Although these feel like bleak times, more companies are planning to utilise the skills of interim professionals as part of their strategic planning for growth and change.
As companies consider the implications of the recession for the year ahead, the use of interim management just may be the key to their success.
Put simply, interim management is planning for increased demand. Business leaders who proactively factor this rapidly growing resourcing option into their business plans could leave the competition standing.
Within the recruitment industry in general, there is a painful history of being a supplier into an ever-tightening commercial environment as companies seek to freeze human capital expenditure or even begin to trim it back. At Aequalis Consulting, one thing has changed significantly over the last year and that is the growth of the interim management business. With an industry growth rate of over 15% a year and a significantly larger number of CEOs, CFOs and HR Directors now recognising the flexibility and genuine value-add of using Interim Executives, there is every likelihood that, this time around, the call on these resources will reach an all-time high.
A recent survey conducted by Aequalis Consulting shows that over the next 12 months, interim managers will be in demand. The survey results - based on 265 responses by senior management professionals in a range of industries throughout Australia - show that 52 per cent of organisations plan to appoint an interim manager in the next 12 months to assist them through the recession. Of these, 47 per cent will bring on board interim management in the next six months.
"As businesses become leaner with even greater focus on productivity and value for money, interim management will become an increasingly important solution," says Aequalis Director, Simon Boulton. "Organisations should take the opportunity to safeguard their future by proactively examining whether their current structure and ways of working are fit for purpose and are a solid platform from which to grow in the future.
"Interim executives have worked successfully through times of change before. They work practically with organisations that face these challenges to scope out and implement the necessary changes. Bringing with them not only knowledge and experience but an ability to steer the ship through unchartered waters.
A well-scoped assignment will pay for itself in terms of deliverables which improve the companies' positions and these deliverables have a bottom line value."
An interim Finance Director may facilitate the restructuring of a company's finances to take it through a downturn because they bring with them a fresh pair of eyes. In many cases interim executives provide an opportunity in this market for an organisation to change its fortunes by taking ownership of the issues and challenges it faces.
In turnaround situations, interim executives are incredibly valuable because they've seen it all before. Having experienced the situation before and proven the ability to turn a loss - making business into a profitable one, they make fewer mistakes and when the contracts up both parties can simply part company.
We are actively encouraging our clients to look at interim managers as a cost effective alternative to management consultants. As well as price, the major difference is that where consultants advise and recommend, interims deliver. When you call in the consultants they'll leave you with a suggested strategy and list of things to do but they don't actually help you do any of those things. An interim can come up with suggestions as well as carry them through.
At Aequalis Consulting we are certainly preparing for an upturn in demand for interim executives over the next 12 months. The effective use of an interim executive could prove to be a business's trump card. So for the remainder of 2009, this could be an ideal time for organisations to either revisit the opportunities afforded by hiring interim managers or make the break and find out why the sector is the fastest growing area of human capital resourcing.
Simon Boulton is Director of accounting and finance recruitment practice Aequalis Consulting. He has more than 12 years of finance recruitment experience in London and Sydney, where he has launched multiple divisions for international companies. At Aequalis Consulting, he provides tailored strategies for companies in various industries to attract and retain the most talented professionals in the market. Visit www.aequalisconsulting.com.au.
