Interim Management, change management and executive recruitment from BIE Interim Executive
*
Mori HR Directors' Dinner Discussion on Interim Management

3.4. What do HR professionals want from Interim Providers?

One respondent is more interested in learning about the quality of interims that can be provided, than about the interim provider itself.

“The big marketing issue I think interim providers can sell is the quality of their people and I still don’t think they actually do that very well... Bog-standard CVs are not necessarily appropriate for the interim market. The service they have or the type of organisation that they have got and the experience they have had in placing people – I am not interested in that. I am interested in who have they got on their books, how do they attract them, where do these people come from, what can they do”

Events, such as breakfast meetings, organised by interim providers to share the latest thinking, can be an appealing option to senior HR professionals.

“If you look at consultancies, what they tend to do is they say come along to this event and we will be talking about talent management or age diversity or managing change, and you think, ‘Yes, what's the latest thinking on that’ And you go along to it and there is a bit on managing change, but actually what they are doing is they are promoting. And that's quite appealing, it’s 2 or 3 hours, it’s acceptable – you learn a little bit about them and what they provide and learn a new model for managing change or whatever it might be”

“All the time I get invited to breakfast meetings, KPMG have them on all sorts of topics and Ernst & Young... if it is interesting you think yes and it’s a free breakfast. At the end of the day you might gain something...”

In order to encourage interest in these events, they should be positioned as firstly, an opportunity for participants to learn about the latest thinking in topics that are of interest and relevance to them. Secondly, the marketing element of these events should be tailored around what the solution interim provider can provide to the organisation in terms of knowledge and resource, rather than about the interims themselves. There was a suggestion that the name ‘interim management’ may need to be updated.

“They need to head breakfast seminars not ‘Interim Management’ but ‘Managing Change’…If you put interim management people will say ‘to get a croissant and coffee would be nice but I know all I need to know about that’. but if it is managing change and the role of the interim in managing change and the role of BIE in providing interims to successfully manage your change, I think that starts to get people through the door"

“There is still something, a dryness about the topic (of interim management) and the name given to it which doesn’t easily attract people... It is a matter of getting people through the door for another purpose, because interim management is the vehicle if you like but actually the solution to an organisation’s problems is something different, it is a knowledge issue, it’s a resourcing issue, it’s an immediate issue. Having that resources and knowledge on tap when you need it. Interim management is just a label and a vehicle. I think they need to promote themselves as something else...develop a new label and a new business model, something that allows them to get through the door of the major organisations”

Another respondent would like the interim provider to help promote their organisation to a wider audience, including selling the organisation to interims, so that interims can come in, do something for the organisation and leave it in a better position: “In trade magazines, fairs, or networking opportunities… (interim providers can say) we placed these people in [organisation] – this is what they achieved, this is what has happened.”

One respondent would like the interim provider to show flexibility and take a longer-term view “For me, an interim is a good way of getting an extended interview. There is no better selection process than an on-the-job selection... Some of these people I might want to offer a job to at the end of the day but I don’t way to get stung for a 12% charge in terms of recruitment... Don’t confront me on terms and conditions because that would save 12%. The investment for you in the longer term is I will come back with more business – that type of flexibility is required” However, the paradox here – as another respondent pointed out - is that the best interims tend to be those that are embarking on it as a career, who aren’t interested in employment.

< Back

To discuss your interim management requirements with BIE call +44(0)20 7222 1010
*