More HR people are turning to interim management as a career path, stimulated by the challenge and variety of roles. Employers, too, can benefit from an HR professional who can hit the ground running – and deliver results

Eleven years ago, Kathryn Riley decided to turn her back on a full-time HR career in favour of becoming an interim. The decision, she says, was prompted by the feeling that HR in many organisations was too similar and did not focus on the issues that really matter to her, such as organisational development and managing the softer people management issues.

“I wanted to be able to concentrate on what I really liked doing,” she says. “Being an interim gives me variety and the ability to turn HR functions around. I really wanted that challenge.”

But interim management is only one strand of what Riley does. As well as experience as a senior HR interim at organisations such as Orange and Network Rail, she has developed her own consultancy, advising organisations on strategic HR, among other issues, and running workshops for organisations on becoming more ethical. Alongside this, she coaches and mentors professionals from HR and other disciplines who are looking to move into general management.

This kind of portfolio career is becoming increasingly common for HR interims, particularly at the senior end of the profession. “People are moving towards plural careers,” says Charles Russam, chairman of Russam GMS, citing interims who also take up non-executive directorships and positions at business schools.

Raj Tulsiani, vice-chair of the Interim Management Association and chief executive of Green Park, agrees. “We are now seeing the portfolio mentality in executives,” he says. “If you are a very senior group HRD and you are going independent, interim will be part of what you do. Board-level interims are increasingly talking about board-level ­careers, such as taking up non-executive roles.”

The reasons why people move into interim and portfolio careers vary. Russam suggests that pressure “underneath” from ambitious HR professionals seeking promotion can drive some senior people towards a different type of career, while a lower-than-desired pension and the need to work for longer can be another incentive.

A wish to broaden horizons, including moving overseas, can also prove to be the trigger. As Michael Dickmann, professor of international HRM at Cranfield University School of Management, points out: “The CIPD is well regarded internationally and, if a senior HR professional has experience of working for multinational companies, there is a market for them in places such as the Middle East and Nigeria, for example. I know a married couple who work as HR interims in Cyprus just because they fancied leaving England.”

Portfolio power
According to Dickmann’s colleague at Cranfield, senior research fellow Noeleen Doherty, becoming an interim manager can be a useful step for HR professionals in building a portfolio career. “The experience of a wide range of work contexts provides breadth in understanding and knowledge and the prospect of operating at a strategic level,” she says.

Conversely, one of the advantages of a portfolio career is the opportunity to do other work when the interim projects are thin on the ground, and the competition for work is greater, as has been the case since 2007.

Senior HR interim and reward specialist Jane Williams decided to become an interim 15 years ago and, having experienced a quiet period, she has taken up a position on the board of a charity as a volunteer and undertaken a qualification with the Institute of Directors to become a chartered director. She also does consultancy work on executive remuneration. While not wanting to move fully towards a portfolio career, she says: “This year has been a quieter one for me, so I’ve gone off and done other things.”

Riley has also experienced “fallow periods”, but points out that she takes advantage of such time by using it for networking and marketing herself. “About 60 per cent of my work comes from networking,” she says. “For those people who are not net­workers, interim management is not for them. You also have to understand what your brand is. You are effectively selling yourself.”

Ad van der Rest, professional HR interim and co-chairman of the Institute of Interim Management (IIM), adds: “Whether the market goes up, down or sideways, effective and well-marketed interims will get work. Fretting about the market is less important than having a sharp and compelling personal offering.”

Specialist skills
Such a personal offering has often focused on specialist skills – change-related assignments and specialist project requirements still lead the charge for HR interims, making up 64 per cent of assignments, according to the IIM’s Interim Summer Survey.

However, interims are still required for gap cover. Yell Group employs the majority of its HR interims to cover maternity leave and, in the recruitment team, they are used when the team needs to upscale or downscale. “I use interims because I need to flex my workforce, especially with the economy as it is currently, and the fact that we don’t know what is around the corner,” says head of national resourcing Andrew Groves.

He also points out that interims often come with more experience than is required for the position, specifically so employers can feel confident that their projects will be achieved comfortably.

“We are upfront with them and tell them that while some of the work might be below their experience level we will seek to grow the role as it develops,” he says. “Interims are usually happy with that.”

The personal offering of the HR professional moving to an interim or portfolio career will not be based solely on their HR skills – specialist or generalist – but should also include character traits, such as being realistic about the nature of the work they have taken on and a degree of mental toughness.

“You must be prepared for a period without working, mentally, financially and emotionally,” Williams says, adding that, recently, it has become increasingly common for employers to invite interims to interview and then decide at the last minute not to hire anyone.

Riley agrees: “I only get seriously enthusiastic about a piece of work when an offer is on the table. Before the econ­omic crisis, the process of a company approaching an interim, interviewing and putting an offer on the table would take 24 hours. Now it can drag on for weeks.”

But once that project is agreed, the interim has to hit the ground running. They must know the organisation and quickly adapt to its culture. They need to be politically sensitive and must engage a wide range of stakeholders. And, most importantly, says Riley, they have to deliver “come what may”.

“You can have [personal] crises going on and you have got to be able to deal with them,” she says. “You can’t just not turn up – the client is paying you to deliver.”

A successful interim will also aim to deliver more than the employer’s mandate. As van der Rest says: “Organisations want the brief delivered, but, beyond that, professional interim managers will want to build solutions that last, because their reputation and future testimonials rely upon it.”

“If the client has selected well, the interim should not only deliver the mandate, but add something as well,” Riley agrees. At the organisation she is doing a project for, she also coaches and mentors staff.

Interim work is clearly not the easiest of options. As many in the sector have remarked, it’s a lifestyle choice. But it’s one that can open doors for professionals who want to expand their skills and experience for a portfolio career.

And, as van der Rest points out, while it may not be the life for everyone, for those who master the vocation “it is an invigorating and stimulating exercise”.  

