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I hope all those in our interim community enjoyed their holidays over the festive period. Commiserations to those that either had to work or burnt the turkey.
I am really keen to hear your thoughts on how this year is going to pan out – from a UK economy point of view as well as from your own personal views on the interim market.
I am certainly no Mystic Meg and thankfully no Russell Grant (I imagine myself to be a better dancer) but have a couple of predictions of my own. On the UK economy: it’s going to get a bit worse but not by much more (famous last words). My sense is that there is definitely a chance of a double dip earlier in the year but businesses and individuals are better placed to deal with it. All sense of denial has gone and many are already in the brace position. Yes there is going to be more carnage on the high street and economic news will continue to be bleak but I don’t think we are in for a big surprise. It’s not going to feel like the beginning of 2009 when there was a sense of free fall – no understanding of where the bottom was.
So more of the same again? Well not quite – I think UK businesses are a little more resilient than we think. Post Olympics we are going to be in a much better place. The feel good factor of the games and the potential economic benefit of the parties and barbecues will hopefully have a big boost to consumer and business confidence. By the end of the year I really hope the sense is that the economy has turned and we can look forward to small, steady growth? Sorry – not even a mention of the Eurozone! Are my ideas too optimistic or simplistic?
And the market for interims? It will remain very competitive – but there is still a good market for excellent candidates with a clear proposition. My belief is that generalists will continue to find life hard. Clients don’t seem to want or have the luxury for a jack of all trades who can turn their skills to a number of issues. They continue to search for specialists – those who have unique and insightful experience into their particular problem. They prefer them to have that experience, or full understanding, of their sector. They understand that they have a good chance of finding specialist skills and they lack the desire to compromise.
We as a business do far more in the private than public sector and our outlook for the year is quietly confident – we even plan to do better in the public sector. Are you – in the wider interim community – also sensing slightly sunnier times?
I would like to take this opportunity to wish our clients and interims a happy and prosperous new year.
Doug Baird is the Managing Director of Interim Partners.
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I have read some interesting views about the good old CV of late – some interesting thoughts can be found on the IM LinkedIn blogs.
Many of the Executive Interim Managers on these blogs said that they didn’t like CV’s changing format – from the one they/an interim had put together to a format used by a recruitment firm. An interim that I have known for over 15 years, that I admire, respect and have worked with on a number of occasions (that’s you Al Drysdale) stated “I hate CVs that have their format changed by ISP’s because the CV looses the personality of the interim” (not a direct quote but something like). Oh dear I thought – we do that.
Why do we do it? Client feedback was that they preferred it. My second ever client said “Why aren’t your CVs all in the same format – don’t you have an administrator?” Client feedback since then has often been similar. They either liked the format and/or it differentiated our CV’s from other firms. Other reasons are: Some candidates are good but their CVs are too long/too short; sorry but I know some great candidates who have awful CV’s; from a design perspective- we want to communicate our brand; when we started out we hired an Ops Manager from a global search firm. Her view was that they would never dream of it and we wanted to be as professional as we could be; we thought if we didn’t our clients would think we were lazy. Can I think of any more reasons? Has my defence of ruining your CV’s been good enough??
Should we using a CV – regardless of the format? The purpose of coming to us is that we know our candidates – we have interviewed and referenced them. The whole value proposition is not that we have a CV but that we are in a position to personally recommend someone. We should be describing additional dimensions, their skills/personality/fit for the project – these can’t always be encapsulated in a CV. Let’s be honest – many CVs ask more questions than they answer. “That looks like a strange move? Why did they leave? Irrelevant experience prior to being an interim?”
Is the argument about a CVs format about to change full circle with the advent of Apply via LinkedIn? Have you seen this action? Should we adopt it? It is a simple button to press that sends your LinkedIn details through when applying for a position on an external website. I imagine LinkedIn will hook us all with this free service and when it takes over the world charge us for using it. Doesn’t this mean that all CVs will look the same and be devoid of personality? All details will be sent through as LinkedIn prescribe. Suddenly I am not so sure?
