Is Covid-19 (Coronavirus) a catalyst for change?

We find ourselves in unprecedented times.  Change is not just necessary but inevitable.  Covid-19 as a global pandemic is gathering momentum with its peak not predicted for a few more months yet.  Schools are now closed until further notice and mass lock down looks likely. The ramifications are going to be huge.

Business Impact

The impact on all businesses is inescapable.  No one is immune from the health, family, social, business and economic impact the pandemic is and will have. The vulnerable and elderly are to be protected, business are sort of being helped, exams have been cancelled with a huge impact on the people due to sit them and move on to the next stage in their lives, although with food and medical and the supply chains needing to remain operational some will escape the worst of it.    

Economic impact

It is too early to predict what the fallout from this will be but early predictions are for a global recession, the likes of which could be far deeper and uglier than the last financial crisis.  Stock markets have tanked, exchange rates are down, values of companies have been slashed and pensions etc. are a worry. Unfortunately, there are going to be many businesses that won’t survive this pandemic and there are others that will be transformed.  This could be the beginning of a new way of working for us all.  Although Government intervention with £330B sounds impressive, I don’t think grants or loans will help long term because this money currently needs paying back.  If the Government gives it as aid, the money has to come from somewhere and most likely in the form of increase in income tax, corporation tax, VAT etc.

Social impact

All our lives are on hold.  Sporting, social, family and business gatherings have been cancelled. Our elderly and vulnerable are going to feel isolated, alone and frightened.  We should all do what we can to help those in need and put the extra effort in to stay in touch and help them.

Many have moved to remote working where possible.  This in itself is no problem but there are plenty of jobs where that’s not possible.  Where it is possible, technology comes in to play here and we have been talking for some time about utilising technology to enable smarter working and now we are forced to make this work.  For those who already work from home/ hot desk, it won’t make too much difference, although previously it was optional.   This is likely to open a can of worms for those that get used to working in this way and see the benefits.  When we are over this, what is the advice that should be given from a HR prospective? Will remote / flexible working become the new norm?

Climate change – the positive impact

Every cloud has a silver lining.  The impact on climate change is going to be a positive one due to the immediate reduction in travel on a local level and globally which will help offset some of the negative impact that’s coming.  The downside of course, is the businesses that rely on this to make a living and to keep people in jobs. The airlines, hospitality, leisure industries are going to be hard hit but where do we draw the line at Government intervention?  If you do it for one, morally you should do it for all.

 

IR35 delay helps for now but more should be done

The delay of IR35 for 12 months is a small reprieve but more needs to be done in terms of its revision, implementation and general catch all.   It does however allow private sector businesses to utilise short term, flexible experienced interims to help restructure, change, transform, turnaround or provide practical business experience, HR advice etc. I think this will be needed more than ever as organisations come out the other side and (depending on the lock down scenario) will need it to get them through these uncharted waters.

Engage with the experts

The benefit of using experienced executives on a short term basis is to impart their knowledge and expertise on how to navigate through this as they have been there before. They can then be fully utilised for either restructuring, turnaround, change or enabling BAU.

Few business and political leaders have had to lead through a pandemic of this nature nor deal with the economic fallout.  Several factors will come in to play including, how they deal with uncertainty, the structure and adaptability of their businesses, how they are affected personally and how agile they can be to what will be a new world. 

Perhaps now is the time to bring in the help to have any chance of survival and hold open the jobs, ride the return to normality wave and go on to prosper.  Panic is not the answer and indeed more consideration should be given to working through this. Change, transformation, restructuring and turnaround experts who can quickly get to grips with the issues, have expertise in crisis management, can advise Boards on the best course of action and implement and deliver the plan.  Waiting is not a strategy.  Adaptability, innovative thinking and willingness to change might just be the survival strategy that’s needed.   

By utilising the experts, many of whom are available, organisations of all sizes will be stronger and more resilient for the future upturn that will come.

Let’s talk. Please get in touch for further discussion.

Keep safe.

