Is the
Interim market really any different?
We live in a
different world now. The economy
continues to have its ups and downs, terror threats are higher than ever, global
warming is at hard at work and technological advances have changed the way we
work. Some things do remain the same
though and that’s businesses with BAU challenges of sales and profitability
targets, implementation of strategic plans, shareholder return, employee engagement, culture and diversity all
firmly on the agenda. This provides
enough of a challenge even without ‘special projects’ to achieve improvements
and this transcends into ensuring the best talent is in place both on a
permanent and interim basis to help lead the business to achieve those
objectives.
Many people
operating within the interim world have the view that the interim market is
quite different now compared to when it was first established or of just a few
years ago. Threats to the market include
increased competition for assignments,
pressure on rates, ‘interim to perm’ fueled by more people using the
badge until a permanent job is sourced, a longer process with the involvement
of more stakeholders, a drawn out decision making process, a new breed of niche
or specialist interim and external threats that are beyond anyone's
control. These are all challenges facing
us but is this any different today compared to say ten years ago?
One thing that
does remain constant is change. Whatever
cycle a business is in; growth, downsizing, improving, transforming,
restructuring or turnaround there is a continual requirement for good people
that will deliver and make a difference to enable the organisation to move
forward. The interim market has seen
some twists and turns but what hasn’t?
Opportunities are created when businesses face these challenges and
that’s when we can help by providing good, experienced and appropriate Interims
to deliver and make a difference.
Although there
is still a lack of understanding about the interim proposition which is not
helped by an increased pool of people that are just visiting, there is
certainly an increased understanding of the value in engaging an interim by
many organisations. The evolving market
has seen a shift in requirements for specific sector experience - rightly or
wrongly this is perceived as being a less risky option and is of no surprise
given a general shift in attitude to risk.
This is of course quite different to bringing in a generalist whose very
USP was that they had multiple sectors under their belt and were likely to have
worked in several area of a business.
My view is there is real advantage to ‘a fresh set of eyes’ but the
consequence of this has meant that for some, securing an assignment is harder
resulting in elongated void periods.
I am constantly
asked how the market is. A difficult
question when there are so many varying factors that affect the answer. There will always be threats but the
equilibrium comes from an increase in opportunities. Economic factors will always affect
confidence but this threat is now more widespread than ever with global
economic recovery looking shaky at best. Slowdowns from Brics (Brazil, Russia,
India, China and South Africa) will produce ripple effects and closer to home
the cost impact on the living wage on the services sector, government spending
cuts, likely increase in interest rates and the global economic uncertainty are
all knocking confidence. As long as
there are no radical legislative issues affecting how interims conduct their
business, we can deal with the former.
I don’t believe
the interim market is that different. Businesses
have the vision to drive change in many shapes and forms with an increased
appetite for acquisitions, business growth (UK and International),
restructuring, programme / project management, special ‘one off’ projects and turnarounds that require external help. As such these situations lend themselves to
the engagement of an interim executive to supplement lack of internal capacity
and / or capability.
We provide high
impact interim executives and look forward to exciting new projects to help
more clients move forward. I expect 2016
to be a busy year building on the upturn of the last couple of years and
despite this reflective update the market remains good albeit with a slightly different
theme materialising.
For a
confidential discussion please contact Steven Wynne on 01423 704153 or e-mail steven.wynne@macallaminterim.com
