The IMA launches Approved Campaign

The Interim Management Association (IMA) is in 25th anniversary year and to mark this the IMA is launching the IMA Approved Campaign, to promote a strict and regularly audited code of practice to which all IMA members will adhere.

This badge of quality is underpinned by a 12-point checklist that ensures IMA members select and appoint only the best interim managers, guaranteeing that clients are provided with sound advice on the use of interim management. This is not just a tick box; it is governed by a strict code of practice and audited on a yearly basis. IMA Approved not only improves services to clients but represents the vital next stage in the development of the industry, which we believe will grow to approximately £2bn by 2015 taking into account the significant international growth we are now experiencing.

The launch of this is of paramount importance to the growth of the interim market in the continuing challenging economic climate.  Organisations in both private and public sectors must feel confident they have partnered with the right supplier to provide the right solution for their businesses and ensure that quality, speed, added value and delivery result in a return on investment for our clients. Macallam Interim is ‘IMA Approved’ and has met the very strict criteria and continues to implement the checklist.

IMA Approved Checklist:

• Ensure your interim management provider does the following:
• Only places genuine self-employed interim managers who trade through a limited company and have adequate professional indemnity insurance cover in place.
• Has clear processes in place, which establish an understanding of the client’s organisation and requirements, and provides objective professional advice on the use of interim management.
• Provides job briefs, which result in a written job description and project plan that clearly sets out the description and scope of services to be provided by the executive.
• Offers a comprehensive search for appropriately qualified interim managers.
• Undertakes a thorough evaluation of the candidates, including personal and structured interviews, and the formal taking of references of the individual’s suitability and qualifications for the assignment.
• Only introduces candidates who have been briefed on the specific client opportunity, and who have been referenced and met prior to placement.
• Provides ongoing support to the client and to the interim manager when the assignment has commenced.
• Provides the necessary checks on the Criminal Records Bureau, Protection of Vulnerable Adults list and the Protection of Children Act.
• Demonstrates a true commitment to equality and diversity.
• Has adequate insurance protection in place to cover professional indemnity, employers liability and public liability. The IMA also has a wrapper scheme in place.
• Has a robust complaints handling process.
• Provides best practice training and resourcing for interim consultants.

By Steven Wynne



Interim Management - The Rate Debate

There are constant discussions about daily rates and having recently been involved in one such debate it got me thinking how the landscape of the interim market has changed.  We’re all well aware of the economic climate and the changes in clients’ behaviours – taking longer to make a selection, trying to source directly and an over supply of available interims to choose from but I’m not sure this is where the problem stems from.

Historically cost has always been part of the discussion but never the deciding factor as to who would be engaged.  The climate has certainly caused this to change but surely if an organisation has a business critical problem the best fit person to devise a solution in the shortest possible time is the most appropriate solution for the business?  Engaging a lesser qualified and ill equipped candidate based on price will only delay the result and potentially cost more or amplify the problem at additional cost to the business.

What is driving these behaviours?

The conclusion I have come to is that it’s not the clients but the candidates.   Clients are being led down the garden path because they are considering many ‘possible’ candidates all of whom are coming to the table with a very different view on their charging methodology.  Professional Executive Interim Managers will have a rate they typically achieve.  This will of course be modified depending on the complexity, duration and location of the assignment but should sit within a range set on their capabilities and include a bottom line as long as the challenge is right.  This is how the interim management model works.   However, as there are so many ‘in betweeners’ who are ultimately searching for a permanent position they are under selling themselves, pitching  at knock down rates and taking the view that it could be a way in for a longer term stay.

This is confusing the issue and with increasing levels of risk aversion and nervousness in making decisions the end result can be clients procrastinating and therefore elongating what should be a speedy process.  The selection process currently seems to be treated as a permanent appointment that will be ‘forever’.  Additionally, those clients that do require a permanent employee are now under pressure to appoint immediately which is fuelling the fire.

The whole point of engaging an Interim Manager is speed, flexibility, immediacy, value, results, delivery and the ability to disengage when the agreed objectives have been achieved.  The thinking should always be centered on return on investment because any good Interim Manager will pay for themselves x times over.