Do I think LinkedIn is a threat to our business – definitely not- the benefits it provides are too great – but that is for another blog…?
Zoom forward 5 years- what will we have if not a CV? An automated apply via LinkedIn that has learnt an algorithm for what we like and applies for us without human involvement, then tells us if we have been successful? All we need to do is sit back and enjoy a cup of tea. Or a 30 second video pitch – a “choose me” speech that would not be out of place on reality TV. Video CV’s!!! Don’t get me started on that one – I don’t believe our interims have signed up for a beauty parade!
Are we witnessing the death of the CV and what will replace it?
Doug Baird is Managing Director of Interim Partners.
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We have decided to advertise less! Until recently we have posted a good number of our assignments on numerous websites and job boards but we will be doing less of this in the future. Is this a good strategy?
Our Executive Interim Managers have often asked “Why do you advertise your assignments – isn’t your proposition based on the fact that you already know us?” They have also said “You advertised this assignment – does that mean I have been overlooked?”
The answers are yes and no. Yes, we do know many in the community. Our proposition should and is based on knowledge. This is how we can benchmark one interim manager against another. No they weren’t overlooked – we often post ads at the outset after we have taken a brief and gained our clients’ agreement to advertise. We still needed to attract new interim managers who are the “life blood” of the business but we did not wish to alienate those we already knew.
Advertising can therefore prove to be a double edged sword. Why have we done it then? When I started the business in 2003 we didn’t have a database – just my personal network. This network in itself was not enough to service the diverse demands of our client base. As we grew into new markets we needed to continue to develop broader relationships with the interim community. Also there was an element of wanting to shout about what we were doing. We were handling fantastic assignments – we wanted to show that we were growing, proactive, winning new clients and entering new markets.
Not much has changed since we started. We still feel we are at the beginning of our journey with a lot to prove. We still have the same ambition and passion. We have bigger plans for growth than at any previous time and we are still committed to building long term relationships with our clients and candidates. What has changed is that our networks are maturing and we are seeing far less need to advertise. We know many exceptional Executive Interim Managers and our responsibility is to work with them first.
Our message to the interim community remains the same – we hope you will build a long term relationship with us. However, you may be seeing slightly less ads on external websites because we don’t need to shout at the market as before. Many of our assignments will still be posted on our own website but the money we spent on external websites will be re-invested in other marketing initiatives that we hope will deepen our relationships with the candidate community.
So – less advertising on external websites – good idea or bad idea? How did you find us in the first instance? Will we lose a potential competitive advantage? Your thoughts on this are always welcome.
Ps I will be producing a newsletter for our Interim community in the next few weeks as I hope to keep you up to date on what we are doing and what’s happening in the market.
Doug Baird is Managing Director of Interim Partners.
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I wanted to communicate to the whole Interim Partners community following a couple of problems this week with the posting of assignments. Whilst I was looking to explain what happened on the site over the past few days, I wanted to take this opportunity to highlight what we hope to get out of the site as well as what we want the interim management community to experience.
Firstly let me explain the fault from this week. We have investigated the cause of the problem and the result is that a failed web-link that is supposed to take the user from our assignment alerts on LinkedIn, to our website www.interimpartners.com where there is more detail. I apologise if this has affected you however this fault on the LinkedIn platform is beyond our control. We will continue to monitor our LinkedIn Group and we have checked that the RSS feeds that automatically publish our assignments from our website are present and correct.
Could I advise the following: Should you see an assignment on LinkedIn that does not have a working link to the IP website please report it to our LinkedIn group manager, flag as inappropriate or contact one of our offices.
Secondly the purpose for our site and how we think you could get the best out of the site I have broken down below:
What do we use LinkedIn For?
We use linked in as a distribution channel to promote and drive traffic to our website. It can be used as a news feed so you can see the type of assignments we handle as well as a forum for blogging.
