British IMs are becoming an increasingly popular UK export. According to the 460 interims who responded to Russam’s survey, eight out of ten had completed assignments overseas. 67 percent of them had clocked up between five to ten years of international interim experience, nine out of ten were men aged between 45 and 60. Only ten percent were women. Some 79 percent said that demand for interims overseas is strong because international firms need specialist skills on a temporary basis when they can’t resource projects locally. Half of them also said that UK qualifications and the ‘British’ interim manager ‘brand’ was prized highly abroad.

Project management is the most popular kind of international assignment according to 55 percent, followed by general management and business development. One in five interims had worked on financial projects. In terms of industry sectors, half of interims had worked in manufacturing or engineering firms, 31 percent in professional services firms and 27 percent in Banking or financial services companies. The top ten international destinations for British interims are: Western Europe; Eastern Europe; USA and Canada; Africa ; Middle East; South East Asia; Australia and New Zealand BRIC countries include; India and China . In terms of future growth, Asia was considered the number one market, followed by the BRIC countries and then Western Europe. International projects tend to be shorter than UK ones. Almost a half of interims (48 percent) said they have worked on short ‘fix it’ projects lasting six months or less whereas in the UK, a typical project tends to a minimum of eight months on average. The interims stated that the top benefits of international work were the challenging and stimulating nature of working abroad, being paid more highly and the greater number of jobs. Surprisingly, the excitement of living in a foreign country and learning a new language were considered less important. But working overseas is not without challenges. 40 percent admitted that leaving family and friends was difficult, 17 percent said that it was very intensive experience with little downtime and 13 percent claimed the cultural differences were challenging.

Overseas working is also a man’s world, with the majority admitting they rarely encounter women in similar positions when abroad. They cited several barriers hindering women’s progress including security issues, cultural differences in many Middle Eastern countries and a ‘macho mentality’ in Southern European countries. They also said it is easier for men to live in hotels and more ‘acceptable’ for men to dine in restaurants alone. Jason Atkinson, Managing Director – Russam Interim said, “The report highlights a significant amount of international projects being undertaken by British interims, particularly in Europe. However, just like in the UK, international firms are recruiting based on competence and experience. They want people with proven international business experience, and a ‘global outlook’ who can integrate into their business and culture and deliver the goods. This is the key to a successful assignment in the UK or overseas.”

“Clearly, the international interim market is less evolved than the UK. Many firms don’t hire women in senior positions. We hope this will change over time and it will be easier for women to work overseas. Notably too, many Asian countries currently don’t tend to hire interims, but this market may also evolve – Asia and BRIC were cited as the big areas of future growth.”