Private sector lagging slightly behind

Our own experience would indicate that the private sector is slightly lagging behind the public sector in the use of interim managers. Paul Wilson tales a look at the reasons why.

We get many enquiries for interim managers from public sector organisations, probably at least twice as many as those from the private sector. Is this surprising? On the face of it I thought it was but after speaking with a number of executives from both the private and public sectors, my views have slightly changed.

As one public sector senior executive said to me, “We need to ensure that stakeholders get the best result from any activities we carry out. As a result we need to make sure that our teams are comprised of the most appropriate, experienced people and not just who is available. We operate in a world of transparency where every penny we spend is scrutinised and as result we need to demonstrate results, consequently we embrace interim management as a value adding concept because it tends to get the job done quickly, efficiently and usually right first time”.

Contrast this with an executive from a privately owned organisation. “We have a vast array of talent within our company. I think it would be tantamount to admitting we have the wrong people in place if we needed to go outside the organisation to find an interim manager. Also we always need to keep an eye on our indirect headcount and spend”.

In our opinion public sector organisations are managed with such a level of transparency these days that chief executives need to justify exactly where every penny is going. They also tend to understand that the use of sensibly over-qualified interim managers gets the job done quickly and efficiently with overall less cost. In the private sector there is a slightly more introspective approach where corporate finances are not subject to the same level of independent scrutiny as that of the public sector and there is still very much an attitude of “we can resolve this if we pool our resources thus keeping costs down to an absolute minimum”.

I think it is very much up to interim management providers to spread the message that the use of specialist interim managers can indeed be the lowest overall cost to a business or organisation within both the public and private sectors. In essence, we need spread the word that interim solutions can be very cost effective.

As Autumn turns to Winter, What will next year bring?

Paul Wilson looks ahead to what 2009 will bring the Interim Management sector

At this time of year the mornings are darkening, the trees shedding their leaves and my thoughts turn to the end of another extremely busy year. But I wonder, can we look forward to the same in 2009?

Interim Management as a concept has now been accepted by both large and small organisations within the UK for some time. Recruitment consultants providing permanent staff tell me that the interim sector has stolen some of their market share and their business growth has slowed down. But will we see the same in the interim market?

I think not, in fact I predict that 2009 will be an extremely fruitful year for those managers and providers able to negotiate the debris the credit crunch has left in its wake. Yes, we will undoubtedly need to ‘sell’ our products/services but that is not new for those engaged in the interim sector – however this time, there just might be more people willing to listen to our message.

In recent weeks many have had their world turned upside down. Who would have thought just 12 months ago that we would be seeing banks being nationalised, decade old institutions going to the wall and the globe frozen by financial fear.

As I am writing this we have yet to see the full extent of the fall out from the global credit crisis but you can pretty much guarantee that there are going to be some pretty large pieces to pick up and large shovels will be the order of the day.

All business sectors are going to be looking to reduce costs and bank borrowings, increase productivity and get a better return on capital employed. The bonus culture enjoyed by many in the financial services sector and the city in particular are either going to be curtailed, regulated or radically altered.

With regards to recruitment, strategic decisions are most likely going to be taken regarding senior executives in particular. Questions such as “Do we hire permanent staff or try interim management?” are going to echo around the country’s boardrooms.

Organisations which have been largely safe as houses will now need people with different skills sets including those with turnaround and merger & acquisition experience. Business processes will need to be re-engineered and productivity will need to increase through the use of philosophies and techniques such as lean manufacturing and six sigma.

Which sector is best placed to provide these skills?

I am calculating that both Interim Managers and Interim Management Providers will have a good year in 2009.

Select your shovel………

Are some disciplines saturated with Interim Managers?

Paul Wilson believes that the supply of certain types of interim managers outstrips demand in some disciplines.

Each week the credit crunch and poor economic trading conditions continue I am forecasting we will get applications from more individuals wanting to become career interim managers. Redundancy, re-deployment and general dissatisfaction with permanent careers are often the catalysts for executives deciding to become interim managers. What might be considered to be the start of a bright new adventure I fear will result in disillusionment and heartache for some? I am concerned that there are several disciplines which are saturated with interim managers at present and some budding interims are going to be disappointed as they are likely to be at the back of a very long queue.

I am thinking in particular of the disciplines of HR, General Management, Management Consultancy and IT Consultancy. In my opinion there are just too many people trying to get in on the act in these disciplines and too few genuine interim management opportunities to keep all interested applicants satisfied. I think it will become vital that particularly new interim managers are able to differentiate themselves from others by having a second string to their bow or by being able to offer potential clients something different.