Interim Partners provides visibility on our assignments because the feedback from our interim managers was that they preferred to see what we were handling. LinkedIn provides convenience because you will probably view and return to LinkedIn more frequently than our own site.
Our priority.
Interim Partners’ priority is to work with talented interim managers, who make it their permanent profession. Attracting new talent is important for a growing business with big ambitions. However, we are keen to confine our support to candidates who are seeking ongoing assignments as senior interims, as opposed to offering a route to permanent employment. We endeavour to meet as many interims as we can. Unfortunately we can’t commit to seeing everyone, especially if they are new to interim management, do not have senior level experience, or are outside the sectors that we specialise in.
Our LinkedIn group is not open to everyone.
The group is for professional interim managers who have successful track records. We target only a small range of clients who have very specific needs so we can’t be everything for everybody. We are far more likely to have success in working with you if you have significant experience of working in large complex organisations at a senior level. If you do not then there is a much smaller chance that we are able to work with you. We are happy for others who are on the periphery of Interim management to join our group and remain un-registered on our site because they may be interested in our news or blogs however we are unable to accept applications for assignments from them.
Assignment alerts posted on LinkedIn.
Many of our assignments are posted on our website and on other channels such as this LinkedIn group. We send or post email alerts to keep you informed. The assignments are duplicated across a number of media – so if you are across the web there is a good chance that you may see the assignment listed in two places, please look at the assignment references. We do not pre-qualify who receives email alerts or who can read the LinkedIn posts. They are posted for everyone in the group to see. This means many assignments may not be appropriate for you. Our aim is to get the balance right between informing the market and maintaining client confidentiality. If an alert is not of interest, please delete it or forward it to someone in your network who may appreciate it.
If you wish to apply for an assignment it is essential that you are registered on our website www.interimpartners.com and that we have met you. We need sufficient information from you at the outset because we often need to react to our clients very quickly. If you comment that you “like this” next to the assignment posting we will not be able to acknowledge your application and if we do not hold your details on file we are simply not in a position to assess if you are suitable or not.
Based outside of the UK?
We do have a track record of assisting clients with international assignments; however, we will often place UK-based candidates with them. This is because we will have had the opportunity to meet them, assess their skills and take references. Therefore, if you are based outside of mainland UK and unable to meet us, there will be less opportunity for us to work with you. As our business grows and develops we hope to develop an international footprint.
Feedback on applications.
The dynamics of the interim market have changed over the last decade. Technology has significantly increased the level of applications we receive for assignments posted on the internet. We aim to provide a consultative service to everyone in our candidate community; however, whilst we acknowledge all applications we are unable to write back with detailed feedback as to why it has been unsuccessful. If we have interviewed you please refer to the consultant you met who will provide feedback. If you have applied to a few assignments and are frustrated that you have not made progress please call us. We hope all our interim managers will want to engage with us but will understand the vagaries of the market and demands of our clients.
It’s about relationships.
Building close relationships with our clients and interim managers is absolutely key to us sharing success. We recognise that there are many high quality interim managers interested in fewer assignments. Our chances of making the right recommendations to clients will be much improved if we have a good, all round understanding of your strengths so that we can promote these accurately to our client base. There is no short cut to developing a relationship. We need to get to know you because if a suitable assignment arises we need to be able to fully recommend you and suggest why you are more suitable than another interim manager. Please work with us, keep us informed, provide feedback on our service and invest time in building a long-term relationship with us.
Our expectations.
We expect all those that we accept into this group to ensure that all communication is honest, open and professional. It is important that we can verify who you are and will not accept applications to join the group from those that will not provide full contacts details or whom we believe are using an alias or secondary profile on LinkedIn Anyone who deviates from what we believe to be acceptable behaviour will be removed from the group.
Using social media is a brave new world and we won’t always get it right. Our overriding purpose is to promote interim management and help our interim managers. I hope the above provides more clarity on what we are able to do with our LinkedIn members. For further information please contact us.