Steven Wynne, MD Macallam Interim Resourcing

Tel: 01423 900804

E: steven.wynne@macallaminterim.com

A New Year, a new decade and a time for change.

It’s time to reflect.  Not just on another year gone but on the next 10-year horizon.

Economic growth should be stimulated now the UK has left the EU and entered a transition period until the end of 2020.  This, in theory provides at least 11 months of stability and with the shackles off, businesses can now finally plan with some certainty after previous deadlines were not stuck to and the UK remained stuck in Brexit limbo.

Businesses have responded quickly to the UK’s new political landscape according to a recent survey by IHS Markit and the Chartered Institute of Procurement & Supply (CIPS).  It suggests for example, that the services sector stabilised in December and that order books had picked up, with optimism at its highest level for 15 months.  This concurs with other surveys purporting that Britain’s economy is on course for a strong 2020. The services sector is particularly important because it accounts for around 80 per cent of the British economy.  It also happens to account for a large proportion of our client base.

Organisations need talent to grow and push forward with resourcing plans.  We are entering a period of significant change and the interim world has to adapt.  With the ongoing Brexit twists and turns and the immediate changes to the reforms to IR35 due in April 2020 to the private sector, there are currently more questions than answers.  I believe IR35 does provide an opportunity to ensure that interim assignments are more clearly defined and scoped with pre-determined timescales and objectives.   It reminds me of the ‘true’ interim market when this was the expectation and the norm before the new breed of interim became a thing, creating a ‘grey’ interim world where  it became a convenient route to a permanent role and over use of the title culminating in the growth of the ‘interim’ interim.

Our role is to consult with businesses that all face similar challenges and all need certainty and clarity to move their own organisations forward.   After all, how can we expect businesses to plan if they don’t know what they’re planning for? Resourcing is part of this planning process and certainly makes up the bigger picture when implementing New Year and new decade strategies.  Without the people to execute the plan, nothing happens. Without the flexibility and deliverables an Interim resource provides, the business can’t change.  Without the option of bringing in someone to take advice from, how are you sure the right decision or direction is being taken?

Doing nothing is not a strategy.  Businesses will continue to resource experienced executives in times of change, transformation, restructuring, crisis etc. but the reforms to IR35 quite frankly contradict the modern world we now live in where the effects of technology are quite profound.  Many organisation are becoming more automated regardless of sector, AI is growing and digital transformation is firmly on the agenda.  Flexibility is key. The next 10 years will bring about profound change and resourcing flexible talent must form part of the strategy.

For further information on Macallam Interim Resourcing or for a confidential discussion please contact Steven Wynne, Managing Director on 01423 900804 or steven.wynne@macallaminterim.com  or visit www.macallaminterim.com

Creating the environment for Digital Transformation to be a success

Change is only possible by building the right kind of organization and people are an imperative part of this. The six pillars of digital transformation include; experiences, people, change, innovation, leadership, and culture;

1: Experiences

Business must understand the customer journey, behaviours and expectations before investing in technology. These expectations should be the basis of any investment and the way to do this is to focus first on the customer’s experience. This is why companies like Disney, Apple, Starbucks and Nike have become iconic. They lead with experiences and they create deep connections with their customers that go beyond a product or service.

Don’t forget about the employee experience, either. Every interaction your employees have with your company is critical. Are the technology tools you’re providing helping them do their jobs? Is your culture making your workplace efficient and productive? The positivity of this experience has the potential to make or break the productivity and effectiveness of employees to your business.

2: People

People might be the most critical part of the six pillars of digital transformation. Without the right talent or without focusing on your employees, your organization will struggle. Critically leaders need to put employees first. Companies that invest in their people, commit to their development and respect their ideas build a loyalty that makes change management much easier to realize within the company.

As technology such as AI, VR, and AR gain momentum, the key is to use this technology to create meaningful experiences that reach employees, customers, and others on a deeper level – still connecting human to human.

It is also important to remember that talent is still critical, even with advancements taking some of the work. Employees should all be on the same page, to push your digital transformation efforts forward.

