Owner-managers who think of interim managers as overpriced unknown quantities, may be allowing their prejudices to damage their companies. Good interim managers can be worth their weight in gold.

Put the interim manager beside the executive who is on the payroll and you cannot tell the difference. That's how it should be, that's how it usually is. The temporary executive market has quadrupled in less than ten years and is now worth £400 million annually, so something must be going right.

But is the interim manager, a temporary when all is said and done, as loyal as the company man? Loyalty is an ethical matter. Most interim managers have strong professional ethics and confidentially is respected too. In the old days you used to be loyal to the company. The new loyalty is professional loyalty, loyalty to do the job in the best way you can.

Most of these people are older and can fit in because of their experience. One of their skills is to be able to blend in and win trust and support. You have no time for the niceties of induction, so you look for the people you think can cope with that and focus on the importance issues. They are more single-minded and they don't come with any political baggage.

They don't become bogged down in the politics of the company and are therefore more productive. One can draw a parallel with a well known fairy tale. "They are in a position to say the emperor has got no clothes on." They see it as it is and say it as it is.

What is more their advantage is that they can make a quick impact. As many company bosses confirm, they hit the ground running.

Most, however, come to the employer with more experience and qualifications than the role requires. This over-qualified executive may become bored in the job. The answer could be to employ this type for only two or three days a week. At a cost of £300 to £500 a day the arrangement could be more attractive than a contract for a five day week.

The company's biggest worry seems to be the attitudes of the permanent staff. However professional existing senior staff may be, human weaknesses can rise to the surface.

Cost can be a hurdle. It can be two or three times as much as for a staff employee. A reasonable rate of pay is expected and the agency wants a percentage too. One would not replace as much as 25 per cent of his management with the interim variety. A little saving is achieved on the National Insurance and pension front, but it is their calibre that really counts. Interim managers are more expensive in cost terms but in terms of value they actually save you money if they work successfully.