The Interim Channel

Capita Interim Management has achieved the highest rating in a recent poll carried out by LinkedIn member group, Interim Management Jobs.net. The survey asked over 400 interim managers to rate the interim recruiters that they had previously dealt with based on a scale of one - to - five. Capita Interim Management achieved the highest rating, and received the highest number of maximum scores for service excellence.

Interim managers were asked to rate the service they received based on their impression of the consultants and whether they maintained contact and kept them updated. Interims were also asked to rate whether they felt the consultant had a good understanding of the kind of interim assignment they were looking for and the sector they worked in.

Gwen Carter, director for Capita Interim Management commented:” It is wonderful to be recognised for the hard work that every member of the team here at Capita Interim Management puts in. These ratings demonstrate that we’re providing the highest levels of service and importantly that the interims that use us appreciate this and are happy to work with us again and again.”

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Filed under: Interim Management by natasha.rydlewski on Friday, December 11th, 2009
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The state of the economy is evident in many ways in the interim job market, but a small, and worrying trend is the concept of ‘more for less’.  That is, that recruiters are demanding more skills, more experience, more hours – in fact more of everything, but want it for a less.  Having to deal with this nature of hard negotiating at the offset of a recruitment exercise is one thing, but some recruiters are leaving it until the offer stage when they presumably consider themselves to be in a stronger bargaining position. Is this fair we ask ourselves?  Is it also fair to ask for a rate reduction part way through a contract or at the stage of a promised extension – when presumably by the nature of the request, one can assume that both interim and recruitment company are performing well?

 Is this just savvy procurement or are clients taking advantage and attempting to get their interims ‘on the cheap?’ It is true to say that there is still a level of ignorance around the subject of Interim day rates and this can make it an incredibly emotive subject. One key question is – should the day rate be defined by the market worth of the interim or should it be the value of the work required?  Either is relevant, but what definitely doesn’t work is to try to relate a day rate to a permanent salary.

 We are, without doubt, seeing genuine flexibility regarding rates from our candidates but also recognition that everyone has their limit.  Strong, proven interims will know their worth and will not be frightened of walking away from roles where there is an adverse gap between requirement and reward with no clear justification.  On the flip side new interims trying to break into what is becoming an increasingly competitive market will present themselves at lower rates, but won’t have the track record of succeeding in delivering interim assignments.

Whatever the state of the market, the subject of day rates will remain a hot topic and one that we are sure will continue to be debated.

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Filed under: Interim Management by natasha.rydlewski on Thursday, September 10th, 2009
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Despite research and general opinion suggesting that the interim market remains relatively healthy, it seems that some interims are becoming increasingly anxious about the security of their contracts or indeed where their next contract is coming from.  At Capita Interim Management we are certainly noticing that interims some working for us are chasing us for contracts extensions, or starting to look for new roles, much earlier. Although we appreciate the reasons behind this, it has to be said that our clients are not displaying the same levels of urgency and if anything are leaving it even later to commit to extended contracts.

For our part, we are as keen as our candidates to secure ongoing or new work for them as soon as we can, but we do feel that some of the nervousness displayed is not always founded.  If you are in a contract with the possibility of an extension then you should work with your consultant and take their advice and trust them to negotiate on your behalf.

With regards to looking for a new contract, it is definitely a mistake to go out to the market too early.  Recruiting Managers looking for interim support will inevitably need someone who is available more or less immediately and if you can’t offer this then this may cause a problem.  We do however understand the temptations that might be dangled before you by competing recruitment companies, but be assured that exiting from an existing contract early to make yourself available for a new contract, is not the answer.

Our recommendation would be to stick close to the consultants you know and trust as they will offer you honest advice and your loyalty will go a long way in a tight market.

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Filed under: Interim Management by natasha.rydlewski on Tuesday, July 28th, 2009
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1. Don’t try and fit a square peg in a round hole.

Our clients often have specific requirements and will make the most of the fact that there are candidates available to meet them. NHS clients like NHS experienced interims. Blue-chip clients like those from a similar culture. Central Government departments like interims with extensive OJEU knowledge. They don’t need to look outside the box. Only apply for positions where you can offer specific and relevant product, category or industry knowledge. If you have spent the last 10 years purchasing IT hardware for a telecoms company, you are unlikely to be short listed for a role procuring social services for a local authority.

2. Be flexible

Interims are like houses – only worth as much as someone will pay for them. Strategic level interims have been able to achieve fairly substantial rates in the last few years but the shift in the market has meant that this level of recruitment is dramatically reduced. Hands-on and operational interims may only have to reduce their rate by £50-100 per day but those who have enjoyed rates of sometimes four figures are going to have to readjust their expectations.