3: Change

Any transformation can’t happen without change. People must get behind change in order to realize it. You should go into your transformation, understanding first-hand that change is inevitable—and it might be tough. Communicate your expectations to your employees. Develop a strategy to encourage change and deal with resistance at the same time. Provide the necessary tools and environment for employees to embrace and succeed in this change. If you do this effectively, it will lead you to the next of the six pillars of digital transformation.

4: Innovation

Transformation and innovation are not the same. To transform, there must be innovation. Innovation can be defined as a sudden spark of creativity that leads to the creation of something that changes the face of your business. These sparks can be more sudden or they can be incremental. Some of these innovations are massive and completely disruptive of business models while others make a small and meaningful difference that increases customer satisfaction or differentiates an offering in the market. Regardless, the implementation of innovative thinking throughout an organization is key to transformation.

Innovation requires a space of open communication, collaboration and freedom to create. Innovation should be constant, your business always working to further its products or services. Innovation also drives the digital transformation forward by allowing for open space for problem-solving when the going gets tough.

5: Leadership

Leadership can come in many forms, but if you want the organization to change, it must come from the top. In an article for Forbes last year, it was found that the majority of tech initiatives fail when the CEO is not involved. However, the CEO should not only be involved, but he or she should lead.

Leaders should be proactive and on the lookout for things coming down the pipeline. As technology moves quickly, there is no time to wait. As a leader, you should also bring order, instead of going with the flow. As much as technology can sound like the perfect plan, take your time to carefully examine all options. Think differently than the rest and lead others within your company to do the same. Don’t just follow the digital transformation crowd – lead it.

6: Culture

The past five pillars can all be wrapped up in one package and form your culture. When asked about where companies should start on a digital transformation journey quite often the question is framed as “What technology(ies) should we invest in to speed up our digital transformation effort”. However it is important to begin with “Culture! Digital transformation cannot survive without the right business culture. By creating an open space where employee and customer experiences reign supreme, where people matter most, change is planned for and innovation takes centre stage, you will then lead your organization into a culture that simply transforms on its own.

These six pillars of digital transformation are the backbone for success.  Focusing on these pillars in addition to technology will help your company get ahead of the competition and avoid failure.

       By Duncan Carter, Director Macallam Talent Resourcing.

 

       Macallam is an executive resourcing company working with leading energy, infrastructure, technology, transport and environmental services businesses to attract and retain talent. We find leaders to help businesses digitally transform.

 

       www.macallam.com

 

IR35 - What you need to know

What is IR35?

IR35 is a complicated set of tax laws that form part of the Finance Act and impacts contractors, freelancers and interims operating via their limited companies. The first piece of legislation came into force in April 2000 and is otherwise known as the Intermediaries Legislation.

IR35 is designed to reduce tax avoidance by contractors who HMRC believe to be “disguised employees”.  People who work in a similar way to full-time employees but bill for their services via their limited companies to make their business as tax efficient as possible but whose relationship with their client is such that had they been paid directly they would be employees of the client are considered to be ‘disguised employees’.

IR35 aims to address the group of contractors who;

(a) operate through an intermediary company, typically a personal service company (PSC) which is a limited company that they own, and

(b) would otherwise be classed as employees in the absence of the intermediary. For example, working permanently and full-time for a single client (that resembles an employer).

The majority of these transactional relationships are genuine, and there are plenty of sole trader limited companies operating in the UK. However, it’s not uncommon for some organisations to pay people in this way so that they can avoid paying employers’ National Insurance contributions or providing employment benefits.

When is this happening?

In April 2017 the Government introduced the "Off-Payroll Reforms", which is a separate piece of new tax legislation that applies to the public sector, but which is also referred to as "IR35". The Government is replacing the original IR35 legislation with the new Off-Payroll Tax, which was initially introduced into the public sector in April 2017, and will be extended to the private sector from April 2020.

What is the new Off-Payroll Tax?