We look forward to working with you.
Simon Gough is Director of Interim Partners.
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Thanks to those that supported my application to be Chair of the Interim Management Association, unfortunately I was unsuccessful.
I believe that the IMA need to do much to improve its image and to become relevant to both clients – the users of Interim Managers and to Interim Managers themselves. Before I was interested in becoming Chair we asked a number of clients and interim managers what they thought of the IMA. We wanted to know what its perceived proposition was. The answers from our clients were that it was largely irrelevant when it came to the decisions they took regarding which provider they used. The view from our interim managers was between neutral and negative – they were perplexed that the IMA had attempted to start an Institute and were suspicious of its aims.
Clearly there is a big task ahead of the IMA. It needs to ensure that its members sing from the same sheet and promote IM professionally. Its membership should aim to be exclusive – attracting top tier providers, (some of whom are not in the IMA) who focus only on day rates that are at a meaningful level. The membership should be clearly distinguished from high street recruitment companies who do not value the IM proposition, dumb down through lower rates or confuse temporary roles and fixed term contracts with interim management.
More importantly it needs to spell out to potential clients the benefits of using an IMA member. There needs to be far more value in being an IMA member than cheap access to the REC or a badge for a website. It needs a unified voice that champions the IMA membership within the sector.
The IMA also needs the full support of everyone in the IM community. I hope this can be achieved by re-engaging with other groups – such as The Institute of Interim Management – IoIM, through closer ties, attending each others meetings and far better communication.
I would like to wish the new Chair, Jason Atkinson, every success in his endeavors to champion our sector.
Doug Baird is Managing Director of Interim Partners.
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I have decided to stand for Chair of the Interim Management Association. Good idea, bad idea?
Hopefully many of you will know that the Interim Management Association is the trade body for interim recruitment businesses. If you know what it is I would be very interested to hear your perceptions of it.
If you are a client – does being part of the IMA matter to you when you are deciding on which business to use. If you are an Executive Interim Manager – are you more inclined to build relationships with only those that are part the IMA?
I suspect that there are mixed views on the IMA by many interim managers – not because I am Inspector Morse but because many of you have told me. It seems to me that the major rub has been the creation of the Interim Management Association Institute (IMAI). The IMAI – not to be confused with the Institute of Interim Management, was created a few years ago – had some noble aims but failed to deliver the goods – in my humble opinion! I am not close enough to attempt to apportion blame as to why it was unsuccessful only that it was. It now has a new more independent guise which could prove to be more successful.
OK – back to the role of Chair. Why do I want to do it? I think that the IMA could be more effective in promoting the benefits of using interim managers and importantly – much better at promoting its membership.
The IMA should focus on fewer activities but do them well. Our message should be clear; sourcing an interim manager from an IMA member (as opposed to other recruitment businesses) is the most certain route to guaranteeing the highest quality, professional resource for any assignment. IMA members must be rigorous in upholding the IMA code of conduct and must ensure that we differentiate our offering from recruitment businesses who fail to understand and promote IM properly.
We must move away from “what is interim management”. I have seen too many articles like this and as the sector matures we shouldn’t need to constantly try and define ourselves. We can promote the value of interim management as opposed to what it is, through case studies and testimonials.
I don’t believe we should attempt anything linked to the accreditation of interim managers. How do you tell an Executive Interim Manager that they need another badge?
We need to re-engage with other stakeholder groups and work in a more cohesive manner. The best example of this is the IoIM. We would all benefit from closer ties, ensure we present consistent messages about the market, role and value of IM. Keeping the IMA providers and Interim Manager groups such as the IoIM or the newer API in different camps is a more honest approach but we can still work closely together.
The IMA needs a little more money to be effective. We should consider charging our members (the provider community) more to join and by arranging an event – perhaps an awards dinner to celebrate successful IM’s. Charging money through a “son of institute” would not be palatable. Worse still I heard a suggestion that interim managers should be charged to meet providers – a crazy idea. (I will come back to this one if it raises its head again).
