Interim Partners wins highly coveted public sector supplier status

Interim Partners is confident that gaining this accreditation will help it achieve strong growth in its revenues through increased opportunities of working with the public sector.

The award of the framework agreement recognises Interim Partners’ quality as a specialist service provider and means the Company will now play a key role in helping to source high calibre interim managers across a wide number of disciplines within the public sector.

The accreditation was awarded after a rigorous evaluation and selection process and means that public sector bodies can turn to Interim Partners for the placement of highly experienced individuals into specialist assignments at short notice.

Doug Baird, Managing Director of Interim Partners comments: “This is a substantial step forward in the development of our business. We’re delighted that the quality of our work and the value it delivers has been recognised by this accreditation. This is a great opportunity for Interim Partners to expand our delivery of interims to the public sector. Interims are increasingly vital for the public sector as a cost-effective way of managing projects, vacant periods between senior staff replacement and delivering institutional change.”

According to Interim Partners, budgetary pressures mean that the next five years should see the public sector turn increasingly to interim executives as a cost effective and flexible method to deliver senior management skills exactly where they are needed to improve productivity and performance levels.

In 2009, for the first time ever, the public sector’s use of interim executives equalled that of the private sector. And during Q2 and Q3 2009 the public sector made 49% of all interim executive appointments.

In the public sector the biggest user of interims is the health service (31% of all public sector interim assignments), followed by Local Government (29%) and Central Government (13%).

Doug Baird says: “The public sector as a whole is turning increasingly to interims as part of its efforts to help improve efficiencies and raise frontline standards. Public bodies are looking to manage costs on project work by hiring an interim to oversee project consultants and to ensure they are working efficiently to meet key milestones on budget.”

The accreditation was originally awarded by the Purchasing and Supply Agency (PASA), which is now part of Buying Solutions.

Ipsos MORI research, Q3 2009.