We can look at this from a different directions. Here’s what our own Interim Managers told us:-
%
• Supplying specialist skills and expertise
22
• Implementation of a new strategy
16
• Special Projects
15
• Business Restructuring
13
• Mentoring and/or Coaching
12
• Business turnaround
7
• Pending recruitment
5
• M&A incl integrations
4
• Setting up a new division
3
• Covering a temporary absence
3
100
We took these headings from what Interim Managers told us. There will obviously be some overlap, some variations in interpretation – for example, reasons such as sudden departure, crisis management and even change management will be covered by one or more of the headings above, as will developing new products and business ventures.
M&A including integrations will include interims brought into MBOs and IPOs (less frequent now than when the M&A market was in full swing) and finding key executives in the inevitable periods of rapid change that follow and/or where permanent appointments are not practical.
The nature of interim work will vary between sectors. For example, Project and Programme Managers will be the most frequent requirement in the Public Sector whilst “turnaround” work will be the most frequent requirement from the Private Equity sector. Interestingly, bringing in Interims to cover absences through illness or maternity leave is very low down the list. The point that must be made, however, is that over the past thirty years the need for Interim Managers has grown hugely and the type of need has shifted from the defensive (crisis management, etc) to the progressive and often creative. As the longest established Interim Management Provider in the UK, we have seen all this happen. We’ve found and put Interim Managers into assignments that have surprised even us - not only in the type of assignment that has been put to us but also in the fact that we’ve actually been able to find the right-fit Interim! Interim Managers are needed when management decides it needs to do something and needs to bring in someone to do it - immediately, at the right price and the right fit for the task and with no employment issues. Forget about definitions! If you want someone at senior level for anything other than a permanent position – ask us! No charge until day one of the assignment.
In an ideal world you would use your own network to find Interim Managers - after all, your network consists of people you know and trust to do a good job based on personal experience and recommendation. A good Interim Provider will be able to provide the same level of reassurance, but on a much greater scale:
Start with personal recommendations. Talk with CEOs that you know have used Interims and whose opinions you respect.
Identify those Interim Providers who specialise in your Sector and have a track record of success.
Visit www.interimmanagement.uk.com - Interim Management Association, the de-facto Professional Association, of which virtually all of the UK’s 40 mainstream Interim Providers are members.
In choosing your Interim Provider, you should ask the following questions:
• Do they have a specialist practice or expertise, run by experienced people who understand the workings and processes of this particular area?
• Do they add value to the Interim resourcing process?
• Will they take the time to understand your organisation, your needs and culture?
• Will they support you and the Interim Manager when the assignment has been set up?
• Do they have proven and reliable business processes (with ISO 9002 accreditation for instance)?
• Do they have access to sophisticated assessment tools when selecting Interim Managers?
• Do they have a broad reach in searching for Interims – the ability to find Interims with the right balance of managerial skills, technical know-how and knowledge ini your sector?
• Can they deliver quickly and effectively?
A few points to remember:
• As the Client, you need to respond fairly quickly to the shortlist – the best Interims can get snapped up quickly.
• Agree the aims, deliverables and timescales of the assignment at the outset. It is also vital to keep reviewing these as the assignment progresses.
• But do talk about the measures that need to be borne in mind at the outset – this will ensure the assignment will be as successful as possible. Where assignments don’t work as well as expected the problem can often be traced back to those first few days.
• The Interim will trade through a limited company which means that you have no employment legislation concerns.
• The Interim will also be covered by the necessary insurances, including Professional Indemnity.
The key difference is that management consultants ‘advise’ and interim managers 'do'.
Interims
Consultants
Interim Managers are independent senior executives brought in to address challenges brought about by change, from leading strategic projects to taking on a leadership position for a given period.
Consultants are generally brought in on mass by their firms with standard in-house methodologies. They advise on the company’s strategy and market positioning.
Interims have accountability and responsibility for their business area or project. They are part of the team – a “bolt-in” and there is no conflict of interest.
Consultants are managed by their consulting firms and they are a “bolt-on”.
An experienced senior Interim will normally charge a day rate of between £500 and £1500. They are far more cost effective than traditional management consultants.
Day rates for consultants typically exceed £3,000.
Interims have a wealth of specific knowledge, skills and experience within a particular sector (often over 20 years) – they are over-qualified.
Consultants often have MBAs and varied levels of industry experience. Often you are also hiring more junior consultants who have little or no specific industry experience.
Interims are implementers and are motivated by change and delivering each assignment successfully (obtaining a good reference from their last assignment and moving on).
Consultants advise on alternative strategies and leave the implementation to the company who retains them.
The cost of having an Interim Manager in your organisation should relate closely to the total cost of employing a permanent person, taking into account the employment on-costs and also the Interim Provider’s margin.
The full cost of employment includes employment on-costs and paid absences (holidays, training and sick leave and employee benefits). Bear in mind that an Interim works in a highly focused way and that you will not pay for days when they are not actually working for you.
Agency fees for Interim Managers are usually included in the negotiated daily rates and these should always be transparent.
IND~EX NEWSLETTER
Supporting our well-established search mechanisms, the Russam GMS IND~EX Weekly goes out every Thursday by email to about 11,000 senior business people operating on an
independent basis and reaches, through their own personal networks, several thousand more - mostly in a matter of hours.
If you'd like to receive this newsletter, please enter your details below.
In the minds of clients who invite us to find an Interim Manager for their organisation is this question “How do I know if Russam GMS can find the right Interim Manager?”
