Interims Abroad

31 March 2008

International Interim Assignments - A Review by Goldjobs.com

Interim assignments that require international travel and work abroad are on the increase, as are Interim assignments that require relocation to another country, especially for those Interims that are UK-based.

Dermot Hill, Director of the Executive Interim assignment specialist Intramezzo, believes that one of the contributing factors has been the fact that comparatively, the UK senior executive Interim market is ‘the most talent-rich in the world,’ making the UK a good pipeline of Interim talent for those companies with projects and strategy that crosses borders and continents. Hill is also careful to point out the added contributing factor being the professionalism of UK executive search and recruitment sector, which is proving popular with clients (both head-quartered in the UK and abroad) wishing to find high calibre Interim managers within the shortest space of time. He says,

“The supply services in the UK are used to find senior executives at short notice (typically within 14 days) . . . and depending on the requirement, you would expect a short list of hand-picked candidates by a director.”

Coupled with the recognition of the British executive market for a supply of talent, there has been a tremendous increase in the number of Interim vacancies internationally by Interim recruiters that we polled. Many large corporations with global activities are increasingly looking to the Interim market to deal with what is known as ‘back fill’. According to Clive Sexton, Director of Impact Executives, 16 per cent of all Interim assignments across all sectors have been due to back fill, where employers are unable to fill or modify a permanent role from the permanent labour market. Although this figure may seem low in the great scheme of things, Sexton was careful to point out that while this figure is rising, the number of Interim assignments has grown considerably in sector associated with business development and change management, with 33 per cent in Programme/Project Management, 21 per cent in Change & Transition and 18 per cent in Business Improvement. Moreover, it has become quite common to find Interim roles being extended for long periods, with many managers remaining on a daily billing contract for a number of years – according to Sexton, Impact Executives know of one Interim manager who has been employed for nearly five years on a rate of £1200 per day.

In terms of location, there has been an increase in the number of assignments in The Netherlands, “the birthplace of Interim employment”, Germany and among others, the Nordic countries of Sweden, Denmark and Finland. This has been especially true in Banking & Finance, which makes up 43 per cent of all Interim work. A report from Impact Executives shows that during the last quarter, the demand for Interim CFO and FD roles form the UK has risen by 25 per cent! Although the financial sector is international in scope, the number of Interim roles in technology including pharmaceuticals and telecommunications has also been on the increase as a consequence of very selective short listing of permanent candidates, with many lacking the skills and experience needed to fill roles.

With the prevalence of English as the first language and the UK’s high-calibre talent pool, it is no surprise that many foreign corporations that are unable to fulfil their needs from the permanent market are looking to the Interim management sector to bring about change and/or improvement in their own operations.

Rosalyn Rahmé of Goldjobs has spent the last seven years working with political and commercial groups on overall ways to facilitate and find alternative solutions to for large and niche corporate companies to find the critical people they need. Interim management is on the agenda as one such solution and although Interim work was not designed to ‘backfill’ roles there is no getting away from the fact that it does fuel further demand for Interim Managers.

With thanks to:

• Clive Sexton, Director, Impact Executives

• Dermot Hill, Director, Intramezzo

• Rosalyn Rahme, Director, Goldjobs

For further information, please visit the Goldjobs website or email Stephen@goldjobs.com