The new Off-Payroll tax came into force by HMRC as it became apparent that the original rules were unenforceable. Whilst they both contain the common theme of "deemed employment", the newer rules introduce a different set of tax treatment, meaning that organisations  will now have to assess the contractor’s status, but, more importantly, pay employment taxes on top of the fees paid to the contractor.

Why did the government introduce IR35?

IR35 legislation ensures that contractors pay the same tax and National Insurance contributions as an equivalent employee would. The new changes to be implemented in April 2020 for private sector contractors will transfer responsibility from contractors to large and medium companies to assess IR35.

Since 2000, contractors have been responsible for self-assessing their IR35 status and National Insurance Contributions. This arrangement has been ineffective and HMRC estimates that, under current rules, the cost of non-compliance in the private sector would escalate to £1.3bn by 2023/24.

Another problem that has contributed to the changes is the scenario where an employee ceases their employment with their employer on Friday only to return on Monday to do the same role in the same location.  The difference of course is that they return as a contractor or consultant trading through a personal services company and pay less tax. 

This can also save the engaging organisation a significant amount of cash, as they no longer have to pay employers’ NICs of 13.8% or the Apprenticeship Levy of 0.5%.  It also means they do not have to offer any employment rights or benefits.

Who will IR35 affect?

IR35 is not only determined by the contents of a written contract, but also looks at the actual working practices. When the working practices do not reflect the contractual terms, the working practices will take precedence over the terms of the contract. There are many aspects to consider when determining whether a contract is subject to IR35, but the two most important factors are;

Control (right of): what degree of control does the client have over what, how, when and where the worker completes the work.

Substitution: is personal service by the worker required, or can the worker send a substitute in their place?

If the client has no right of control over the manner in which you carry out your work and you have the right to either send a substitute worker in your place or sub-contract some of the work or engage other workers to assist you, then it is likely that your contract will fall outside of IR35.

Other factors are then taken into account to determine whether you are caught by IR35 include the contract type, provision of equipment etc. HMRC will apply an employment test to each case that is based on the actual working practices rather than the contract.

All of this evidence is taken into account, and if the balance of probabilities is that the worker is an employee then IR35 applies.

Where the client or end-user is a small business, the PSC will continue to be responsible for assessing if IR35 applies.  Small business, for the purposes of IR35 are;

·         Businesses with a £10m or less

·         Balance sheet of £5m or less

·         50 employees or less.    

If the client or end user is larger than this, they have to make the decision on IR35.  

Can IR35 be avoided?

IR35 can’t be circumvented by organisations, other than to make the choice to engage all contractors on fixed term contracts (FTC).  This would be an expensive, albeit less complicated way of dealing with IR35.  Larger organisations would then have to negotiate with all the contractors they are currently engaged with to take a significant cut in rates in order to cover the additional costs although could be a solution for smaller businesses that don’t use interims that often.

However, for organisations engaging self-employed contractors, IR35 will not apply. That does not prevent HMRC from launching an investigation at a later date.  For those who wish to engage interims outside IR35, and mitigating any IR35 risk they can use IR35 tests to determine if this is correct.

What are the main changes to IR35?

The new IR35 legislation to be introduced in April 2020 shifts responsibility for assessing IR35 obligations from the contractor or PSC to the end-user, which is the company that is the end client.

Where the client concludes that IR35 applies, the ‘fee payer’ (which may be the end-user themselves, a recruitment company, or other third party paying the intermediary) will be responsible for accounting for and paying the related tax and NIC to HMRC, including the additional cost of Employer’s NIC.

Under the proposed changes, the new rules aim to reduce the cost of non-compliance and make it easier for HMRC to monitor and enforce compliance in the future.

However, determining whether you are caught by IR35 is complex, and ideally you should seek expert IR35 advice.

