Interim management contractors are less likely to be in an assignment, feel generally less busy and are typically working shorter assignments than a year ago, according to research by interim recruitment specialist Executives Online.
Of the 934 interim management contractors who participated in the research during December 2010 and January 2011, nearly 50% were not in an assignment. Only 30% were in full-time interim management contracts compared, compared with a figure of 40% who were in full time-contracts before the recession in September 2007.
The Interim Report also shows that the interim management contractor sector is dominated by men over fifty, with 85% of respondents male and 70% aged 50 or more. Despite the gender imbalance, female interim management contractors fare better than their permanent counterparts. For example, only 7.8% of FTSE 250 board appointments are held by women, whereas 15% of interim managers are female.
The gender pay gap has narrowed greatly in the last three years and is now almost insignificant: £607 for male interims versus £604 for females. This contrasts with 2007, when male interims earned on average 16% more than female interims.
Despite the recession, day rates for interim management contractors have held reasonably steady, with only 25% of survey participants reporting rate reductions in the last year. The overall average has dipped slightly, falling by 4% from £649 in September 2009 to £621in January 2011.
Unlike some contracting sectors, interim management contractors generate most assignments through their own efforts. Only 38% of interim assignments were sourced via an interim or recruitment agency, compared to IT contractors who, according to JobsAdsWatch, are placed by an agency in 87.5% of cases.
On their reasons for hiring interims, 32% of the 123 interim management contractor clients who participated in the research said they were looking for skills not present in the existing management team, while 19% required additional capacity for fixed-term projects.
Compared to previous years, fewer clients are turning to interim management contractors because of slow or ineffective permanent recruitment. The report ascribes this pattern to the reduction in the overall amount of permanent recruitment as a direct result of the recession.
The report concludes that the recession has impacted negatively on interim management contractors, resulting in fewer assignments of shorter length. Perhaps it is no surprise that the demographics of the interim contractor workforce also show that younger entrants are being discouraged, and “the survivors of the difficult climate” are the more experienced interim executives.