CROSS-SECTOR RISE IN ENQUIRIES BODES WELL FOR INTERIMS  

Interim management enquiries are on the rise despite the slowing economy and permanent job shortages, according to findings from an Ipsos MORI report commissioned by the Interim Management Association (IMA) for Q3 2008.

Figures taken from participating providers of interim management services show that requests for interim managers have risen by 7% from the previous quarter.  Almost a third of enquiries were from the public sector, where local government interims were the most requested.  The most common private sector enquiries were from banking and finance, accounting for nearly a quarter of sector enquiries.

IMA Chairman, Paul Botting, says these are encouraging signs: “A continued rise in enquiries is anticipated as we begin 2009.   We’re certainly seeing a need for both private and public organisations to think smarter, which bolsters the need for highly specialised interim work.”

Special projects continue to be the most requested job function.  HR is second, very closely followed by finance.  Programme & Project Management is cited as the most popular reason for hiring an interim executive. 

“Those who are employed to come into a company to turn around a particular aspect of a business or project have a fresh and independent outlook, this combined with their highly specialist expertise means they are an incredibly attractive option,” says Botting.  “There can be no doubt these skills are in constant demand, perhaps more so in the current downturn, across all sectors.” 

Despite the slowdown, by the end of Q3, the IMA providers had 1,185 interim executives working for them, and a total of 421 interim managers on assignments that finished – a 60/40 split between private and public sector work.  The manufacturing, IT/telecommunications and construction sectors have all increased their share of interim management in Q3 and assignments in the Not-for-Profit sector have risen by 13%.  Education also gained a large share in Q3 and is now the fourth biggest interim market within the public sector.   

The Interim Management Association (IMA) is an organisation made up of 38 interim management providers.  The organisation looks after the varying needs of its members within this area of recruitment and continues to raise the profile of interim management as a career choice in its own right.

The quarterly Ipsos MORI study has formed an integral part of the IMA’s analysis and ownership of the market since 2006.  Of the 38 members in the UK, 27 were eligible to take part in the quarterly tracking survey in January 2008, having been members for the full year.  These providers participated in a retrospective survey, providing data for each interim assignment that finished between 1st July and 30th September 2008.  

Human Resources news brought to you by theHRDIRECTOR – the only independent strategic HR publication.