during their notice period.
• Sickness absence and parental leave: Maintaining continuity when a member of the HR team is temporarily unavailable, particularly where their responsibilities cannot easily be absorbed by colleagues.
• Budget and headcount approval: Providing short-term support while longer-term recruitment decisions are being finalised, subject to the appropriate interim budget being agreed.
• Unexpected departures: Bringing in experienced support following a resignation or sudden vacancy, giving the business time to review its requirements.
• HR projects and organisational change: Accessing specialist expertise for restructures, HR system implementations, employee relations projects or other defined pieces of work.
• Increased workload or periods of growth: Supporting existing HR teams when business demands increase but a permanent addition to the team may not yet be necessary.

Interim assignments can cover a range of seniority levels, from HR Advisors and HR Business Partners to Heads of HR, HR Directors and specialist People professionals. The right solution depends on the nature of the work, the experience required and how quickly the business needs someone in place.

Never used an interim HR professional before? Here's what to expect

For organisations that have traditionally recruited permanent employees, interim recruitment can feel like a different approach, particularly if there's uncertainty around how assignments work, what they cost or how an interim professional will integrate into the business.

In practice, experienced interim HR professionals are accustomed to joining organisations at different stages of development, quickly understanding their priorities and taking ownership of the work they've been brought in to deliver.

Unlike a permanent appointment, where the focus is often on longer-term development and progression, an interim assignment will usually have a more immediate set of objectives. That might involve maintaining an existing HR function, managing a particular challenge or delivering a project within an agreed timeframe.

As Sophie explains: "I think there's sometimes a misconception that interim recruitment is only for senior HR Directors or businesses going through major change. Actually, we can support organisations with all sorts of requirements, from an HR Advisor covering sickness absence to an experienced HR Business Partner helping a team through a particularly busy period. It's about understanding what the business needs and finding someone who can come in and get on with the job."

The assignment itself can be structured around the business's requirements, whether that's full-time support for several months, a part-time arrangement or a specific project with defined deliverables.

Working with a specialist interim HR recruitment partner can also help businesses understand the different engagement options, likely costs, availability of suitable professionals and practical considerations before making a commitment.

Is interim HR recruitment more expensive than permanent recruitment?

Cost is understandably one of the first questions businesses ask when considering interim recruitment, particularly when they're already planning to invest in a permanent appointment.

Interim professionals may command a higher day rate than the equivalent daily salary of a permanent employee, reflecting the short-term nature of assignments, the experience required and the flexibility they provide. However, comparing the two purely on a daily cost basis doesn't always give the full picture.

An interim appointment is typically made to address a specific requirement over an agreed period, meaning organisations can consider the cost alongside the work that needs delivering and the consequences of leaving the position unfilled.

For example, if a vacant HR role is affecting the delivery of an important project, placing additional pressure on senior leaders or creating delays in managing employee matters, the business needs to consider those implications alongside the cost of bringing in support.

This doesn't mean interim recruitment will always be the most appropriate solution. Where an existing team has sufficient capacity or a permanent appointment is imminent, additional support may not be necessary. The important thing is to assess the business requirement rather than ruling out interim recruitment before understanding the options.

Can interim and permanent recruitment work together?

Absolutely. In fact, one of the most useful ways to approach interim recruitment is to view it as a complementary part of your wider recruitment strategy.

Your permanent recruitment process is about identifying someone who can support the organisation over the longer term, contribute to its culture and develop within the business. Interim recruitment addresses the more immediate question of what needs to happen while that appointment is being made.

Having an experienced interim professional in place can reduce the pressure to recruit quickly, allowing hiring managers to focus on finding the right long-term fit. It can also provide stability during the transition, particularly when there are important projects, operational responsibilities or employee matters that need ongoing attention.

Depending on the assignment, an interim professional may also be able to support the onboarding and handover process when the permanent employee joins, helping them understand the current priorities and pick up responsibilities more smoothly.

Finding the right interim HR support for your business

For Sophie, the starting point is always understanding the immediate challenge rather than assuming that a business needs to have a fully defined interim brief before seeking advice.

"My advice would always be to have the conversation, even if you're not sure whether interim recruitment is the right option. You might be waiting for budget approval, struggling with a vacancy or simply need an extra pair of hands for a few months. We can talk through what you need, what support might look like and whether bringing in an interim professional makes sense for your business."

At Macmillan Davies, our interim HR recruitment team works closely with organisations to understand their immediate challenges, the skills they need and the outcomes they want to achieve. With specialist knowledge of the HR recruitment market, we can advise on the availability of interim professionals and help identify a solution that works for the business.

Whether you're planning ahead for an upcoming absence, navigating delays in permanent recruitment or facing an unexpected gap in your HR function, interim support could help you maintain momentum while making the right decisions for the longer term.

Get in touch

If you would like to discuss your requirements and explore how experienced interim HR professionals could support your organisation, please contact Sophie Atkinson directly at satkinson@mdhr.co.uk or connect with her on LinkedIn.