How to manage an HR interim successfully

Know you want an interim
“A lot of interims find the lack of professionalism from clients and providers frustrating,” says senior HR interim Kathryn Riley. “You can do a lot of preparation, travel to an interview, only to be told that they don’t actually want an interim.” She says employers should establish whether they really want an interim for a project and get the necessary budget and agreement in place before they start the recruitment process.

Communicate your mandate
Clients must understand and communicate exactly what they want from an interim and in what time frame, says Riley. Senior HR interim Jane Williams agrees: “Establishing the working relationship is important, as is setting the objectives,” she says.

Have a formal induction
Head of national resourcing at Yell Group, Andrew Groves, believes it’s essential that employers looking to recruit an interim get the planning right before they start. “Induct an interim like you would a new permanent employee,” he says. “Interims at Yell get two weeks’ induction during which they learn about target markets, clients, how the organisation works, and more, to build them up to the role. If you don’t get this preparation right, they don’t get the results.”

Establish effective working relationships
The right atmosphere and tone needs to be set with the rest of the HR team, Williams says. “You want a relationship that is strong enough to withstand professional disagreements,” she says. “We need to realise more that by understanding different views, higher quality solutions may be found.”
Make sure the interim leaves a legacy

Carrying out a debrief before an interim leaves an organisation is essential. “I’m always highly surprised when that doesn’t happen,” Riley says. “An interim can provide you with valuable insights, skills and experiences. Ensure you make the most of this before you say goodbye.”

• The Institute of Interim Management has conducted annual surveys of its membership since 2005. www.iim.org.uk/survey
  

• The Interim Management Association represents recruiters of interims. www.interimmanagement.uk.com

By Mary Carmichael

Interims have been perceived as many things – consultants by another name, retirees in search of a purpose, permanent managers who are ‘between jobs’ and even destroyers of business culture and employee morale.

But for canny HR and resourcing directors, these terms are simplistic: those who have learned to make the right decisions on interim managers find good ones can be key to steering an operation through choppy waters, driving a successful business to even greater heights, or turning a struggling one around.

Interim managers' assignments vary. They are often brought in to fill a position on a temporary basis - to cover maternity or sick leave, for example - or to manage a division the company plans to sell. They might be hired to identify and oversee a specific project, as a troubleshooter for an acute problem, or to add support during a significant period of change and growth.

Most often, they are there to advise on and/or implement change - redundancies, perhaps, integration, a recruitment drive or the launch of a fresh initiative. Interim specialists agree about 90% of assignments involve change management in some form.

Jason Atkinson, Managing Director (private sector) at interim provider, Russam GMS, and chairman of the Interim Management Association (IMA), says there can also be even more strategic reasons for going down the interim route: "When a company wants to do something new and knows a competitor has done it and done it well, they might come to us to find someone who has worked for that competitor."

An interim manager's most obvious advantage is expertise. Often, they are considerably over-qualified for the position and have solved the same problem or dealt with the same situation many times before. It is a level of experience and knowledge a company might not be able to afford on a permanent basis, but a properly structured assignment can deliver many of the same benefits.

But they also offer other plus points, including speed - they can be in situ within days - and objectivity. Not being part of company politics and with no axe to grind, they can offer an alternative perspective.

They also bring energy. A good interim can energise an existing team just by being a dynamic presence with fresh ideas. "They have had successful projects and they come in with a real desire to have a positive impact," says Nathan Myatt, head of interim at recruitment consultancy Fresh Minds. "That brings in a lot of energy, which can help bring people along."

So what could make an HR director baulk at bringing in such an asset? Money is usually the main issue. Daily rates average just over £600, depending on the sector, but they can go as high as £1,200 for someone operating at the highest level on a global scale.

"The client might think: 'Crikey - that's a lot multiplied by 365', but it doesn't work like that," explains Charles Russam, chairman of Russam GMS, founder of the company in 1982. "Someone in a permanent position might cost the company £80k in salary, but company car, pension, holidays, medical benefits etc might bring that up to £130k or £140k. If you divide 200 - the average number of days worked a year - into that, you get about £700 a day. So the real cost is low."

Stephanie Campbell, director of interim management provider Veredus, suggests cost isn't the major factor here, anyway. "Rather than cost, you should look at value," she says. "A good interim adds value from day one. They're not working to the clock or getting involved in office politics and there's no training needed and no honeymoon period. They are just focused on completing the task in hand: they bring the expertise, because they have done it before and done it in spades."

Being an interim is not for the faint-hearted. There is no guarantee of continuous employment, the hours are long and they may be working far from home. And there's the uncertainty - how long the job will last? Will it be extended? Where's the next one coming from? And there's a lot asked of interims. They have to be able hit the ground running, work flat out and deliver quick wins. They can be professionally isolated and often face resistance.

This working life does not suit everyone - even those with the necessary knowledge and experience - and just about everyone involved in the industry is keen to stress interim work is different from doing the same role as a permanent employee. The mindset is different too. "Someone who is only doing a contract between permanent jobs has an eye continuously on the full-time opportunities," says Kevin Bishop, director of talent, development and resourcing at mining giant, Anglo American. "I want someone who is a professional interim and doesn't need others to run round after them."

Nevertheless, the latest recession has meant the leading providers being swamped with CVs, although only about 10% will be deemed suitable. "The test is to get them to set up their own limited company and complete two assignments using their own network," says Veredus's Campbell. "Then we know they're serious - and they know if they can make it as an interim manager."

Those who do make it relish the constant challenge and the variety and want more control over working lives - not just flexibility over work, but also what work, with whom and at what pace - and these attractions mean the demographics have shifted. Where the profile of the typical interim was once a man in his late 50s who had final salary pension schemes, the average age has fallen considerably and many more women are now opting for interim work.

So what makes a good interim? "The real advantages of interims are adaptability and high emotional intelligence," says Campbell. "Technical knowledge is important, but you have to have people skills and sensitivity to the organisational culture."