On successful conclusion the transformation, change, turnaround, restructuring, business improvement or project has been driven forward and the legacy is left.

By Steven Wynne

Continued growth for Interim Managers

The latest findings from the quarterly Ipsos MORI survey for Q4 2011 show continued growth of the industry, in spite of the recession. Enquiries for all member firms are at a 5 year high and the average length of assignments has also increased, from 108 days in 2006, to 166 days in 2011.

The results reveal that enquiries for interim managers were the highest they have been since 2011. This is a rise of 76 per cent on the same quarter in 2010, and 4 per cent on the third quarter (Q3) in 2011.

Companies within the private sector are increasingly turning to Executive Interim Managers to solve problems and help manage change within their businesses; this sector represents two thirds (66%) of all assignments, the highest percentage for four years.

Thirty per cent of requested assignment functions in this quarter were for Special Projects (up from 26% in Q3 2011) followed by Finance (17%) which saw a two point fall over the same period. C-suite executives represented 7% of the IMA business in the final quarter of 2011. The most common reason for an assignment is Programme/Project Management, with 40% in Q4, up from 36% the previous quarter.

The largest increase was seen for Change or Transition Management, which in Q4 accounted for 19% of the all assignment functions, up from 14% in Q3.

Business Improvement and Gap Management each represented 16% of completed assignments in the final wave of 2011. Whereas the former was relatively unchanged from the previous quarter (up 1 percentage point from 15%), the proportion of completed assignments attributed to Gap Management decreased by seven percentage points (from 23% in Q3). These figures are notably higher than the next most cited reasons such as but then this is dependent on how the individual providers have categorised the reason for the assignment.

Unsurprisingly, the public sector is running at its lowest level for four years with only 34% of interim management assignments accounting for this sector. Additionally, as in previous quarters, the majority of assignments in Q4 were predominantly based in the UK (94%). However, this quarter saw an increase in the number of international assignments (6%), particularly those based in Western Europe.

By Steven Wynne

Are you ready to change?

Businesses need to transform to align people, process and technology.  Many organisations don’t have the internal capability to drive change programmes forward and as such try to redeploy their existing leadership teams thus putting pressure on other parts of the business.  With a failure rate as high as 70% on change programmes, many businesses struggle to implement the necessary changes that will ultimately transform their business.

Have you considered the cost of a failed project or one that comes in behind budget and schedule?

Macallam Interim can help.  We can introduce you to change experts with the skills and experience to drive your change programme and deliver over a defined period of time to an agreed set of objectives. 
We continue to help our clients  align their change strategy to their  business strategy.

By Steven Wynne

Interim management: cost or investment?

There is no denying that we find ourselves in increasingly challenging times and according to various sources, with no obvious let up in the economy any time soon.  This begs a question as to why some businesses are still reluctant to engage with Interim Executives to help them drive their businesses forward.  After all, it remains more than ever, a flexible resourcing solution and one that represents excellent value when measured against the positive impact the Executive Interim will have on the organisation.

There are two mindsets for those that need to engage the help of an interim executive for driving change, turnaround, restructuring, project/programme management or for a shortfall in the leadership team.  Firstly they recognise they have a problem, meet some interims and are frightened off by the "cost" as they are trying to compare this to a permanent equivalent salary.   The second view is of those that recognise they will see a significant return of 10-20% on their investment, that it provides a no strings flexible solution and is seen as a service offered by a business rather than a soon to be employee.

Pre-recession when given a client mandate price was very rarely talked about.  There was a problem and they did not possess the internal capability to resolve themselves and therefore understood they needed to engage an external resource in the guise of an interim executive to help them.  The difference now though is that I am constantly hearing stories of assignments not going ahead with cost as the barrier because comparisons are being made with equivalent permanent salaries.  This is like comparing apples to oranges.  You can’t.

Any businesses when making a decision on a purchase whether it is for capital equipment or services needs to examine the ROI.  Calculations will be made on risk vs. reward and generally a decision made on whether there is a benefit to the business from making the investment.  This decision making process is no different to that of engaging (not hiring) an Executive Interim.  It is an investment for the business that will produce a return. 

