The Mood of the Interim Community

With the festive season in full swing, my mind always starts looking back at all that has happened in the previous year. With political uncertainty for the first half of the year, a new Government embedding itself for the second half of the year, all underpinned by stagnant economic growth, for many, it has been another turbulent year. Coming into the year, the sentiment of the interim community as presented in the annual IIM Survey was mixed, with many operating in the public sector uncertain. Now, with this week’s white paper paving the way for local government reorganisation, the planned NHS reform, and a housing sector grappling with funding and stock condition issues, perhaps we are on the cusp of a major shake-up in the public sector that could drive interim demand over the next few years. In the short term, economic uncertainty does not look to be in the rearview mirror, and this will continue to impact interim demand in many sectors. Indeed, the last 18 months have taken their toll on the recruitment industry, with a 32% reduction in the number of recruitment consultants, all of which then has a knock-on effect on the interim community and the experience they may receive from interim providers.  

When considering all of this, the importance of providing excellent support to the interim community as they navigate uncertainty and seize upon opportunity is critical. This year we are proud to have been voted as the 2nd highest-ranked company in the Institute of Interim Management, with Nik Shah and Dino Christodoulou having been voted as the 1stand 3rd best consultants in the industry. More recently we have won the ‘Best Candidate Experience’ category at the Tiara Awards. All evidence of the focus we place on supporting people in their careers and the passion we have for delivering excellent customer service. But we know there is more that we would like to be doing, and that the industry can be doing to support those working as interim managers.  

The interim community is constantly changing, and during periods of uncertainty, this precipitates some of those changes. In fact, the statistics suggest that in 2023/24, public sector interims only made up 27% of the interim community, its lowest level since 2013. The 2024 IIM survey results also show the ethnic diversity of the interim pool has improved slightly on last year. But there is still more that needs to be done to ensure it is reflective of society. Unfortunately, the number of female interims dropped slightly, representing the 2nd lowest number of female interims since 2013. I’d love the thoughts of interim managers on what is causing these trends. What needs to change to ensure the interim pool becomes more diverse? And what role recruiters can play in creating the conditions for this to happen. We certainly have views on the role we want to play at Tile Hill. 

In 2023/24, according to the IIM Survey, the average number of days billed by interim workers dropped from 156 to 147, with the average gap between assignments at 2.8 months. The average length of contract reduced from 9.7 months to 9.5 months. And at Tile Hill we are certainly seeing that initial contract lengths are reducing, and then shorter-term rolling contracts are being put in place beyond that. Something we know provides less long-term security to interim managers and again highlights the importance of regular communication between interim and recruiter, and between recruiter and client.  

Coming into 2024/25, the view of public sector interims was that 34% expected a decline in the market, 44% felt it would stay the same, and 22% thought it would grow. At Tile Hill we only see part of the public sector interim market, but our analysis would suggest that some areas have been much busier than in previous years, and other areas have been much quieter. So, depending on your value proposition and experience base, you will have experienced different conditions than others operating as interim managers. It certainly hasn’t been a quiet year for interims within local government, while the health sector has probably felt more constrained. The housing sector has seen high levels of demand in specific areas, but less so in development. And the NFP sectors have tended to hire interims on fixed-term contracts rather than day rates.  

At the start of this year, 51% of interims felt the biggest challenge to them as an interim would be securing work, 49% felt it would be reducing demand, and 35% felt it would be increased competition. Despite all of this, only 15% were considering a move to permanent employment, with 7% likely to retire. What have we seen? There has definitely been more appetite from interims to consider permanent roles if the conditions are right, but we’ve also seen those in permanent roles considering a move to interim or starting to develop a portfolio career that balances fractional working with non-executive positions. The truth is that many people are questioning how they want to work and how they can deploy their experience to best effect in the sectors they operate in. This may mean working as an interim for a period, a consultant for a period, or taking on a permanent role for a few years before returning to working as an interim. And we celebrate that. How that translates with regards to the level of ‘competition’ that occupied 35% of interims minds at the start of this year is highly dependent on the professional area you operate in, and the specific offer you have for potential employers. The best thing to do is work alongside trusted interim recruiters who can help you to shape your offer for the trends they are seeing in the market, help you tailor your CV for each role, and support you to be at your best in interviews. All things that will greatly increase your chance of successfully securing interim roles.  

The IIM Survey is a great barometer for the mood of the interim community and their confidence levels, but also the experience that interims have received from recruiters and the support they value. And since the IIM results were published, the events of the year have certainly highlighted the important role that interim recruiters can provide to support their interim community and the difference this makes to them. With 67% of interims being placed by known recruiters, it is clear that the strength of the relationship between candidate and recruitment consultant is a critical ingredient to success. Many interims also feel that virtual networking is limiting their chance of success. So why not invest the time to get to know your preferred recruiters over a coffee as we enter 2025? Get out to conferences, attend industry events, and maintain contact with your existing network; it will all lead to the potential of more opportunities.  

We care deeply about the experience that we provide to our interim community. We love working alongside interims who are transforming the public sector. And we are hugely passionate about celebrating the value that interims can provide to organisations while offering brilliant careers for people to pursue. Our Interim Insights series is just one mechanism for achieving this. We know that regular communication is important for interims, and we hope we have exceeded the expectations of the majority in this regard. But we know that there is more we can do. In this month's newsletter we hope you find the market update useful in understanding the trends impacting interim demand in the public sector right now.  

Additionally, this year we have looked at new ways to support our community in developing their thinking, sharing best practice, or bringing people together to solve gritty issues. Whether that is webinars on how to navigate a CQC inspection, the tips to achieve a grade 1 SEND inspection, or how to attract, retain, and develop neurodivergent talent within the NHS and local government. Or the leadership challenges of embracing AI in the public sector and how to foster better mental health in your workplace. We’ve written career journey pieces on how to negotiate a fair day rate to try and address the gender pay gap. We’ve written blogs on how to land in your first 100 days of an assignment, and we’ve run webinars for those entering the interim community for the first time. 

Central to our beliefs is the thought that the public sector can benefit from cross-pollination of talent within it and from outside of it. In the last 12 months we have launched practices in health, housing, government, and civil society. All with the ambition of supporting more people to transition between sectors, bringing different perspectives, and helping to drive excellent public services. Critical to this is how we support people to make that transition and to be their best within recruitment processes that may feel unfamiliar. If you are interested in understanding how to navigate the transition between different parts of the public sector, then please reach out, and we would be happy to discuss the opportunities and realities of this. Looking forward, we are committed to providing more support to our interim community. And we want to tailor this support to your needs. We want to keep you updated on the trends we are seeing in the public and not-for-profit sectors and to provide more career journey blogs that support you in achieving your career ambitions.  

Alongside the findings of the IIM survey, we have embedded a new feedback mechanism to capture the experience our customers have when engaging with Tile Hill. In the last 6 months we have rolled out a ‘Net Promoter’ system that gives everyone that has been part of a Tile Hill recruitment process the chance to score the experience out of 10, with 10 meaning you are highly likely to recommend Tile Hill. Coupled with the feedback we canvass from customers verbally; we are constantly thinking about how we can improve the experience we provide to our interims. And we are grateful to everyone that has taken the time to provide feedback on their experience of working with Tile Hill.   

Feedback is our oxygen. We thrive on it. Whether feedback that helps us celebrate the things we do well, or the things we could improve upon. Without your feedback, we cannot continue to evolve in the way we want and to meet the changing needs of the interim community. So please keep an eye out for our feedback surveys. Or, if you’d like to provide feedback outside of this, then get in touch with me.