Further Reading and IR35 Resources

HM Government Good Work Plan, December 2018 (Pdf)https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/766167/good-work-plan-command-paper.pdf

Guidance: Off-payroll working through an intermediary (gov.uk) https://www.gov.uk/guidance/understanding-off-payroll-working-ir35

Policy paper: Rules for off-payroll working from April 2020 (HMRC, 11th July 2019) https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/rules-for-off-payroll-working-from-april-2020

IR35: Working through an intermediary (gov.uk)  https://www.gov.uk/topic/business-tax/ir35

 

The argument in favour of mentoring

The concept of mentoring is well known in business – but what precisely is it?
Mentoring is often defined as a professional relationship in which an experienced person (the mentor) assists another (the mentoree) in developing specific skills and knowledge that will enhance the mentoree’s professional and personal growth.

Therefore – by default – a mentor is a more experienced individual willing to share knowledge with someone less experienced in a relationship of mutual trust. Or, perhaps, a mentor is a trusted advisor or guide or a person who has a sincere desire to enhance the success of others. So, it’s worth understanding a bit more about the benefits of mentoring……

Mentoring enables an individual at any level in an organisation to increase their network through the introduction to people and areas that they might not previously have had access to. Furthermore, mentoring can help individuals cope with periods of major transition and the mentor can help to navigate people through difficult challenges such as influencing key stakeholders, challenging existing mindsets – the status quo - and getting colleagues on board with change.

A mentor can also assist with identifying skills gaps which may be hampering career progression. At some stage in their career, most people will find themselves at a career crossroads which may manifest itself in them being overlooked for promotion or opportunities or unable to understand why the business saw the need to recruit externally. In these situations, mentoring can offer an open and independent perspective as well as objective feedback. Sometimes, we have to hear things we don’t like or want to hear…..

Managing people can often be an area where people can benefit from mentoring. Good people and inter personal skills are critical to career progression and a mentor can discuss management and leadership styles, ways to effectively engage with the team, improving cross functional working as well as looking at the people agenda through transition and change programmes.

It is important to state that too often people say that if you want to scale the corporate ladder, you need a mentor. Mentoring will not work where it is non-neogotiable – the person must genuinely want it and furthermore, if mentoring is only being undertaken for the purposes of paying lip service, it places an unfair and unrealistic dependency on the mentor.

Mentoring is highly dependent on the personal chemistry between the parties, who must both be committed to the process. A chemistry mismatch can occur for all sorts of reasons but, it must be a professional relationship and the process will lose sight of its goal if it becomes too comfortable where there is familiarity and a lack of challenge.

We all complain that time is our greatest challenge and too many people complain that there are insufficient hours in a day. Mentoring is an investment in time and blocking out time for sessions is essential – technology, particularly Skype, can assist where the parties are geographically miles apart, but nothing replaces real face to face engagement for a mentoring session.

We all like to focus on the positive and whilst mentoring is a process for moving forward, the process gives an opportunity to reflect on the past and sometimes, the mentor can share experiences from their career and the mistakes they may have made because the value in making a mistake is to understand what lessons can be learnt to prevent it recurring.

So in summary, whilst we understand the benefits of mentoring, what are the “absolutes?”

1. Don’t do it for the sake of it – be committed to the process
2. Invest time both in preparing for a session and follow up actions
3. Personal chemistry – it must be right
4. Be clear what the purpose is
5. Mutual respect

Article written by Adrian Berwick


Macallam offer a Personal Career Transition service which is a hybrid of coaching and mentoring and assists individuals with the challenges of transition in their professional life.
For more information please call 01423 900804

Cognitive Bias

One of the earlier interim industry benefits (>10 years ago, before the 2008 financial crisis), was an independent interim’s ability to challenge client ‘cognitive bias’, for example, by suggesting betters solutions to ‘the way things are done around here’.

The interim’s ability to tactfully challenge came from experience across many clients and, especially, many sectors.

Client Challenge Example

I recently challenged cognitive bias at a Contracting industry client. Long-standing family and industry mind-sets and practices were tested to create new solutions collaboratively.

Example solutions included technologically advanced (for a ‘basics’ industry), end-to-end digital transformation of core processes and clean data sources for better decision making, having endured paper-based processes and dirty data for many years.

Imagine, if you will, basically educated road workers using mobile devices to capture risk assessment evidence (photos), to track job workflows and to reschedule work priorities; quite a transformation!

