An interim HR manager costs a day rate, not a provider mark-up
Three factors set the day rate. The first is responsibility. An Interim HR Manager who leads an HR team, negotiates with the works council (Betriebsrat, the elected employee representation in German companies) and oversees payroll sits higher than an operations mandate for processes and systems. The second is term. From six months onwards a tiered rate applies, because onboarding and handover are spread across more days. The third is travel. On-site days in the Rhine-Main region are included in the rate. Presence days in Munich or Hamburg are agreed separately as travel expenses.
What does not move the rate: company size within the 50 to 500 employee range, the industry, or whether you found me through the website or a referral. Comparable mandates get the same rate, and I name it on the first call rather than after three rounds of proposals. That is deliberate. A company deciding on interim cover is usually short of time, and a number you can work with is worth more than a negotiation.
What to compare the day rate with
Filling a permanent HR lead role takes four to six months in Germany, plus recruiting fees and several weeks of onboarding. An interim provider adds a margin of usually 20 to 35 percent on top of the manager's rate. Working with me directly, you pay the day rate only, without a placement markup, and I am in the building from day one.
The last row is the honest one. Month for month, an interim mandate costs more than the salary of a permanent employee. It becomes the cheaper option over the whole picture, because the permanent role stays vacant for four to six months, recruiting costs money, the new hire needs onboarding, and if it does not work out, the exit under German dismissal protection tends to end with a severance payment. If you need HR leadership permanently and full-time, and you have the time to search, hire permanently. If you need someone now, you do not.
A worked example: a six-month vacancy
A company with 180 employees loses its head of HR. In my experience the search for a successor takes about five months and the onboarding another two. Without interim cover, this is what happens in that time:
- Five months without HR leadershipOpen positions stay open longer. Every week of vacancy costs revenue or overtime in the team.
- Recruiting costs for the successorA search firm or your own advertising, plus the interview hours of the managing director.
- The managing director runs HR on the sideWorks council hearings, contracts and terminations land on the MD's desk, at the MD's hourly cost.
- The risk of a missed deadlineA notice period, a works council hearing deadline, a mass redundancy notification. Miss one and it costs more than a year of interim.
With interim cover: the day rate times roughly 20 working days a month times six months. Against that stand the four points above, which do not happen, plus a successor who is already onboarded, because I sit in the interviews and hand over during the last weeks of the mandate. Bring your own figures to the call and the calculation takes five minutes.
What comes on top, and what does not
On top: travel expenses outside the Rhine-Main region, where on-site days are agreed, invoiced at cost. Not on top: placement fees, set-up charges, licence fees for tools I bring with me, or a charge for the handover at the end. The service agreement covers scope, term, volume and confidentiality on a few pages. Anything not in it is not invoiced. For international subsidiaries this matters twice, because headquarters usually wants a clean line in the budget and no surprises in month four.
The provider markup
An interim provider places managers from a pool and takes a margin on the day rate for doing so, usually 20 to 35 percent. The manager receives the remainder. That is not a criticism. The provider does real work: pre-selection, contracting, and a replacement if the manager drops out. It is simply a cost block that does not exist when you contract directly. The margin, and what you get instead when you work with an interim manager directly, is covered under Interim HR Manager or Provider.
Seen both sides of the day rate, in permanent and interim roles, among others Roles in corporate groups, mid-sized companies and scale-ups. More about me
Frequently asked questions
Why is the day rate not published on the website?
Because it depends on the scope of responsibility, the length of the mandate and how much travel is involved. One flat figure would be too low for a complex mandate and needlessly high for a straightforward one. On the call I name the rate after about ten minutes, once I understand the situation.
How does it compare with a permanent hire?
A permanent hire costs an annual salary plus employer contributions, recruiting fees and the weeks of onboarding. An interim mandate runs only for the agreed term, can start within days and ends without dismissal protection proceedings.
What is charged on top of the day rate?
Travel expenses outside the Rhine-Main region, where on-site days are agreed. No placement fees, because no provider sits in between, and no software you would have to buy.
Does the day rate go down for longer mandates?
For mandates of six months or more a tiered rate is standard. That is part of the offer, not something to negotiate for.
Do I pay for days when nothing happens?
No. Only days actually worked are invoiced. In a full-time mandate that means the agreed weekdays. If I am ill or on leave, nothing is charged.
Is there a minimum term?
Interim mandates start at three months. Below that, a scoped project or a half-day project sprint at a fixed fee is usually the better fit.