With this high level of emotional intelligence, a good interim manager can assess a situation quickly and negotiate the potential minefield of employee resistance with diplomacy. John Parr, an interim HR specialist for 12 years, says employee uncertainty is a given in most assignments, but rarely a problem: "People are expecting change and they know you're there for a purpose, so they are part of the way there. They know you are not there to manage the status quo."

Interim managers are generally more hands-on than consultants and implement strategic decisions. They also leave legacies, transferring and infusing skills and knowledge to incumbent teams, even helping to hire and embed some permanent employees.

Kate Mansfield, manager of the HR practice of Alium Partners, which focuses exclusively on senior-level interims, believes the best interims are emotionally independent: "They are exceptional at managing stakeholders, but are thinking about their exit strategy from day one," she says.

So, how does an HR director formulate an effective strategy and how do they make each assignment work at optimum level? Not surprisingly, there is general consensus that planning, preparation and communication are key.

"The assignment has to start with a careful written brief and with frequent reviews, so both parties can take stock," says Russam. "Have regular formal meetings. The important thing is to make sure there's complete alignment and for the interim to check, 'am I delivering?'"

Fresh Minds' Myatt believes HR directors have to be clear about what they want - and seek input from other stakeholders. "They need first to define the end result," he says. "They need to be clear about what they want to achieve and they must also get buy-in from different management teams."

Raj Tulsiani, CEO of Green Park Interim and Executive Search, recommends devoting at least the final two days to a detailed handover - and planning this from the start. "The interim should be able to provide each incumbent in the relevant team with a blueprint for the next six months," he says.

Even when the assignment is clearly defined, finding the right person is absolutely crucial - and that is where many companies call in a specialist interim provider. These are not just about recruiting the interim managers, but also about providing support.

"That doesn't get mentioned enough," says Russam. "Some clients are sceptical when they learn the cost of the recruitment part of the deal, but they don't see the discussions with the interim on a Sunday. We offer a useful sounding-board. Most jobs will have difficult phases and we let them talk about issues."

IMA's Atkinson adds: "There has to be a high rate of cultural fit, which comes down to really knowing the organisation and the interims.
"The acid test is that the interim should be part of the team within a week - bolted in, not on."

BIE, an interim provider that operates exclusively at senior levels, is offering a different approach to some clients to develop pre-screened 'talent pools' to resource the ebb and flow of an organisation's needs. This means that, while the interim provider cannot guarantee specific people will be available - no good interim is going to sit around and wait on the off-chance - they can guarantee the skill-set and type of person.

"You are not starting from scratch," says BIE marketing manager, Andy Turner. "The approach works best in sectors undergoing a lot of change and real complexity [such as financial services]. One thing we are not able to do with any great certainty is to predict demand and, with this way of working, we know client X is going to need Y over the next two years."

Atkinson believes HR directors can get even more from clever use of interims and predicts a shift in approach in the future. "We challenge firms now, telling them they should have at least one interim on each management team; someone who can shake things up," he says. "Many management teams have been together for a long time.

"It is not just about tackling a crisis or a problem, it's also about thinking more strategically - how can we tap into their knowledge and knowhow for a short space of time? How can we use it to think a bit differently about it?"

The stopgap can be fruitful.

Case Study: Anglo American
Kevin Bishop has been using interims successfully for 10 years, four of these in his current role as director of talent and resourcing at mining giant, Anglo American.

The company, which employs 200,000 people around the world, uses interims for short- and medium-term capability, to backfill temporarily and for discrete projects: "Basically, it is for whenever we need instantaneous brains on projects that have a clear start and stop and for which we don't have the internal resources," explains Bishop.

He highlights two examples of successful interim-managed projects - the relocation of a business from South Africa to Brazil and the integration of a graduate programme. "When looking at how workforce planning for the next four or five years has had an impact on graduate numbers, we realised we had multiple entry points and ought to take stock - and needed an outsider to fly around the world talking to everyone," he says.

Bishop approached a specialist interim provider and met two possible interims. "The one we went for joined immediately, spent three months on the work and delivered a really good project, one that we still use now," he says.

Bishop says the key is being clear about what it is you want - and being prepared to pay for experience. He is blunt about the consequences of not doing this: "If you don't, if you see it as some sort of cost-saving exercise, you won't get what you need."

From the interim horse's mouth
Tony Morgan is a professional interim finance director, with 10 years and 23 assignments under his belt. He has worked predominantly with standalone SMEs, mostly with severe cashflow or other issues, and is generally brought in by the owner or the board. He has also experienced being imposed upon a reluctant company by venture capitalists.

"There is never an interim situation that isn't difficult," he says. "It is why our rates are high. I have to grasp the financial position quickly and get the confidence of the owner or board or directors - they have to believe I can help them. And the SMEs I work in have often been built up by entrepreneurs from scratch, so they're not ordinary people."

His recommendations for clients approaching interim hires are equally valid for HR directors - know what you want and get the right person. However, he highlights the importance of getting references. "These should be from people who they have done interim work for," he says. "Don't base it on full-time references - interim management is a totally different thing.

"Make sure they are true interims, not just someone who has been made redundant and is looking for a full-time opportunity. Don't advertise for an interim yourself. Go to specialist agencies. You have to pay the extra, but if you get the wrong person it costs you a lot more."

Getting an interim up to speed on your organisation is the first job for employers
They’re often referred to as the troubleshooters of the management world, parachuted in during periods of change. But how do you get the best out of your interim managers, asks Nic Paton

They may be little more than a snapshot of how the economy is evolving, but the latest figures from the Interim Management Association (IMA) on the changing use of interim managers nevertheless tell an interesting story of supply and demand.
The quarterly figures published in September found interims coming back into favour in the private sector while, conversely, demand for freelance executives and turnaround specialists within a public sector struggling to justify all and any spending has now slumped. Where the use of interims had been split pretty much equally in 2009, the split was now 61% to 39% in the private sector’s favour, with demand particularly strong within banking and finance, it concluded.
Whether it’s temporarily plugging a talent gap, delivering on a specific project, overseeing a restructuring process or simply driving forward organisational change, interim managers are, clearly, meeting a demand. Private sector organisations enjoy the flexibility of being able to harness a ‘turn on/turn off’ resource that also potentially brings in new skills and perspectives unable to be found internally.