3. Network

It is often who you know and not what you know. Network with other interims. Recommendation and word of mouth goes a long way.  Establish stronger relationships with your recruitment consultants. Work closely with 2 or 3 consultancies, no more. Make sure you have met them, provided them with references, and communicate honestly with them. It is a harsh fact but recruitment consultants only get paid if they find their candidate’s jobs. It is as simple as that! When there are more candidates on the market, consultants have to be selective about who they spend time marketing and who they recommend to their clients. With so much choice out there they cannot afford to risk their reputation by supplying candidates that they cannot guarantee will do a good job. If you are registered with every consultant under the sun you are unlikely to be on anyone’s priority list. If we know you, trust you, and rate you, we will do everything possible to get you a job.

4. Consider your transferable skills

Some areas of industry are unlikely to be interim recruiters this year. If you have worked within automotive or construction for a considerable amount of time you need to think about what other industries could utilise your experience, or if you have worked with particular categories, what other organisations that would be relevant to.

5. Strengthen your job applications.

A good CV can make or break your application. Make sure it tells recruiters not just what you have done, but how you did it and what you have achieved. Give detail. A one liner for a 6 month assignment is not detail. Tell people why you’re good! Attach references to back up your CV. Write a supporting statement of why you are relevant for the role and give specific examples of where you have experience in that area. Make your application stand out!

No one has a crystal ball but everything points to the fact that this year is not going to be as busy for all of our interims. There will always be exceptions to this rule and some organisations will flourish in 2009 and utilise interims to the max. But, I maintain, as I always have, that good, effective interims, who are flexible, reliable and a reasonable rate, will always get assignments and will get through 2009 relatively unscathed.

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Filed under: Interim Management by natasha.rydlewski on Wednesday, February 25th, 2009
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Having experienced the ups and downs of the recruitment market for nearly a decade, I try to explore the opportunities that market conditions create, rather than eliminate. Some organisations are undoubtedly going to need the expertise of procurement interims in 2009 - after all, no organisation can go through a period of recession without changing their product or their process.

Local Government procurement is in the spotlight this year with the pressure on to reduce costs and whilst some authorities have worked hard to establish effective and stable teams over the last couple of years, others are still running with fairly archaic functions that will need to get up to speed pretty quickly to even stand a chance of meeting targets.

Our Central Government is undoubtedly under huge pressure to reduce their costs and many departments have interim recruitment freezes in place currently. All this focus on cost saving, however, will undoubtedly create opportunities and category specialists are likely to be called upon to carry out specific cost reduction projects.

The NHS looks set to be a reliable user this year with changes to NHS procurement practices and procedures beginning to be implemented during 2009.

The main area for concern over 2009 looks to be in many areas of the Private Sector, with most having to jump through hoops to get interim sign off. Many organisations are having to work with very short term business plans and cannot see past the initial cost of an interim. If they can recruit, it is likely to be for a quick cost reduction project rather than any long term strategic posts.

Even so, there will be certain skill sets in demand. Outsourcing is an area that many organisations are exploring, enhanced IT systems will be required to increase productivity whilst reducing headcount and tough negotiators may be rolled in to maximise on current contracts and make quick savings – after all, in this market cash is king. 

There are undoubtedly more interims available on the market than there have been for some time so competition for roles will be great. Some interims have returned to permanent posts, whilst others have adjusted their expectations as to what they can achieve in terms of rate and role.

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Filed under: Interim Management by natasha.rydlewski on Wednesday, February 18th, 2009
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2009 is going to be a challenging year in many ways and whilst the requirement for procurement interims is still likely to continue, it is going to be a competitive market and for the first time in a long time, organisations will have much more choice available to them.

Recruitment trends started to change in the second half of 2008 and we got a taste of what tightening market conditions would mean for our interims. Here at Capita Interim Management we saw job registrations in Local Government procurement increase by 76% compared with the 1st half of the year. In comparison, Central Government roles decreased by 30% and roles in the Private Sector, surprisingly, remained even. Not so bad, I hear you thinking, but when we look beneath the statistics, we could see a very different picture. Roles from the Private Sector came with rates much lower than our interims have been used to achieving and roles within the public sector came with specific requirements that only a small percentage of available candidates could fulfil. In addition to this, contract durations reduced as our clients found it harder to get sign off for anything other than short term recruitment.

The next couple of posts will look at the employement prospects for interims and procurment advise for interims in 2009.

