Temp or interim management: how to choose?

– A temp ensures the continuity of a position, without diagnosis and without change.

– An interim manager is there to lead a project: they make a diagnosis, drive progress and may challenge the status quo.

– Both choices are respectable: it all depends on the situation. But as soon as there is a project, interim management is the way to go.

Both respond to an absence or a need for reinforcement at the head of a team. But they do not carry out the same mission at all.

When it is only a matter of holding a position. Luc Marot gives a concrete example: an HR Director goes on maternity leave for six months. Everything is running smoothly in her department. The team needs to be managed, but above all nothing should change.

In this case, there is no diagnosis to make and no project to lead. A temp is the right answer.

Luc Marot, President of ADN Transition, puts it bluntly:

“If you just need to hold a position, without making a diagnosis, call on a temp. Above all, do not call on an interim manager.”

As soon as there is a project. An interim manager is the right answer if you need to:

1. Make a diagnosis of a situation or an organisation.

2. Lead a transformation or a structuring project.

3. Re-motivate a team and restore momentum.

4. Energise a project that is not moving fast enough.

5. Move fast and well, accepting challenges and sometimes being questioned.

For Luc Marot, this is the very purpose of the profession:

“The interim manager is there to lead projects, help with transformation, drive progress and make a diagnosis. Not just to hold a position.”

Choosing a temp is not a bad choice. Needing continuity, or wanting to move forward gently, is respectable: it all depends on the company’s situation.

The question to ask is therefore simple: do you have a project? If the answer is no, a temp is enough. If the answer is yes, Luc Marot is clear:

“If you have a project, go for interim management.”

Placing an interim manager on an assignment with no project means paying for a diagnosis and a transformation the company does not need. It also frustrates a profile made to get things moving.

That is why, at ADN Transition, the partners, all former senior executives, first assess your need. When it is a project, they introduce you to a manager who has already led a project of the same kind, from a pool of more than 5,000 interim managers.

Read also: Why call on an interim manager for a complex project?

Luc Marot is President of ADN Transition. He has worked in interim management since 2005. He began his career as an auditor at Arthur Andersen, then served as CFO at McDonald’s, NRJ and Lagardère. Since September 2026, he has been a board member of France Transition.

Meet ADN Transition’s partners and senior advisors

– Interim management firm founded in 2013.

– A pool of more than 5,000 interim managers.

– 6 partners and 7 senior advisors, all former senior executives.

– Offices in Boulogne-Billancourt and Lyon.

– Values: high standards, availability and sincerity.

What is the difference between a temp and an interim manager?

A temp holds a position without changing anything. An interim manager leads a project: they make a diagnosis, drive progress and transform.

Do you need an interim manager to cover a maternity leave?

No, if the aim is only to hold the position during the absence without changing anything. A temp is then the right solution.

When is interim management better than a temp?

As soon as there is a project: transformation, diagnosis, a team to re-motivate, a project to accelerate.

Can an interim manager challenge the organisation?

Yes, it is even expected. They challenge the status quo to move forward the project entrusted to them.

Transformation, reorganisation, a team to re-engage: ADN Transition’s partners assess your need and introduce you to an interim manager who has already led a project of the same kind.

Let’s talk about your project