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
No comments:
Post a Comment