Effective interims
Yet, given that an interim will often be coming in to push through tough decisions (and all at an expensive daily rate), getting the most out of them and working with them effectively has to be a priority. It’s definitely not a case of ringing up an agency and leaving them to it, says Raj Tulsiani, chief executive of interims agency Green Park and vice-president of the IMA.
“There should be shared responsibility and a clear outline of what the mandate needs to be. The key thing is around goal setting and communicating how you want those goals to be delivered,” he explains.
“As an interim, you will bring new skills, new horizons and new ‘stretch’ to situations. But it is very important to have a mandate of what you are there for,” agrees long-time interim manager Celia Adams, who specialises in corporate turnarounds.
You need to be making sure everyone is benefiting from the expertise of the interim, which in turn can help to accelerate the work and mean the interim can bring the permanent team with them. The interim is not there to take over the world.
Jason Atkinson, managing director, Russam GMS
“Whether you are just covering a maternity leave or overseeing a major turnaround, it needs to be clear,” she adds.
An interim will be expected to hit the ground running and be focused on the outcomes of their specific project, but will also normally bring with them a wealth of senior-level experience, often from across a range of sectors, that can be tapped into by subordinates, peers or, indeed, the senior management team.

Definite dynamics
“With those above you, it is a case of simply getting relationships going and ideas into their minds. It is about building up a rapport and developing their confidence. But you do quite quickly need to work out the dynamic of the organisation you are going into.
“With people reporting into you, it is important quickly to be working out what makes them tick. You may need to build their confidence in you and help them to understand what you and they have to do,” Adams explains.
People skills should be a core competency of any good interim, as should be an ability to mentor and coach people as well as prioritise succession planning, as an important part of the role will normally be preparing the ground for their eventual replacement.
“The key thing is always to be engaging with people, to be talking, listening and getting people aligned to the objectives. Unlike a consultant, an interim manager will have some ‘skin in the game’, they will be there for three, four months or however long the assignment is. They can provide the knowledge to help you get to a better place in your career,” explains Andrew Munro, director of the Institute of Interim Management.
But there may also need to be an element of reassurance – from both the management team and interim – around why they have been “parachuted” in, concedes Perry Evans, director of interims agency RSA Interims.
“You do not want the permanent individual to be thinking, ‘this person wants my job’. The interim will have ‘been there, done that’ so they will have the empathy to go in with their eyes open and court the right people to get the job done.
“They can bring expertise in from outside, sometimes from completely outside the industry. That can be a massive factor; when you are not embroiled in the politics or the culture you can often bring a fresh perspective,” he explains.
Working with an interim manager needs to be learning process for both sides, but a directed one, contends Jason Atkinson, managing director at agency Russam GMS and chairman of the IMA.
It is important to identify some “quick wins” but also to set out agreed, deliverable timescales and have a proper exit path for completion of the project and the transfer of skills.
“You need to be making sure everyone is benefiting from the expertise of the interim, which in turn can help to accelerate the work and mean the interim can bring the permanent team with them. The interim is not there to take over the world,” he says.

How to get the most from your interim manager
1. Be clear about when (and why) you need external resource/assistance. Interim managers offer a specialist resource, so make sure you need this level of expertise.
2. Have an ideal candidate in mind and have a clear brief about what you need the interim manager to do.
3. Don’t spend ages deciding who to appoint - the best interims tend to get snapped up quickly, so you need to respond to good ones as soon as you have made your choice.
4. Remember, interims have no ties. Because interim managers don’t have emotional ties to the company they can speak openly about what it should do to achieve its goals. They can tell it like it is, so don’t be afraid to ask.
5. Agree the aims, deliverables and timescales of the assignment at the outset so that both parties know what objectives they are working to.
6. Make the first days really count. As soon as the interim manager signs the contract they have five working days to understand the role and client requirements, the work involved and the deliverables. They must deliver by day six, so ensure they understand your needs from the start.
7. Reassure permanent members of staff that interim managers are not a threat. Also don’t make pay comparisons to permanent staff. Their daily rate may be higher, but will not include pensions, benefits, holidays or the security of regular employment.

Increase in older managers choosing interim roles as second career
The number of people becoming interim managers as a second career after retirement is expected to rise following the end of default retirement age, a specialist provider has said.
Interim manager recruitment firm, Russam GMS, has already noticed a rise in the number of people in their mid to late fifties who are turning to the role as a second or third career.

The firm’s latest six-month snapshot market survey of 12,000 interim managers showed that more than half were in their fifties. People in this age group also attract the highest daily pay rate, £628, compared with younger managers.

From 1 October, employers will no longer be able to force people to retire when they reach 65, meaning the growth of older workers considering interims posts could increase further.

“Many senior executives who have retired from their first careers, or who have been made redundant, are coming into interim management,” said Charles Russam, chairman of the recruitment firm.

“Age prejudice doesn’t exist in this area because it is a meritocracy where experience and knowledge are valued highly, and the best candidate will always get the job. Maturity is also important because it tends to stop silly mistakes being made.”
But he warned that such posts were “not for the faint-hearted” and better suited to people who relished the challenge of running a small business. However, many that considered this as a second career chose it because it offered them flexibility.
Paul Simmons, a former regional director at Barclays Bank, has recently made the move into interim management after retiring in 2009 at the age of 54. He combines his interim work in banking with being a business mentor and a trustee of a local charity.
Simmons said: "When I retired from my position at Barclays, I still wanted to be involved in business life and to make use of the skills and knowledge I had developed over the years.”
He said that while he has three posts, he is in control of his time and limits work to two-and-a-half days a week.
Russam said: “Many older interims still want to work intensively on assignments, but also want downtime to pursue other interests – they are looking for a different way of working and a better balance. Interim management offers new challenges, good pay, greater flexibility and, for many people, a new lease of life.”