The financial benefits of engaging an executive interim can be extraordinarily high.  Accountancy Age carried out a study of 400 Business Change and Improvement assignments.  The study found that on average each executive interim delivered a return on investment of 1400%.  When this is analysed with the relatively low cost in interim management fees the savings / benefits to the business are really quite staggering.

Everybody moans that the economy is in poor shape, opportunities are thin on the ground, business is tight, customers won’t spend etc.  Surely it is time for us all to start driving programmes that will improve businesses that might just go some way to kick starting the economy and therefore get back to the days where we can all benefit from the cycle that ensues when businesses invest in their future.

By Steven Wynne

Growth in new assignments shows continuing demand for interim managers

The latest Ipsos MORI survey conducted by The Interim Management Association’s (IMA) of the UK’s leading interim management providers has shown a clear rise in the number of new assignments started  in quarter 3 2011, compared to the previous three months. The survey covering July to September 2011 reveals a 22% increase in new assignments, despite the challenging economic conditions.

The survey indicates that the private sector now accounts for 65% of all completed interim management assignments, up from 61% in Q2.  This share of private sector assignments completed by IMA members is at its highest level since Q4 2007 and appears to have returned to pre-recession figures.   

The number of enquiries received also grew in Q3, continuing an upward trend which sees enquiries rising by 68% from a low which occurred in the fourth quarter of 2010.  This is clearly encouraging news and confirms that activity levels have been increasing.

27% of requested assignment functions are from Special Projects (down from 29% in Q1 2011) followed by Finance (20%) for which the proportion is constant from the previous quarter. C-suite executives represent 8% of the IMA business in this survey.

The most common reason for an assignment is Programme/Project Management, with 36% of all interim executives hired for this purpose (up three percentage points from the previous quarter of 33%). Perhaps because this is a convenient label to give it?

Business Improvement and Change or Transition Management represents 15% and 14% of completed assignments respectively. These levels are relatively unchanged from the previous quarter, with the former unchanged and Change or Transition Management decreasing by one percentage point.  These figures are notably higher than the next most cited reasons. Interestingly Turnaround is surprisingly low but this has been a busy area for us with many assignments needing Turnaround expertise.

By Steven Wynne

Do people listen? Do we recognise talent when we see it?

A man sat at a metro station in Washington DC and started to play the violin;
It was a cold January morning.
He played six Bach pieces for about 45 minutes.
During that time, since it was rush hour, it was recorded that over a thousand people went through the station, most of them on their way to work.  Three minutes went by and a middle aged man noticed there was a musician playing.  He slowed his pace and stopped for a few seconds and then hurried up to meet his schedule.

A minute later, the violinist received his first dollar tip: a woman threw the money down and without stopping continued to walk.

A few minutes later, a man leaned against the wall to listen to him, but then looked at his watch and started to walk again. Clearly he was late for work.
The one who paid the most attention was a 3 year old boy.
His mother tagged him along, hurried but the child stopped to look at the violinist.
Finally the mother pushed hard and the child continued to walk turning his head all the time.
This action was repeated by several other children.  All the parents, without exception, forced them to move on.

In the 45 minutes the musician played, only 6 people stopped and stayed for a while.
About 20 gave him money but continued to walk at their normal pace.  He collected $32.
When he finished playing and silence took over, no one noticed it.  No one applauded, nor was there any recognition of any kind.

No one knew this but the violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the best musicians in the world.
He played one of the most intricate pieces ever written with a violin worth $3.5m.
Two days before his playing in the subway, Joshua Bell sold out at a theatre in Boston and the seats averaged $100.

Joshua Bell playing incognito in the metro station was organized by the Washington Post as part of a social experiment about perception and priorities of people.
The outlines were: in a commonplace environment at an inappropriate hour:  Do we perceive beauty? Do we stop to appreciate it? Do we recognize the talent in an unexpected context?
If we do not have a moment to stop and listen to one of the best musicians in the world playing the best music ever written, how many other things are we missing?

Food for thought...

By Steven Wynne