I want to do this because it will be a lost opportunity for our sector for the IMA to stumble further. If I am successful (not counting the chickens yet) then I hope that many of you will be supportive. We can enter a new chapter that will hopefully benefit all that are involved. Your thoughts on the above are very welcome.
Doug Baird is Managing Director of Interim Partners.
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Over the last month I have seen a number of articles stating that the death of the Regional Development Agencies is going to be bad for business. I have read that the RDA’s (with huge budgets) have really made the difference and pulling the rug now could prove disastrous – especially in regional areas outside of London that may have a greater reliance on public sector jobs. How will we ever create private sector jobs in deprived areas has been the argument to keep them?
I still think of myself as an entrepreneur (in the smallest way I would like to add). I started a business; I have hired plenty of people and paid our fair share of tax. I have not at any point benefited from a grant or help from a public sector provider. It has never really occurred to me to search out such help, I always thought that you made your own luck – had a plan, worked hard and hoped that the rest will happen.
I can certainly see why grant aid, financial support and advice should be given to small to medium sized businesses. I imagine that advice on foreign markets and new legislation is especially valuable. What business or start up is going to turn down this type of help? However I am not convinced that this support is necessary via an expensive vehicle like a regional development agency.
Perhaps my view is slightly more jaundice. Take my local provider – Yorkshire Forward – soon to be no more. When I started Interim Partners I was in need of all the help I could get. They frequently used interim managers but do you think I could get them to engage with me? When I suggested I was based in Yorkshire and that they were using an interim management provider in London it held no sway – it didn’t get me in the door. I was told the PSL was not due for review for another 2 years.
I was recently at an awards dinner when the out going head of Yorkshire Forward was telling the audience of its achievements. The case study that he offered up was the support they gave for the building of a visitor centre at the Royal Horticultural Centre in Harrogate. Yes, the gardens are excellent, I am a regular and yes they are great for tourism but I don’t believe the RHS is short of a few bob. I don’t recall the Chelsea Flower show is in dire financial straits. Is this where tax payers’ money should be going and do organisations like this need the support of a public sector financed body?
I am sure that many small businesses will have benefited from the RDA’s and maybe swinging the axe is not always the answer. I am interested to see what replaces it. What ever it is, I will expect it to be fully accountable to those in the region and I don’t believe that it should pay someone 250k+ a year to run it.
I would like to hear from interim mangers their views on the RDA’s. Who out of our interim community has worked for the development agencies? What has been your experience? Has anyone benefited from their help? What is the future for businesses that need or rely on advice?
More importantly – what do we need to see in the SME sector that will act as catalysts to job creation?
Did anyone see our article in the FT at the weekend re rates in the SME sector? Click the following link to read:
http://www.interimpartners.com/in-the-news/ft-article-about-interims-in-smes-201110/
Doug Baird is Managing Director of Interim Partners.
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It seems that if you earn more than the PM and are in the public sector you need to be thinking about a pay cut. The media seem to have really latched onto this salary benchmark so much so that there has been TV programmes devoted to it. Who saw Panorama on the BBC the other night!? As I was watching it, I had the urge to throw something at the TV as they seemed to be missing the point. Perhaps it was me who had lost the plot – it had been a long day. All the talk was on who earns what and that some of them were useless and completely overpaid. Granted – I suspect some are but where was the talk of value? Where was the argument that if you are one of the best performers in the whole of your sector you should be rewarded with better pay? Do you have to be totally altruistic to want to work in the public sector?
My favourites were a Head Teacher on 150k who runs not one but two schools and took them from being near the bottom to the top; or the Chief Constable of Cleveland who has made the streets far safer. In contrast we have the Head of the BBC earning 800k – is he worth 4 top performing Chief Constables?
