An Interim Forecast

By Andrew Munro, Burning Pine Ltd

Whilst many interim managers may be emerging from their solstice / Christmas / New Year celebrations with a wary eye to the near future, there should be little doubt about the longer term outlook for the interim management profession. The future of all forms of freelancing is extremely rosy and interim managers – providing we keep ourselves agile and adaptable – are among the best-placed of all to succeed in the evolving world of work.

Why? Over recent years, a confluence of factors has made a flexible approach to resourcing more appealing to organisations.

Demographic changes mean that businesses are facing an accelerating shortage of talent. Over the next 10 years, the bulk of the baby-boomer bulge will have retired taking with it a wealth of experience and skill. At the same time, the emerging Generation Y is smaller and shows signs of valuing things other than a life-long commitment to long hours for a supposedly paternal employer. There is a growing talent shortage that business-savvy interim managers are well-placed to fill. Indeed, many of those may well be retiring baby-boomers who are unwilling or financially unable to go quietly into retirement: a flexible interim management career may balance the desire to keep brain and bank account active whilst slowing the overall pace of work. Others, of course, might emerge from Generation Y’s thirst for independence, autonomy and flexibility.

Technological progress, as we all recognise, just makes life easier. It facilitates networking to make the interim life less lonely: the IIM’s Interim Management group on LinkedIn has over 5,000 members and Interim Hub itself provides a wealth of resource for individual interims. Technology also makes marketing easier and cheaper: in last year’s Interim Management Survey, the IIM found that 68 per cent of interims believe that a LinkedIn profile is either Essential or a Good Idea (http://iim.org.uk/survey/). Not least, it makes communication between interim and client company seamless. As organisations begin to embrace the implication of the consumerisation of IT and the Bring Your Own Device trend, bringing a fully-equipped, hit-the-ground-running interim on board will become still easier.

And the economy? The current economy is causing businesses to look hard at their cost model and to demand flexibility. Wherever possible, firms are reducing their fixed-cost base. The same approach that is driving cloud-computing and hot-desking is coming to resourcing with firms looking again at what is "core talent" and what would be better defined as flexible, expertise on demand.

Just before Christmas, MBO Partners, an American firm that specialises in bringing businesses and independent consultants together, published five 2012 Independent Work Predictions (follow this link for full details) which are easily recognisable in the UK interim economy.

  • One is the new majority – "The new independents... behave more like a business than an employee. Expertise is their product and they are selling it to a target market that has no geographic boundaries."
  • Expert, seasoned workers will be in demand – "Companies are able to speed go-to-market or growth strategies by tapping an independent expert with specific skills and expertise."
  • New social communities and collaborative technologies fuel independence – "The growing adoption of collaborative cloud computing tools and social networks is driving a new kind of community-building in the workforce."
  • The backlash: Increased regulation and tighter enforcement – "As more workers and companies embrace independent work, the government will seek more aggressive means to fund tax revenue."
  • The need for a passport for independence – "a platform that enables independent workers to move from project to project and company to company with better, more robust systems, safety nets and the tools to support them as compliant, independent businesses."

This predicted emergence of entrepreneurial, supported, serial masters (to borrow a core theme from Lynda Gratton’s must-read book, The Shift; future success lies in developing "Serial Mastery") is certainly reflected in what the IIM sees. Last summer’s Interim Management Survey (http://iim.org.uk/survey/) found that 74 per cent of interim managers were hired specifically for their specialist skills. MBO Partner’s assertion that independents speed "go-to-market or growth strategies" is also borne out by the findings of Cranfield’s Professor Andrew Burke who demonstrates how independent talent serves to facilitate innovation in the economy.

We also see that many new members join the IIM because of what MBO Partners term the "passport for independence". They are looking to the IIM’s range of benefits and discounts to replace the "corporate comfort blanket" of insurances, training and the like (http://iim.org.uk/member-benefits/) whilst drawing on the institute’s resources to support them as "compliant independent businesses".

As to the backlash, UK interim managers have been experiencing that since the introduction of IR35 in 2000. Organisations like the IIM, the PCG and others have fought tirelessly to shape, influence and combat potentially damaging legislation like IR35 and last year’s Agency Workers Regulations.

The immediate economic outlook may seem uncertain but there is every reason for dedicated interim professionals to be confident in the longer term future. As the economy becomes increasingly agile, the interim manager’s value proposition of seasoned expertise on demand will become ever more attractive.

Andrew Munro is an interim manager, consultant and writer with a special interest in changing patterns of work. You can follow him on his blog, http://burningpine.wordpress.com, or on Twitter (@burningpine). Andrew is also a director of the Institute of Interim Management. To learn more about the IIM and how it can accelerate your success as an interim, please visit http://iim.org.uk.