Use of Interim Executives jumps 24% in the last quarter

• First sign of thaw in senior management appointments across economy
• Challenges of post credit crunch world means need for extra senior level skills could not be delayed

The number of Interim Managers hired in the last quarter has jumped by 24% as businesses across the economy decide they can no longer put off the hiring of extra senior management skills says Interim Partners, a leading provider of interim management solutions.

Research by Ipsos MORI for the Interim Management Association identified 680 new interim management assignments that started in Q3 2009 compared to the 548 that started in Q2 2009.

Says Doug Baird, Managing Director, of Interim Partners: “The use of Interim Managers has been steadily growing but a jump of 24% in one quarter is a pretty dramatic.”

“Until now businesses have been very cautious hirers even of temporary workers so this is a really healthy early indicator that a thaw is underway.”

“The appointment of interims picked up in the banking sector first but now it is growing across the UK economy.”

Doug Baird explains that because of a reluctance to replace senior managers that have left the company many businesses have been running on empty even as they, struggle with the burden of repositioning themselves for a changed economy.

Adds Doug Baird: “This sudden increase in the hiring of interims is a sign that companies now feel confident enough to start strengthen their management teams.”

“Many companies are still asking employees to accept wage freezes so the hiring of new full time senior level managers seems a bit insensitive. Hiring an Interim on a short term contract is much more acceptable. It also gives a company the flexibility to reduce costs if the recovery turns out to be W-shaped.”

“With an Interim there are no redundancy costs, no golden hellos and no golden parachutes.”

The research also found that the average number of days that an interim manager’s assignment lasts for has increased from 135 days in Q2 2009 to 140 days in Q3 2009 as the scope of the average interim manager’s assignment grows.

Comments Doug Baird: “Some companies are still trying to align themselves with an economy that has shrunk considerably and are hiring interims to manage cost and headcount reduction programmes. However, we are now getting more instructions where the Interim is being taken on to pursue objectives outside of turnaround and cost reduction – there have been a huge number of projects put on hold by the recession.”

“Businesses need to bring in new skills to deal with the challenges of the post credit crunch world – that means offering a new mix of services or products. There is a lot of house keeping companies want to do so that they can take advantage of any upturn in the economy.”