How to compensate for the absence of a manager

The absence of an employee can have a major impact on the functioning of a team. Especially when the vacancy is at a high level of responsibility. The causes of the absence are multiple: sudden departure, long-term sick leave, personal problems, etc. Whatever the reason, the absence of a manager causes difficulties for the company which must find a solution, sometimes urgently, to remain efficient. In order to provide an answer to this fairly common problem in business, we present to you today the solutions to compensate for the absence of a senior manager in a company.

Absence of a manager: what are the consequences for the company?

The absence of an employee , whoever he is, will have consequences on the internal functioning. These consequences can be more or less serious depending on the functions he occupies. Generally, the skills of executive positions are distributed among the various employees. Their missions are therefore easily transferable in case of absence.

But when it is a senior executive who is absent, the missions are very difficult to transfer. Strategic , managerial and decision-making responsibilities are very rarely distributed among several employees. The absence of a high-responsibility employee can therefore be detrimental to the whole team, especially if it is a position that requires very specialized skills.

Replace an absent executive

In order to compensate for the intermittent upheaval caused by the absence of a manager, the employer must react. As a general rule, he has no choice but to resort to replacing the employee.

Replacement of the internal manager

The company’s very short-term solution is to call on internal resources to make up for the manager’s absence, particularly when the departure is sudden. The most urgent missions can be carried out by another manager at the same level of responsibilities, distributed among several managers or among the rest of the workforce. This option causes an internal reorganization which can be disruptive for the structure, but which makes it possible to quickly meet the immediate need. The aim is to maintain the same level of working conditions as much as possible. It may happen that this change offers surprising results to the company, which may decide to make it permanent. But in most cases, using internal resources to compensate for the absence of a manager is a solution that saves time to find another solution.

Recruit a replacement manager

In most cases, when the employer knows that the manager will be absent for several months, the latter proceeds to a temporary recruitment.

Recruit a manager on fixed-term contract

This is the classic solution for replacing an absent manager . Choosing to recruit on a fixed-term contract to compensate for the absence makes it possible to carry out the manager’s missions over the long term. However, to achieve this, companies must make an ingenious calculation between, on the one hand, the urgency of quickly finding a replacement, and, on the other hand, finding the same level of competence. For this reason, hiring another employee on a fixed-term contract can be long and risky.

Cascade replacement of a manager

To avoid taking any risks, case law admits the possibility of combining the recruitment of a new employee with a reorganization in the company. This is called “cascade” replacement: a new employee is hired to replace a position already occupied by an employee, who will himself replace the absent manager. It is a complex operation for the employer, which has however proven itself.

The use of relay management

Finally, the solution that offers the most effective results, with the minimum of disruption is the use of relay management . The interim manager is extremely specialized, attesting to extensive experience in strategic and operational areas, at a high level of responsibility. Our interim management firm has many profiles of qualified managers, accustomed to replacing senior executives . The main advantage is the immediate operability of the interim manager , selected directly by the firm. Especially since the latter has no desire to stay with the company. The temporality of his mission is defined beforehand, and he leaves his functions as soon as the manager he replaces returns.