Guest blogger: Diane Morris, director of Interimwomen
Unfortunately, the Interim Management industry is still male dominated. According to interim provider Russam GMS – only around 20 per cent of the women on its database of 12,000 interims are women and this broadly reflects the picture in the industry as a whole.
We recently surveyed 1,600 women working as interims to find out why they became interims and based on our findings, we produced an in-depth report, ‘Women in Interim Management – how to succeed, the opportunities and challenges,’ which offers an insight into the realities of an interim career.
The research highlighted that the top drivers for women leaving behind their permanent careers to become interims were the desire to work for different clients in diverse industry sectors, the attraction of working for themselves and the wish to have greater career flexibility in their working lives. And, in spite of the fact that women in interim management command an average of £604 per day, money was not a major motivator.
The women gave some straight talking advice and practical tips to ‘would be’ interims which I want to share with you. These tips were inspirational and motivating but at the same time, very practical and realistic – providing a true ‘warts and all’ insight. Here are a few of my favourites:

• Take a long time to make your decision and consider all your options.  Make sure you have a financial cushion of at least a year’s outgoings before you take the plunge
• Talk with as many other interim managers as you can to get a good ‘feel’ for what being an interim is like.
• Prepare a business plan
• Be flexible and ready to learn new skills
• Apply for lots of credit before starting – sort mortgage etc – because it will take 2 years to build up the credit rating again. Register for VAT before making any purchases
• Make sure you can deal with the uncertainty of the work and cash flow – some people can’t and permanent employment is a better option for them
• Present yourself as a complete professional, Meet and get registered with the main Interim Management  agencies and have a clearly defined service offer
• Do your homework before deciding to make sure it is the right career choice for you i.e. – What benefits will you bring to a client?  – What are your strengths? – What are your needs? – Is there a market for what you have to offer? – Do targeted networking and spread the word about what you do
• You need to be able to be self motivated and get on with the job of generating business – even though you may not always feel like it. Ensure you have a good network of contacts – join Linked-in
• Once you are sure this is what you want to do stick at it and don’t give up

What was striking about the research findings was the discovery that the average female interim manager had an impressive 22 years’ business experience under her belt before starting her Interim career. There is evidently a pool of seasoned and experienced executives out there, who can provide businesses with specialist skills and fill in senior level gaps, undertake strategic business projects, or help them solve their toughest business challenges.
For the full report visit http://www.interimwomen.com/documents/IWFinalReport.pdf

Original article here.

Six out of 10 interim managers specialising in financial services say the sector will improve in 2011, according to research from Interim Management Provider, Russam GMS.

Just over half of interims (51%) said the market had improved over the last six months, 26% said there has been no change and 22% believed the market was getting worse.

However, the interims had mixed views on which areas would be most buoyant in 2011. One in four said investment banking would deliver fresh opportunities, 20% said there would be work in regulatory compliance, 15% said private equity, 15% opted for risk management, 15% said insurance and 10% said retail banking.

The interims were clearer about the potential market challenges in 2011 – a third (33%) said the UK’s debt would hinder growth, 25% said that increased FSA regulation will prove challenging and 23% said that tight budgets and high costs (15%). Other challenges are tough global competition and a lack of customer loyalty.

These uncertain market conditions will impact business according to the Interims. Some 65% said that strategic projects would be put on hold, 20% believed that IT projects would be delayed and 15% said that marketing budgets would be cut. And 68% also predicted job losses in the sector next year. 

Jason Atkinson, Managing Director – Private Sector at Russam said: "Interim Managers are cautiously optimistic about recovery in the financial sector next year, however, there is a great deal of uncertainty about the market opportunities and it appears the road to recovery will prove bumpy.

"We also believe the market is recovering albeit slowly and have seen increased demand for Interim Mangers with specialist skills such as Solvency II or Basel II experience as well as change and risk management experts – and we anticipate this demand will continue. There is no doubt that next year will be challenging but we think the market will pick up slowly."

Original article here.

A new survey of interim managers has shown that there is cautious optimism about the financial services sector.
Russam GMS’ research found that 60% of interim managers surveyed believe that the sector will improve in 2011; with over half saying it had already improved over the last six months. However 22% believed the market was getting worse. 

As well as listing potential market challenges, ranging from the UK’s debt to increased FSA regulation, interims also believed that business will be affected negatively by the uncertain conditions. Marketing budgets and strategic projects were predicted to be affected and 68% foresaw job losses in the sector. 
Jason Atkinson, Managing Director – Private Sector, Russam GMS says: “Interim Managers are cautiously optimistic about recovery in the financial sector next year, however, there is a great deal of uncertainty about the market opportunities and it appears that the road to recovery will prove bumpy.”

Original article here.

How will recruitment unfold in 2011? What is the future for the industry? Recruitment insiders give their predictions for the year ahead...

Matt Alder, director, MetaShift “I think that 2011 will be another year of major change that could start to define what the recruitment landscape will look like moving forward. LinkedIn has the potential to be the most disruptive force our industry has ever seen and its inevitable continual exponential growth in 2011 will see more of this disruptive potential realised. I also predict we’ll finally see the beginning of a mainstream adoption of other social recruiting channels. While some will do it well, many more will struggle to get it right and I foresee much frustration, debate and even damage being done to brands.”

Albert Ellis, CEO, Harvey Nash “We see a year of growth in 2011, not because we are naively optimistic, but because the catalysts for a talent squeeze are now in place across the world. Demand-led growth in Asia has kick started permanent recruitment in export-led countries like Germany and Sweden and boosted confidence in the US and also the UK. Having cut back during the downturn, firms are now facing skills and management shortages at the very time that tax rises and cost of living increases are driving up pay and reward expectations. Top talent is now being chased by organisations willing to pay as the pressure for investment and growth increases. Surprisingly in the public sector, we see the outlook for new recruitment improving towards the end of 2011 as the recruitment freeze imposed in 2010 is partially lifted due to pressures on delivery of public services and better than expected economic growth.”

