Digital transformation doesn’t need to stall just because your team’s at full capacity. Interim experts can step in, cut through the noise, and keep critical projects moving without derailing day-to-day operations.
When we talk about "interim" hires, we're not just talking about stopgap CEOs or flashy ‘fixer’ CMOs. In membership organisations where digital change is often long overdue and resource is tight, an interim might be a project manager, a CRM migration lead, a digital product owner, or even a finance professional who helps keep the numbers aligned with the ambition.
Whether it’s a digital infrastructure review or the integration of new payment or events platforms, interims are increasingly playing vital roles at the project delivery level. We're talking digital leads, project managers, data specialists, or finance professionals with transformation experience. These are the people who ensure work actually moves forward - not just talks about it!
Still, many membership organisations try to manage these projects internally. Sometimes out of budget concerns, sometimes out of habit. But more often than not, this decision ends up costing more in the long run - both in time and missed opportunity.
The instinct to keep things in-house is understandable. Membership organisations are often lean by design. Teams wear multiple hats, and familiarity with legacy systems can make it seem logical to try and "own" digital change internally.
But good intentions don't guarantee good outcomes! Core teams are typically focused on service delivery like events, renewals, policy, communications. And rightly so. Those member-facing functions can’t simply be paused to accommodate a large-scale project.
Digital transformation work requires dedicated focus, a specific skill set, and often the ability to cut through bureaucracy. Internal teams may know the systems and the culture, but unless they've delivered similar projects before, there’s a significant risk of delay, drift, or even failure.
Worse still, up to 70% of digital transformation projects fail to meet their objectives. Research by McKinsey shows that this is often due to unclear governance, overstretched teams, or lack of the right expertise at key stages. Reworking a failed rollout, or dragging a six-month project into year two, quickly outpaces the cost of bringing in targeted support.
And there’s reputational risk too. Members notice when systems don’t work. Poor renewal flows, inaccessible logins or clumsy data migrations can quietly chip away at confidence.
Interim professionals bring immediate clarity. They’re not learning on the job because they’ve done it before. Often in similarly structured organisations, where board approvals, committee oversight and legacy IT are all part of the equation.
The value of an interim isn't just technical, it’s also strategic delivery. Their role is to make progress where internal teams are stretched thin. They’re not looking to embed long-term or rewire the organisation. They’re there to ensure that a specific, time-bound project succeeds.
In membership organisations, this might mean:
They also bring neutrality. Interims operate without legacy bias, departmental loyalties or internal pressures. That independence can be invaluable when a project needs honest assessment and decisive action.
Digital change is often thought of in purely technical terms - new platforms, new tools, new data flows. But in practice, a successful digital project requires a much broader range of expertise.
A CRM rollout, for example, might involve:
Bringing in interim support ensures these critical functions are covered without derailing business-as-usual operations. As the National Audit Office has noted, the success of digital projects often hinges not on the technology, but on how well people, systems and decision-making structures are aligned from the start. Additionally, research from EY shows that organisations are 2.6 times more likely to succeed in their transformations when they put humans at the centre, compared to those that don’t.
Membership organisations face distinctive constraints: regulatory oversight, governance structures, limited funding, and a member base with high expectations. Projects often need to pass through multiple approvals, with delivery paced around renewal cycles or key events.
Interims understand how to work within these realities. They help navigate competing priorities, manage stakeholders, and keep momentum without forcing the organisation to bend unnaturally around the project.
They also bring credibility. Whether liaising with suppliers, reporting to boards, or supporting procurement, experienced interims can bridge the gap between delivery and governance; helping projects move forward without losing sight of strategic context.
It’s also worth reinforcing that bringing in interim support doesn’t mean committing to long-term consultancy or spiralling spend.
Most interim engagements are fixed-term, focused, and outcome-led. Three to nine months is common. The objective is simple: get a specific piece of work done well, on time, and with clarity. That might be delivering a member database upgrade, managing a supplier transition, or preparing your systems for integration with a new payment or event platform.
Once complete, an interim should leave your organisation stronger, with better tools, more confident teams, and a clear path forward.
Remember, your organisation doesn’t need to advertise that you’ve brought in interim support. Members won’t ask who managed the project, but they will notice if their renewal is smoother, their communications more relevant, or their login actually works the first time.
So next time a project lands that feels too big, too complex, or simply too important to get wrong, consider bringing in dedicated interim expertise. It’s not a luxury, it’s more often than not a sensible, strategic decision - one that can save time, money, and a great deal of internal strain.
And crucially, it helps keep things going without moving everything else off track.