The subject of value got me thinking. Should interims base their rate on the value they add? It is not a surprise that market forces – the availability of good interims has a big impact on rate. Also a client has a budget or a view on a rate. Importantly, many interims will say “my day rate is £x pounds per day” and if they are getting the rate that they ask for they are some way along to being satisfied.
I am interested on how we can further the debate on rate and the value that interims can bring to an assignment. I doubt that we as an interim recruitment firm are in a position to request a share of the savings / benefits that a client achieves and for this to be passed to our interims for every one of our assignments. What we should be seeking to do is examine the potential value added for every assignment and this should be the key factor in setting a rate or requesting a bonus – even if it is more than the PM.
Please respond with your ideas – which one of you wants to be the first to confess you earn more than the PM?
Doug Baird is Managing Director of Interim Partners.
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We are searching for excellent recruitment consultants to help us to continue to grow Interim Partners. It is not easy to find exceptional recruiters who are passionate about service and want to work hard to support our interim community. Can you help us identify them?
Here’s how. You are probably already networked with good recruiters and have built excellent relationships with them. These are the people we are looking for. Please recommend them to us and tell us what attributes make them stand out from a crowded market.
We are looking for high quality, tenacious and goal orientated people who have an impressive and successful career. They may already be in recruitment – either Interim Management or Executive Search. They could be in Consulting or have experience of selling solutions to C level contacts. They will be great at building relationships, naturally inquisitive and have the ability to influence. They will have the soft skills that clearly recognise we work with talented people and need to manage their hopes and expectations. Importantly, they must understand that we are marketing the skills of our interims and that they are not a “product.” The positions will be based in our London office.
Why Interim Partners?
• Sunday Fast Track 100 in 2008 and 2009. We are outperforming our sector.
• Our business achieved double digit growth in 2009 and we have achieved record revenues in quarters 1 and 2 of 2010.
• We have great relationships with our clients. We are preferred supplier to numerous FTSE 250 companies.
• Exceptional track record of supplying interim managers to some of the UK’s largest change programmes- we have fantastic case studies.
• Supportive culture, close knit team.
• Exceptional Financial rewards.
If we hire someone you recommend we would like to say a big thank you – so tell us what that thank you could be. Tickets to a major sporting event? Tickets for a must see show in the West End? A case of champagne? Of course you would always get our complete focus to help you identify your next assignment!
Please email me your thoughts at dbaird@interimpartners.com
Doug Baird is Managing Director of Interim Partners.
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The newspapers have been full of stories relating to poor leadership over the past few weeks. We have seen General Stanley McChrystall loose his position due to communicating with the press directly and criticising the Obama administration. John Terry has also been talking directly to the media about his boss but has survived despite making a “big mistake”. My favorite of the current batch though is Tony Hayward embattled CEO of BP who continues to get a roasting from all sides for his handling of the Gulf oil crisis.
Knowing what to do in a crisis is a rare skill. The decisions you make have a habit of following you around for many months or even years after. Good judgment is often hard to quantify immediately – it is often only in hindsight that we can see the real and lasting benefits.
It is important that as we represent our interim managers we focus on where they have added value, what they have achieved in previous assignments and if they have a positive legacy. We want to demonstrate to our clients that their organisation is better off; that our interim manager made a contribution that met their expectations and that they passed on their knowledge so that their efforts made a lasting impact.
We place leaders – perhaps they are not leading the national team or running one of the world’s largest oil companies but they are providing excellent leadership to businesses, departments, projects or teams. We like many, are also searching for the illusive characteristics that make good leaders and therefore good interim managers. I would like our clients and interim managers to get involved in this debate and tell me what they believe makes good leaders and good interim managers.
We will all see greater competition for assignments especially as opportunities for interims in the public sector run dry. We will need to fight against the impulse to make a commodity out of interim management and therefore interim managers. We will need to re-enforce the added value message to our clients – the lasting benefits and importantly that the value and contribution of a good interim manager is always far greater than their cost.
Doug Baird is Managing Director of Interim Partners.
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