Michelle Gibbs, resourcing advisor, House of Fraser “This year saw an increase in the number of counter offers and I can see more of this in 2011. Businesses are getting savvy about holding on to their top talent. Increased effort to engage with and develop professional relationships with candidates before even talking about career opportunities and using referrals will be key to recruitment in the future; strong candidates no longer use the traditional job boards but wait to be contacted. Gen Y is here now!”

Steve Ingham, CEO, Michael Page “Predictions for 2011 remain unclear. The UK and Eurozone look to have their challenges. Prediction is that UK will show steady growth as it has in 2010 É Europe slightly better, led by Germany. Elsewhere, Asia, Middle East and Latin America prospects look far more promising. With a strong revenue and profit growth now behind us in 2010, we continue to develop our employees by developing global recruitment careers - moving our best performers to faster growing markets, which releases those that can’t move to be promoted to fill the gaps! Bring it on.”

Matthew Jeffery, global director of talent brand, Electronic Arts “2011 will witness a true recruitment revolution as companies start to finally grasp the importance of nurturing an emotional employment brand and understand that the recruitment of the future will be anchored on building deep engaged communities of talent, initially anchored by social media. Traditional recruiters will be phased out by the new Recruiter 2.0, who combines diverse skills including CRM, marketing, database mining, PR and sales. Roll on radical 2011, the year recruitment is again seen as an art.”

Mike Jones, HR director for the energy sector, UK and North-West Europe, Siemens “The UK still faces skills shortages in the manufacturing and engineering sectors. This recruitment gap cannot be filled without a major investment in training and skills. Siemens is playing a lead role in national and local training, with programmes in schools to one of the largest apprenticeship schemes, including the pioneering wind power technician programme launched in September. Thus we feel more confident about being able to meet the needs of the future.”

Tom Marsden, head of professional services, Alexander Mann Solutions “For a while now strategic workforce planning has been the elephant in the room; the issue that too many HR departments just wouldn’t - or couldn’t - address. As HR faces a confusing cocktail of challenges in 2011, such as continued economic uncertainty, budgets being squeezed and yet intense pressure to support areas of growth, HR will start to get to grips with this tricky concept next year. It is no easy task but by including the business in mapping out the organisation’s future requirements and making trade-offs and assumptions explicit, HR can start to drive real business value, giving the organisation the more agile platform it needs to thrive.”

Geoff Newman, CEO, Recruitment Genius “2011 looks to be another tumultuous year for many. ’High street’ agencies will fare worst as the Agency Workers Regulations disrupt the temporary worker market. The most important asset to recruiters will be the strength of their business relationships. The biggest winners in 2011 will be online recruiters who are commoditising certain parts of recruitment, and those who offer social media in recruitment training and recruitment-specific search engine optimisation for companies.”

Katharine Robinson, The Sourceress “I have seen more and more businesses get excited about using the Internet to identify and engage potential candidates in 2010. I think 2011 will see this pay off for those that have stuck with it and genuinely committed to engaging online. 2011 will see the wider adoption of smartphones, making the mobile web and even more important aspect of your online recruitment strategy to get right. Those at the forefront of online recruitment will see this bring location-based services like Foursquare and Facebook Places into focus as potential new recruitment channels.”

Helen Rosethorn, CEO, Bernard Hodes Group “Originally our expectations were for a continuing flat market but we are now starting to see pipelines build. There’s a particular uplift in digital investment - clients keen to move their web presence to a new level - as well as organisations across the sectors approaching 2011 with a determination to lift employee engagement, especially understanding and sharing business goals. In HR recruitment, MDH [Macmillan Davies Hodes] is seeing some organisations willing to pay more and negotiate hard for quality people - a determination to have the right people in place. As ever quality candidates are hard to find and need a compelling reason to move!”

Charles Russam, chairman, Russam GMS “We are quite bullish about the opportunities in the interim management market in 2011, although it is difficult to predict with certainty the areas that will be most buoyant. There is clearly a current mood of uncertainty, reflecting much government-promoted debate of key national interests that seems to be a long way off actual decisions. We all know that cuts and reductions in head count in the public sector will hit next year and it is inevitable that public sector suppliers will be affected. Despite the cuts, we see real opportunities for interims to help government departments and local authorities through the upheaval and transition they face. Interims are ideally positioned to help reshape government departments and local authorities in the aftermath of the cuts. There seems to be new life in the financial sector and we think this will be a key growth area next year. And, with the government’s focus on helping small businesses, we see a greater number of interim managers working with entrepreneurs to solve their business challenges and drive their growth.”

Miles Stribbling, director of RPO and consultancy services, Lorien Resourcing “I believe that we will start to see a shift away from ’low cost at all cost’ models that will allow for a more sustainable and partnering approach with key suppliers. The ability for suppliers to communicate their true commercial value to their clients will remain key and I see a greater consolidation of preferred suppliers, as increased internal mobility and direct recruitment reduces the marketshare available. There will continue to be an ongoing trend towards ’in-housing’ certain outsourced functions and those companies able to align their brand, talent management and business strategy will be best positioned to maximise from the climb out of recession.”

Stuart Talbot, head of business development, Recruitment Finance Division, Lloyds TSB Commercial Finance “I’m still cautiously optimistic about next year. The economy will continue to grow modestly, and there will be a small return of M&A activity. Where growth prospects look much stronger, though, is internationally, particularly in Asia and Australasia.”

Original article here.

By Steve Hemsley

Four reports paint a very different picture of the interim manager market. It's not clear if it is growing or shrinking, if day rates are rising or falling or public-sector contracts are increasing or decreasing. Which survey should HRDs trust?

