Businesses are hiring again – the Interim market returns to growth according to Russam GMS Snapshot Survey
The Interim Management market has returned to growth according to the latest snap snot survey of 12,000 Interim Managers from award-winning Interim Management Provider, Russam GMS. From January to June 2011, activity rose by 1.2% - a reversal of fortune compared with the 8% drop recorded in the six months to December 2010.
Growth sectors include banking, finance and insurance, where the survey shows an 8% increase in activity and this same rise is mirrored in engineering and manufacturing.
Activity in the Not-for-Profit/Charity sector and in Central and Local Government remained static. Interim activity in Healthcare showed a significant drop – our figures provisionally pointing to something of the order of 30%. Like many in the Interim Management Sector, we saw a drop in use of Interims in Central and Local Government from mid 2009 to the end of 2010. But while this market appears to have settled at a lower level, the cuts in healthcare have come later - many of them in the first half of this year, which seems to be reflected in these findings.
Charles Russam, Chairman of Russam GMS comments, “There are grounds for optimism in Interim Management. A greater number of assignments are emerging in financial services and manufacturing and there is a rise in the number of assignments coming through Interim providers. This is a good sign of recovery because in the midst of a recession, clients are reluctant to spend money on recruitment to find candidates.
“The number of Interims on assignment in the public sector is unchanged as the bulk of the downsizing took place last year, although permanent headcount reductions have some way to go. The number of assignments out there is quite low and the report shows this is unchanged.”
The research highlights that Interim Managers in their 40s are winning the lion’s share of jobs, with 58% of them on assignment compared with 47% of Interims in their 50s, 42% in their 20s and 30s and 35% in their 60s. However, at the core of the market are Interim Managers in their fifties who comprise 51% of the market. Their average daily rate is £628 - marginally the highest of all age groups.
In spite of the growth in activity, the average daily pay for Interim Managers fell slightly from £613 to £607. This was largely due to lower paid Interims, including recently redundant executives, coming into the market and bringing down the average rates. Interim Managers working part time fared worse in the past six months, experiencing on average a 7% drop in their daily rate from £601 to £527.
Pay rates were highest for Interims in banking and finance at £694 a day. There were pay rises for Interims working in IT, construction and property and FMCG companies, whilst pay in the not for profit sector remained stable at £420-£430 a day.
Interestingly the report highlighted that the gender pay gap in Interim Management is narrowing. In June 2011, the average daily rate for women was £567 compared with £613 for men - a difference of 8%. In December last year, the gender pay gap was higher at 11%.
Charles Russam, Chairman of Russam GMS says, “Obviously we are pleased to see the gender pay gap in Interim Management narrowing, however, there shouldn’t be one at all! In our experience male and female Interim executives command the same daily rates for assignments. One likely explanation is that a proportionately greater number of women than men on our database work in the not for profit sector rather than, say, Financial Services and in disciplines such as HR, where pay can be lower than areas such as general management.”
“To conclude, we do have some grounds for optimism from this report. Our research is very much in line with the Institute of Interim Management’s report last week, which also recorded growth, albeit from a lower base. Businesses are hiring again, however, conditions remain challenging and choppy, particularly in the public sector.”
Note about this Survey
- To read the full report go to: http://www.russam-gms.co.uk/Documents/Snapshot%20Survey%20-%20Jun%202011.pdf
- All the quantitative material supporting this survey is based on the Russam GMS database of registered interim managers, which we present as the most comprehensive working database in the sector and, in any case, is consistent with all previous surveys since 2001.
- Comparisons can also be made against every six month period going back to 1/1/01 – being when this series of the six-monthly Russam GMS Snapshot surveys started. These figures can be seen in detail on www.russam-gms.co.uk
- Estimates of the size of the market are offered by The Interim Management Association (www.interimmanagement.uk.com) and Russam GMS and are broadly similar although based on different statistical constituencies. The IMA has spoken about £1bn. Our own crude way of measuring it is to add up the volume of business done (some needing to be estimated) by the mainstream Interim Management Providers - say 35 Providers turning over about £7m to £10m each = £245m to £350m and adopt the percentage of work reported by Interim Managers as being resourced through Providers which is 42% and gross it up to 100%. This gives £580m to £830m. Our sense is that the real market (as defined originally by the IMA) is at the top end of that figure or, more likely, above. But it is still small compared with other sectors of the temporary/contract work market
About Russam GMS Ltd:
Russam GMS is the longest established mainstream provider of Interim Managers in the UK with a 30 year industry track record and this year was awarded Best Interim Provider 2011 at the Recruitment Consultant awards and last year won ‘Best Interim Recruitment Agency’ at the Recruiter Awards for Excellence 2010.
The company is a search-driven consultancy and has a data base of 12,000 Interims which is the most comprehensive working database and range of contacts within the UK Interim Management industry. It provides Interims across a wide range of disciplines to board level across a variety of sectors including financial services, manufacturing, central and local government, financial services, aerospace and defence, healthcare, universities, charity and not for profit sectors and the private equity and venture capital sectors.
Russam GMS views the Interim Management Market more holistically and entrepreneurially than its competitors. It runs a unique Associates Programme for Interims which includes career advice, job news, events, training and its IND~EX Weekly newsletter to all its 12,000 registered Interim Managers. It has established www.Trustees-Unlimited.co.uk and also www.InterimWomen.com and has a growing number of JV arrangements with third parties building on its strong delivery capabilities across the broad Interim Management field.