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- Jo Faragher
While most workers kept their heads down during the leaner times of the economic downturn, for many interim managers, it was a buoyant period.
Recruitment freezes in many companies meant that they couldn’t formally add to headcount, yet at the same time many were going through extensive change programmes or restructures, and really needed to bring interims’ skills on board.
Interim managers provided a handy solution, and professionals with experience in turning poor performance around or helping teams deal with change were in high demand.
But contrary to popular opinion, most interim managers are still open to returning to the corporate world, despite the obvious freedoms of a portfolio career.
According to a new survey by Executives Online, of 100,000 managers and executives, 36% of respondents registered for both permanent and interim roles, dispelling the myth that interim managers are only interested in shorter contracts.
In fact, more than half of permanent placements registered by the site were of candidates who had registered an interest in both interim and permanent work.
As Andrew MacAskill, Executives Online’s commercial director, points out, there are many factors at play when an organisation is selecting senior executives – above and beyond their tenure at previous employers or what their employment status was.
Likewise, professionals considering roles will look at things such as their future relationship with a line manager and whether the company’s goals interest them – not just how long they might be working there. As Executives Online’s research shows, sometimes the person who is the best fit might never have considered taking on this sort of role before.
It’s still true that many interim managers make a distinct career choice to only look at fixed-term roles, but that doesn’t mean we should pigeonhole all interims.
If we do, we risk overlooking some very talented professionals for plum permanent roles.
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