Back in August, football's controversial rating system endorsed by England boss Fabio Capello rated unknown Blackpool player Luke Varney ahead of Wayne Rooney as England's best striker. The explanation was that the so-called 'Capello Index' was only judging one week's performance. But the 'error' dramatically demonstrates how statistics can leave those trying to interpret them scratching their heads.

Interim management is probably as far removed from the Premier League as you can get, but those analysing the ups and downs of the interim playing field are also sending out mixed messages. The Interim Management Association (IMA), the Institute of Interim Managers (IIM) and providers such as IMS Executive and Russam GMS are respected surveyors of this industry. In the past two months all four have published market forecasts. But if these are brought together for comparison, as HR magazine has done for the first time here (see 52), the only clear thing about them is that they paint an even more abstract picture of the market rather than a definitive representation. There seems to be major differences of opinion about what the state of the market is at the moment - growing/not growing; day rates increasing/decreasing; public-sector contracts increasing/decreasing. They show just how difficult it is for HRDs (and interims themselves) to know which surveys to trust. Which is the truest indication of what's really happening and which are just talking up the market?

The latest IMA Market Audit, carried out by Ipsos Mori, gathered data for every assignment completed across various industries between April 1 and June 30 from across the IMA's membership. The latest statistics show how volatile business can be quarter to quarter. The private sector now takes 52% of roles, up from 48% in the first three months, yet banking and finance's share of private assignments is down from 43% to 34%. This time it is the chemical, biotech, pharmaceutical and retail sectors experiencing growth. The need for HR interims, it says, has increased, accounting for 13% of all assignments (12% in Q1), while the need for special project interims fell to 22% (from 37%).

"This is a small sample and we are seeing a lot of short-term movements in the statistics," admits IMA chairman Paul Botting. "The share split between private and public-sector work could widen as we see Government cut costs." As for the 8% drop in the overall number of assignments, Botting says this occurs from time to time and is nothing to worry about.

While the IMA figures report public-sector assignments down, the Russam GMS bi-annual survey suggests interim positions here are holding up and that pay is stable. Its snapshot study claims day rates in local government rose 6% to £549 between December and June. The Russam GMS numbers also say HR specialists are in greater demand in both the public and private sectors, with their daily pay rate rising by 11% to £614. Pay is also up for interims working in engineering, by 10.5% to £504; and manufacturing, by 5% at £540.

The manufacturing sector has been a tough one for interims. John Wilson, head of manufacturing at Russam GMS, describes the past couple of years as dire.
"The difference between the IMA stats and ours is the source. We question our large database of registered interim managers rather than providers so you will get a different bias to many answers," says Russam GMS chairman Charles Russam.

More than 1,000 interims - 91 of whom are HR interims - responded to the latest survey. "You can get wobbly findings from time to time so the bigger the sample the more accurate the picture," he adds.

He accepts that individual interims can lose confidence if their own personal experience does not tally with the findings of industry surveys. "What respondents are saying is that different bits of the market are behaving in different ways, but the trend is generally up."

The latest IMS Executive Interim Attitude Survey shows clearly the pressure on day rates. A glance through the responses reveals interims are not happy. Many have had to accept cuts of about 25% in their earnings, particularly for public-sector work. Others are holding firm or negotiating differently by agreeing to performance-related bonuses. But the 5th Annual Interim Management Survey, conducted by the Institute of Interim Managers, reveals that few of the interims questioned are as optimistic about the medium-term future as the IMA or Russam GMS results seem to indicate.

Of the more than 640 members questioned between July and August, less than 30% expect things to improve before the end of this year and only half think business will get better in 2011. IIM director and HR interim Ad van der Rest believes the different surveys confirm how important it is that interims and HRDS thinking of hiring them improve their networking skills. "Regardless of trends, the impact on interims is very individual, and improved face-to-face and online networking with HRDs will help them buck a trend," he says. "Waiting for the phone to ring is no longer sufficient."

Julie Waddicor, managing director of Hays Human Resources, says the surveys point to a fragile upturn and to HRDs wanting a more flexible workforce. "Clients are looking for more sophisticated ways to use interims and want niche skills. For HR interims there is work for those with expertise in employee relations and talent management," she says.

Nigel Peters, director of interim provider Alium's private-sector practice, believes the IMA survey is probably the most accurate reflection of what is happening. He is also not surprised by the IMS Executive figures showing that 83% of interims have reduced their day rate this year. "It is my job to discuss with employers the real value an interim can bring to their business, but there is no doubt clients are much more discerning."

It is difficult to get a consistent picture of what is happening because there are many sector differences. Nick Diprose, executive director at BIE Interim Executive, agrees the industry needs to do more to clarify the return on investment argument of using interims. "Providers like us must be more creative when putting interims into the market as clients are getting cleverer at sourcing talent," he says.

In response, BIE is helping one bank client create a more flexible HR model. It now has an in-depth understanding of the bank's business strategy and is generating a pool of talent based on the competencies it requires for its global change management programmes. This ensures it can provide skilled interims when needed. There will be a 75:25 split between permanent staff and interim managers enabling the bank to scale its recruitment up or down as required.
What is unclear from the surveys is whether or not more women are becoming interims. At the end of 2009, 32% of interims were female, according to the IMA, but the April-June audit shows it is now 29%.

Traditionally an interim career was a way for women to break through pay barriers in their sector. What they might not have bargained for are pay differentials between what male and female interims are paid, with some providers saying the difference in day rates is about 7%. "It is not as prevalent in the interim world because agencies usually fix the rate for a role," says Doug Baird, managing director of Interim Partners. "But some men earn more in industry and take that differential with them."

So what about the interims themselves? Alison Brown has been an HR interim for seven years and she says she has been unable to achieve more than £500 a day since the middle of 2009. Clients are asking her to include expenses in her daily rate, which hits her earnings as she is based in North Yorkshire. To try and boost her number of assignments she is targeting more acquisition work, having previously taken on mostly client downsizing and restructuring projects.

