Are you a Real interim?

Layla Jaff, Associate Director and Head of Interim, Frazer Jones

One of the most common complaints from long term, career Interims is that their livelihood is under threat from their permanent colleagues.

The last 18 months have seen unprecedented numbers of senior HR professionals involuntarily placed on the job market, at all levels. There are never a glut of senior HR roles on the market and, as the months go by with no luck in securing permanent work, many people have started to look at the interim market as an alternative means of employment. Specialist / career HR Interims now have to compete with these senior HR professionals.

In most sectors of the economy, employers are becoming increasingly open to flexible working to address staffing needs at senior management level. This is very much the case in HR which is a significant employer of interims.

Interim Managers, by definition, provide an interim solution, such as covering maternity leave, long-term sick leave and secondments, but companies are also embracing interim appointments as a means of addressing more tactical needs, for example dealing with particular Employee Relations issues.

The concern around "permanent candidates" is that they are effectively taking the jobs of the "interim candidates"... not necessarily because, one would assume, they are better candidates - but because, they are much cheaper candidates... Hence, they price the interims out of their own market!

Not surprisingly, with increased numbers of candidates entering the market, the competition for generic HR vacancies is at an all time high and rates have subsequently suffered.

However, the interim market has become more buoyant as the country exits recession, and HR is playing a big part in helping organisations reorganise and restructure as well as driving the development of the talent pipeline process. This is driving more permanent roles into the market and also creating more opportunities for interims. Hopefully, there will be enough work available to keep everyone happy!