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Filed under: Interim Management by natasha.rydlewski on Wednesday, February 11th, 2009
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2008 has definitely been the best year yet for us all at Capita Interim Management.  We have seen a lot of changes both within the markets we operate in and within our own business, but I am pleased to say that we have definitely ended the year in good shape.  Although we are obviously not immune to the credit crisis, we seemed to have weathered it ok so far.  In the current climate of bad news in the press every day, I must admit I feel almost nervous about celebrating a successful year, but I am proud to say that we have a strong team of excellent consultants who work hard to build effective relationships, are experts in their markets and deliver a first class service to our customers.  Next year will be a new challenge altogether, and I am constantly been asked about the effect of the credit crunch on our business by our Interim Managers and can only say that we remain pretty positive and that if you have desirable skills and are flexible then there will be work for you.

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Filed under: Interim Management by gwen.carter on Wednesday, December 24th, 2008
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At a time when interim opportunities in some parts of the private sector have reduced, the desire to work within the public sector has never been greater. The perception that our government organisations are ‘recession proof’ has led many interims to actively seek roles away from commercial organisations. This coupled with the knowledge that the spotlight is truly on our public services to deliver better services, creating projects to increase efficiency and reduce costs, has meant, for many, that this is the place to be to ensure they are kept in assignment.  On the other hand, there are interims who have only worked in the arguably, more rigid working environment of the public sector, who are eager to get a taste of the commercial world and what that has to offer.

But how easy is it to transfer from one sector to another if you have only sat on one side of the fence?

Our results confirm that 90% of interims surveyed would like to work across both the private and public sector with 75% believing that their skills are fully transferable, yet 68% do not believe it is easy to move from one sector to another. Are these beliefs founded? Well, according to our survey, yes they are. Over half of employers prefer to recruit interims with the same sector experience.

As recruitment consultants, it is our job to find the best match for our interims and clients. There are undoubtedly positions we recruit for that require expert sector or subject knowledge. That is a given.

But there are times when perhaps sector knowledge is not relevant to the job that needs to be done. So what is holding employers back from recruiting cross-sector?  The majority put it down to the cultural differences, stating that private sector interims are not adaptable to the public sector, and that public sector interims find it hard to communicate with the private sector.

Is this a stereotypical view of the way people work in the opposing sectors? Perhaps.

Do the majority of professional, qualified interims have the ability to adapt to their environment? Perhaps.

I think a lot can be learned from both sectors that our interims work within. Some private sector organisations could undoubtedly learn a thing or two from interims who have expert knowledge on process, procedure, risk analysis and collaborative working whilst some public sector organisations could undoubtedly benefit from an interim who can cut out unnecessary administration and process to reduce costs, increase efficiency and introduce systems to streamline processes.

I would encourage both interims and employers to be open minded. Whilst we should never put a square peg in a round hole, perhaps we should start recruiting outside of our comfort zone and look to see what new practices, processes, strategies, ideals, systems and vision people from differing sectors can bring to the table.

By Emma Crichton, business manager, Capita Resourcing Interim Management

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Filed under: Interim Management by natasha.rydlewski on Monday, November 24th, 2008
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In this first posting I want to welcome you to what I hope will become a useful port of call for any Interim Manager who wants to keep an eye on what’s happening in the industry.

Recruiting for the Interim market is incredibly challenging, interesting and even frustrating at times, but rarely does it surprise me. However the results of a survey that we recently conducted did surprise me a little.

The premise of the survey was to find out how Interim Manager’s and employers views differed when it came to working in the public or private sector.

There is an assumed stereotype as to the “type” of person that works in each sector and preconceptions about working life in that sector. Over 80 per cent of employers stated that there is a cultural difference between the sectors, with over 40 percent saying this cultural difference impacted who they hired. The surprising bit is that the Interim Managers themselves actually felt that their skills are very transferable and would like to work in both sectors, with the majority stating that they do not consider themselves experts in either sector exclusively.

The survey overall showed moving between the sectors as being very challenging indeed, and my personal experience would certainly reinforce this. Both employers and interims alike state that their skills are transferable, so if it’s not a matter of skill, then what is it that prevents people from crossing between the sectors?

Maybe it is simply that employers are choosing to recruit what they see as the ‘safe’ option i.e. hiring someone who has not only done the job before but done it in a like for like organisation. This is a fascinating and far reaching debate that I think warrants further exploration …so do keep reading and also feel free to post your thoughts.

In the mean time to download the results of our survey please click on the following links:

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Filed under: Interim Management, Job Hunting by natasha.rydlewski on Monday, November 3rd, 2008
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