"The period between assignments is getting longer," she says. "An accurate survey is needed that determines the true state of the UK interim market. I have lost count of the number of assignments discussed with me which then disappear into the ether." She says one large employer in her area briefed at least four interim agencies with the same assignment and she was contacted by each provider and put forward for the post. She then heard nothing. "I have a circle of friends who work as HR interims and none of us is working at present. I am the only one to have worked during 2010."

Perhaps analysing figures for the interim market is more like scrutinising Premiership football data than we may think. Winners one week can easily become losers the next.

COLLABORATIVE COMMUNITY

Portfolio working - where interim managers work for a number of different clients rather than just one - is becoming the norm, according research by Russam GMS business forum Interimwomen.

The research revealed that a third of interims prefer to handle a number of assignments part time, 57% said they were happy to work for either one or more clients and just 9% of interims said they preferred to work on one assignment at a time.

Some eight out of 10 women questioned claimed they already had a portfolio career, two-thirds of whom were working for two or three clients, 15% were working for three or four clients, with 8% working for four to five clients.

The majority (82%) believe interim managers will adopt portfolio working increasingly over the next year for a number of reasons.

A third said portfolio working offered interims a way of earning more money and 31% said a portfolio career offered greater job diversity and more interesting challenges.

One in five (18%) said interims were having to adopt portfolio careers and work for multiple clients because the number of full-time assignments had dropped since the recession.

But portfolio working does not come without challenges.

Almost three-quarters (72%) said managing the expectations of multiple clients and keeping on top of planning and juggling client commitments were the biggest challenges.

Other difficulties encountered included finding the work and managing the logistics of working in different locations.

Multi-tasking is the No1 skill needed for successful portfolio working according to a third of the interims, closely followed by leadership skills (24%) and planning and organisational skills (22%). Having good client management and people skills, and the ability to find clients were also important.

Interimwomen director Karen Oddey said: "Interims are embracing portfolio working and the challenge of handling multiple assignments partly out of choice and partly as a result of market forces. While portfolio work is hugely challenging it can also be rewarding and provide the kinds of diverse challenges and opportunities that many women are looking for in their careers.

"Many women also are looking to include non-executive roles in their portfolios – from trustee positions to traditional non exec roles in the private and public sector in order to further their skills and careers, but it seems that these roles are still hard to find. Interim Women hopes to promote a greater number of non-executive roles to our members through partner organisations such as Trustees Unlimited and Russam GMS."

Original article here.

The average pay of interim managers working in charities has fallen by 11 per cent over the last six months, according to the latest survey by Russam GMS.
Daily pay rates for interims in the sector fell from £521 last December to £460 in June.

This compares with pay increases of up to 20 per cent for interims in other sectors – HR specialists saw their average daily rate jump from £547 in December to £614 in June and the supply chain and utilities sectors recorded increases of around 20 per cent.

However, interims working in finance and IT also recorded falls, of 2 per cent and 5.7 per cent respectively. And those in sales and marketing swallowed cuts of 14 per cent, from £608 to £502 per day.

Yet the drop in pay comes against a backdrop of more plentiful positions for interims in the charity market, according to Russam's head of charities Ian Joseph (pictured).

"There's been a real spike in demand," he said. "The first five months of this year saw us convert as many assignments in the charity sector as in the whole of last year."

He attributed this to more interims coming onto the market as a result of restructurings and redundancies and more charities seeing the interim option as value for money.

Joseph added there were more part-time roles available than full-time but there was a trend towards more full-time posts becoming available.

Overall market activity rises
Overall activity in the interims market was up by 11 per cent, indicating that the market is recovering from the recession.

However, the agency's chair Charles Russam said the recovery is likely to be affected soon by public sector job cuts and their ripple effects through the rest of the economy.

"Many providers have already seen a marked reduction in opportunities coming out of central government and to a lesser extent healthcare but local government still seems to be holding up. In the private sector financial services are putting more work out to interims and the charity sector – now renamed civil society – is busy although funds are still tight."

Original article here.

The re-emerging market for HR interim managers could be vital for organisational change in a period of economic recovery and public-sector spending cuts, employment experts have said.

The interims market has become more buoyant as the country exits recession, and those skills could be in further demand from companies that lack relevant change management expertise or the budget for a permanent hire, the Russam GMS annual conference heard yesterday.

"HR interims are important, as right across the economy there has been a significant rationalisation of the HR function because of cost restraints," said John Philpott, the CIPD's chief economic advisor. "Bringing people on board to deal with change management is attractive to a lot of businesses."

"We are now seeing a pick-up in temporary hires, including interims, which our surveys suggested had suffered markedly [in the recession]," he continued. "But they are the first to benefit in the recovery and from the condition of uncertainty, when organisations lack the confidence in economic growth to hire on a permanent basis, but have a need for skills."

Philpott added that a shortage of qualified people in areas such as advanced manufacturing, the difficulty in accessing skilled migrant workers and the investment in green and low carbon technology opened up new prospects for the entire interim community. "Throughout the private sector generally, managerial experience is important – change management in particular."

Neville Reyner, president of the British Chamber of Commerce, described managing change as "akin to lifting the lid on Pandora's box," but added: "the significant headcount reduction is now an opportunity for interim managers".

"We are faced with a fast and unprecedented move away from slow and linear management," he told delegates. "There is now an emphasis on change management and stability, and multi-skilled, flexible workforces that are involved in continual learning."

He also highlighted particular job opportunities in the manufacturing, electronics and environmental industries, as exports improved and new technologies were developed.

Charles Russam, chairman of interim specialists Russam GMS, said although the interim sector remained extremely competitive, there was a "surprisingly level of buoyancy in the market". He added that interim managers recently surveyed by the company were anticipating a 5 per cent increase in activity this year.

Original Article here.