The client also turned around from loss-making to profitable in nine months on the back of this, and other cognitive bias challenges.

Commodity Driven Candidate Selection

The Interim Service Provider (ISP) challenge to clients’ mind-sets via their selected candidates appears to have taken a back seat in recent years. It has been replaced by narrowly specified candidate sector experience and CV brokerage introduced from contractor/commodity recruitment practices.

Interims now tend to meet with clients via ISPs selected for client sector fit rather than the ability to champion change and transformation based on broad skillsets and agnostic sector experience.

I think this practice does not well serve UK Plc and the client-ISP-interim industry.

As one respected interim recruiter put it recently: “'More of the same' only results in 'more of the same'.”

IR35 Likely Effects

An evaluation of the proposed 2020 IR35 changes is a likely dramatic impact on the current interim and contractor industries.

There will be a confirmation of independent interims outside IR35; and contractors becoming ‘part and parcel’ of the client and inside IR35, effectively employees.

The New (former) Interim Approach

The commodity-based marketing practices which entered the interim space ten plus years ago will be replaced, if not already, by consultative approaches to client solutions, above, say, £700 per day interim rates.

Multiple CVs emailed to clients will become passé, and ‘chats over coffee’ will make a comeback for both ISPs and interims to more fully explore solutions to critical client problems.

One recently visited IIM Platinum recruiter said he does not send CVs to clients, preferring to book coffee slots for clients to see three interims he knows can do the job.

I encourage clients and interims (when in an assignment, as clients) to take up this approach and ask ISPs to send interims they trust and know can do the job, rather than wade through copious CVs to select people, to then see as well.

Why should clients do all the work?

Perhaps this new approach could also serve clients in contractor selection?

Client Education

Key to a transition away from CV brokerage to chats over coffee with interims known to be able to do the job is client education.

Interims (per the IIM Surveys) find 60% of their assignments themselves, and ISPs the remaining 40%.

In my view, both interims and ISPs must educate clients in new ways of getting the best ideas, talents and capabilities for critical client change and transformation needs.

All three parties in the interim industry will win by preferring a consultative interim industry approach over client CV filtering.

ISPs will need to let go, though, of their fear of losing business by not sending many CVs to clients just in case they might send the right one.

ISP Branding

Another interim recruitment group I recently met has for quite some time separately branded their interim and contractor businesses not to confuse clients, and to focus consultants with the right skills on the right approach that fits the required client solution (interim or contractor).

Risks to Avoid

A risk I see (and two other ISPs recently visited), is the commoditised approach to interim engagement lacks sustainability.

Larger consulting houses (to whom commoditised CV brokering is anathema to their business models), will gain further market share in value-adding change and transformation work; and perhaps the interims too.

Another risk is interims forming interim practices with marketing capabilities to build on their 60% self-sourced engagements.

ISP Recommended Changes

A question for ISPs: how are you discerning, separately branding, marketing, and appropriately resourcing with skilled consultant’s client offerings?

For example:

• Do you make a distinction between interim and commodity approaches in your recruitment processes – are they clearly defined, or confused – to best serve the client base?
• Should your interim and contractor/commodity offerings have separate brands?
• Are your consultants then working with the right approaches and client connections?

Summary

It is difficult to challenge client cognitive bias (a major client benefit) in a CV. However, half-hour chats with clients about their challenges and discussing, among other things, ways other industries solve similar problems is where enhanced interim industry value-add will be gained.

All three parties (client-ISP-interim) will then be served better, and the reputation of the interim industry will grow in response because of the progression to a consultative approach.

Addendum

Of course, consultants do challenge cognitive bias. However, they lack the hands-on and in-depth leadership engagement that interims are renowned, to see what is happening deep inside clients’ businesses.

 

Article by Simon C Jones, Interim Finance Director/IIM Director

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Interim market, Brexit and beyond…

Time to reflect on 2018 and look forward to the year ahead. We are faced with an even more uncertain world with the continuing twists and turns on the political front, the now bumpy economic climate and the demise of a number of large businesses.   We are used to dealing with change and challenges; from economics to politics and clients to candidates but this is uncharted territory.

