Beware of Wolves in Sheep's clothing

My views on which segments of the interim sector are doing well are well known. It is highly likely that if you have anything to do with change management, turnaround and business recovery you are probably gainfully employed at present.

However the generalist stereotypical interim segments of Finance, HR and IT are suffering at present as a result of a hug influx of executives looking for work as a result of the recession. I feared this might happen at the beginning of the credit crunch and it would now appear that this is what is happening at present.

Career interim managers are being gazumped to roles because the ‘between-jobs’ executive will work more cheaply and will accept lower contractual terms. Whilst clearly I do not hold it against anyone trying to make ends meet it has led to a shift in the interim market with several senior HR interim managers on our books who have worked continuously for years now being out of work for between 3-6 months at a time.

In particular, HR and IT professionals are feeling the strain at present and whilst the public sector is inundated with professional interim managers (in local government and the NHS in particular) these sectors will undoubtedly see cuts in the future once the next election is out of the way and the government of the day is forced to tackle the growing public sector cost.

Career interim managers will always give better value for money than executives ‘resting’ or ‘between jobs’. I have listed a number of reasons below why potential clients should select career interim managers ahead of their permanent counterparts:-

1. Career interims are objective biased and not time biased, they will complete the task in hand more efficiently rather than spin it out to suit their personnel circumstances
2. Professional interim managers will not up and leave when they find a permanent role
3. Career interim managers work to a ‘code of practice’ and have professional indemnity insurance in place to provide ‘peace of mind’
4. Career interim managers are likely to be more rounded individuals able to offer advice and experience on topics unrelated to their assignment

I would strongly encourage potential clients to closely check the credentials of the ‘interims’ the might be engaging on assignment to ensure they are real deal.