Increases in demand for experienced Interim Managers

One would hope that we are going to start to see the next phase of this recession pretty soon and the signs are there. Volumes of research have been undertaken and the good news is that, for those of us who either work in or provide services to the finance industry, things should soon start to look rosier.

Safety in the specialism

In a recent survey by a large recruitment business that outlines the safest jobs to be in during a recession, unsurprisingly finance ranks highly. Those working in finance as accountants, risk and compliance specialists or internal audit professionals will be deemed as increasingly necessary to businesses either looking to survive the downturn, or to deal with those that don’t manage to. Those with an insolvency specialism are and will continue to be in demand.

The interim solution

We are already seeing businesses start to rely more on interim managers within finance and taxation to deal with change. Organisations will increasingly look for seasoned interim professionals with exposure to dealing with change to add value to the business. Interim Finance Directors and transition or turnaround specialists are already being sought to help turn loss-making businesses into profit, or to restructure finance functions. The benefits of using highly experienced interim managers far outweigh the perceived cost. The value of having an external person coming into the business with a proven ability in delivery in challenging times is priceless. The flexibility of having someone being paid on a daily rate basis can also be useful if the individual completes the assignment ahead of time for example.

Experience Counts

As the market for the top end interim positions starts to build, we should also see an increase in project based and mid-management level interim roles as the economy begins its slow incline. The competition for each interim role remains high and businesses are taking a far more cautious approach to the selection of individuals at every level. Those that have proven ability as a career interim manager are certainly seeing more success than those who haven’t had in depth prior exposure.

Mary Driscoll is a Managing Partner at Maven Partners, a specialist Interim Management and Temporary Recruitment business. Please contact me for individual market advice.

marydriscoll@mavenpartners.co.uk

See our website at www.mavenpartners.co.uk for more information.