The fiasco that is Brexit with its various connotations of remainers / remoaners, hard exit / soft exit, good deal / bad deal, etc. has divided the country.  When you consider the complexities that include Trade, Customs Union, Legislation, Northern Ireland, Security, Education, Science, Energy, Farming, Environment, Healthcare, Transport and so on, it’s no surprise there are divided opinions.  With no one knowing how this will play out and what the ramifications are likely to be, it makes planning extremely difficult especially when the view of stakeholders is likely to be split.

In 2018 there have been casualties, not all Brexit related but a reflection of a tough climate.  The liquidation of construction giant Carillion early in 2018 with the accolade of becoming the UK's biggest corporate failure in a decade has put the construction sector under further strain.  Interserve is hanging on by its fingernails having once been a £3.3B revenue business now worth c£15m.  The high street is on its knees with a number of high profile collapses such as Maplin, Toys R Us, Poundworld and House of Fraser to name a few and many others struggling. Some of these businesses are being bought either wholly or in part from the Administrators which in turn is creating opportunities. Some businesses are embracing this through expansion of facilities and looking for bargain acquisitions.  Mike Ashley’s Sports Direct business is now a multi-billion £ business and I don’t think this has been achieved from being averse to risk.  It’s about seizing the moment but also ensuring that when these opportunities do come along you are in a position to act.  

The rhetoric is a similar scenario of the last recession with worries of another but somehow this feels different.  Brexit is fueling uncertainty and indecision.   How do you plan if you don’t know what you’re planning for?   Managing short-term requirements with longer term business objectives is proving very difficult as you can’t plan for the medium to long term with all these major changes afoot.

This is the very climate that fuels demand for Interim Executives.  Organisations that don’t want to commit long term with a permanent appointment find a short term solution is often the answer.   Many organisations need help with supplier management / rationalisation, customer service, cost control, planning, risk management and talent.

The interim market has additional complexities but paradoxically there are many opportunities.  Changes in IR35 legislation continues to ‘frustrate’ the market and having been already implemented to some degree in the public sector, I’m not so sure how things will transpire should the same happen in the private sector.  Public sector interims have been able to change tack and move to the private sector but if it hits the private sector, it leaves nowhere else to go. 

I believe many organisations are taking a holistic approach to talent acquisition. In the short term, they require immediately available Interims to deliver short term objectives whilst focusing on a longer-term approach by taking a deep dive into business imperatives to create a total strategic plan that has clearly defined goals, but one that can be amended as needs change.  Executing strategic objectives now requires an agile, responsive and flexible approach to meet the changing tide and businesses don’t necessarily have the internal capability or capacity to deliver hence the external help. 

Interim Executives provide a service to organisations in all stages of their development and plans.  It seems to me that now more than ever is the time for ensuring the mechanism remains in place for this to continue. This help is crucial to ensure survival and at other times growth.  It is usually driven by the need for change, transformation, restructuring, turnaround, projects etc. requiring a professional to implement and deliver.   

Organisations should continually be looking to improve and be more efficient.   Ways of growing either organically or through acquisition, improving efficiencies, improving customer services, acting on opportunities and kick-starting change projects could all be helped along through the utilisation of Interims. 

It’s interesting times and is making politics and business quite fascinating.  There’s a lesson here in resilience, persistence and integrity.   Businesses can learn from Theresa May’s approach which should be a lesson to us all regardless of your political affiliation.  Sometime you have to dig deep, be resilient and stick to what you believe. 

With an Interim population consisting of some very experienced, high calibre individuals, there is now more choice than ever with an increasingly diverse and committed professional possessing the tool kit to drive organisations forward.  Now is the very time we all need to dig deep, push the button and take steps forward or run the risk of standing still or even worse, going backwards.  

Steven Wynne

Managing Director

Macallam Interim

TEL: 01423 900804

E: Steven.wynne@macallaminterim.com

W: www.macallaminterim.com