We can take our clients through our processes – and we are ISO 9002 accredited. We can establish our personal credentials, experience and ability – but we are left with the question “Yes, but how do you actually do it? What are the mechanics? Do you look in all the right places ? What makes Russam GMS more effective than the competition?”
Russam GMS is search-driven and not database-driven. We conduct a thorough search far beyond our own extensive database, driven by our advanced technology and supported by our Central Resource Management Team.
Our Search routine is based on this sequence of process:
• We search our contact database – 10,000 vetted senior interim managers- see below.
• We email likely candidates, individually or in groups.
• We ring up likely candidates.
• We access other selected databases.
• We publish selected assignments on our IND~EX Weekly Newsletter which is emailed every Thursday to our entire contact database... all 10,000 names.
• ...this process gives us access to many other contact databases of those emailed - over 10% of our placements are filled by interim executives not known to us at the beginning of the search process and introduced to us by through those on our main database.
• We publish selected assignments on our website – and they stay there until the position is filled.
• We access, if necessary, selected Job Boards on the Internet. Certain client requirements require a specialist approach and the quality of some Job Boards has improved significantly over the past few years. Without disclosing here which Job Boards we use, we are happy to discuss with our clients which ones we use – see below.
The Russam GMS Contact Database
We often get asked, “Why do you have a huge Interim Management Database when many of your competitors have much smaller ones – and they interview all who go onto it?” The answer is that these competitors are database-driven – you have to have who they happen to have on their database. The Russam GMS approach is different. We need a large and continually refreshed and growing database as the basis of our search. In fact, many clients are on this contact database – so they can see what is going on in the market. Some of them were Interim managers and like to keep in touch – and, it has to be said, some of them will become Interim Managers at some point! This is the direction of travel of our working world – more so in times of economic stress.
The database can be analysed as follows:
The database can also be analysed against professional function and level of job seniority:
Local Government
Health
Defence
Central Government
Private Sector
BOARD/EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE LEVEL
Chairman
271
94
96
148
688
Chief Executive
242
112
80
181
561
DIRECTOR BOARD & NON-BOARD LEVEL
Finance Director
129
92
66
94
654
Marketing Director
103
72
62
46
510
Sales Director
59
40
34
31
304
IT Director
42
25
24
34
154
HR Director
166
79
24
88
378
Change Management Director
24
13
17
29
112
Project Director
73
46
45
54
186
Procurement Director
14
19
14
43
93
Logistics Director
28
11
16
13
69
Children’s Services Director
0
0
0
0
2
Other
157
123
111
501
922
FUNCTIONAL SENIOR EXECUTIVES & MANAGERS
Business Development
343
218
178
220
1389
Finance
173
115
72
138
882
Procurement
214
28
36
36
185
Human Resources
212
89
35
135
596
Programme and Project Managers
261
41
262
58
1430
Marketing
189
111
80
116
843
Change Management
396
241
183
298
1113
Sales
87
83
62
58
698
IT
130
82
75
109
642
Logistics & Supply Chain Management
94
59
290
54
1867
Property & Estates Management
57
24
192
36
100
Children’s Services
3
0
0
2
2
Other
186
138
135
610
1742
This analysis is a statistical one. Those analysed, for example, as Finance Executives may also have broader or different skills such as CEO experience and vice-versa. The same applies to sector experience. Science turns into art when searching for combinations of professional discipline and sector experience.
The Russam GMS approach to Search
The Russam GMS approach to searching the contact database starts as a science and goes through the art phase and finishes with the judgement conclusion – judgement based on skill, knowledge and experience. Knowledge of our client’s business, their culture and values and the personality of those to whom the Interim will both report to and work with is obviously an integral part of this process - and its successful outcome.
To those clients who are unsure about the value of using an Interim Management Provider rather than adopting the DIY approach, we would simply say that if you can replicate everything that you can read in this Section, and be certain that you can find the right Interim Manager – and have the time to do it all – CARRY ON!
Leveraging the Russam GMS Database
For many, what makes Russam GMS arguably the most innovative, creative and forward-looking Interim Management Provider in the UK is this sector-leading search capability. A network asset of very considerable value has been created and can be leveraged for other related purposes. In addition to Interim Managers, Russam GMS can find non-Executive Directors for SMEs, the missing bits in entrepreneurial endeavours, Trustees for Charities, etc. We at Russam GMS see ourselves in a unique position – standing at the demand and supply crossroads of senior human resource for Private Sector, Public Sector and Third Sector enterprises.
Specialist Areas
Whilst our origins – still the basis of our business – is broadly based across all professional disciplines and across most business and organisation sectors, our everyday life is focussed on our Specialist Sectors and Initiatives which are set out and fully presented on our website. As a result, we find that from time to time, we need to build up our range of contacts in specific areas. We do this primarily by targeted advertising, leveraging selectively our existing contacts and focussed trade networking.
Diversity
We set out elsewhere in our website our approach to Diversity issues including our equality and diversity policy. At all times, the principles set out here govern our search methodologies. Certainly for us and anecdotally within our sector, it would seem that no more than 25% of all interim assignments throughout the whole Interim Management sector are handled by women – indeed, in common with most of our competitors, our own database contains only about 15% women. Russam GMS is keen to do something about this in practical terms and, about two years ago, we set up our InterimWomen initiative, based on the unique website – www.interimWomen.com. The aim is to promote interim management to women and to promote women in Interim Management – and to supply useful information to support this process backed up by regional and national networking and CPD Events.
