Guest blog: Could interim management be a serious alternative to the boardroom?

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>> Scroll down for tips on how to become an interim manager

By Rachel Youngman, chair of Interim Women

The news that Lord Davies’s inquiry into women on boards has recommended that blue-chip companies be given two years to raise sharply the proportion of women on their boards or face the imposition of quotas will be a major step forward towards creating greater board diversity in FTSE companies.

The fact that one in four of the UK’s 100 biggest listed companies doesn’t have any women representatives on their board and just 12 per cent of FTSE 100 company directors are women – a figure which hasn’t changed in the last three years – is derisory. These statistics raise serious questions about the ability of FTSE companies to progress senior level women.

Are companies failing to casting the net widely enough to recruit female talent or simply not promoting women? Or could it be that women are scratching at the ceiling because boardrooms are not attractive places to work? Another alternative is that women are opting for different, but equally challenging, career options such as interim management, which enables them to operate at a very senior level in business and make boardroom level decisions, see the results of their endeavours and work in a more flexible way, without the office politics.

The Interim Management Association (IMA) defines interim managers as ‘experienced, hands-on executives and senior managers, who have a proven track record and operate at all levels, from the chairman of the board to the line manager, from programme director to senior project manager’.

In addition to this, it is important to stress that interim managers are problem solvers, people who are parachuted into businesses at a very senior level to handle challenges, and fix problems before moving on. And it is the challenging nature of the work that appeals. In a 2010 Interim Women survey of more than 700 women working as interim managers, 60 per cent claimed that interim work was more interesting and challenging than their previous careers.

Like FTSE Boards, the interim management industry is still male dominated but it has recently started to attract more women. In 2007, interim provider Russam GMS founded Interim Women to be a support to women working as interim managers and attract a greater number into the industry. At that time, 10 per cent of Russam’s database of 11,000 interim managers were women and it wanted this to change.

Today, this figure is closer to 14 per cent.  Interestingly, Russam GMS claims that around 25 per cent of its assignments are done by women, pointing to the fact that women are more successful at winning assignments than men (which is supported by research from the Interim Management Association published in December). It highlighted that a greater number of women were on assignment than ever before with 39 per cent of assignments in Q3 being completed by women, up 10 percentage points from the previous quarter.

So what are the main attractions of Interim management for women? According to the research one of the big attractions is greater flexibility. 66 per cent of women claimed interim management gave them greater flexibility in their working lives and, given these views, it is unsurprising that a third of interims prefer to handle a number of assignments part time. Eight out of ten of these women claimed they have a portfolio career, with two thirds working for 2-3 clients. They also said that this way of working offering greater job diversity, more interesting career challenges and an opportunity to develop their professional skills.

But interim management and a portfolio style of working doesn’t come without its challenges – it is not for the faint hearted. 72 per cent of interims said that managing the expectations of multiple clients, keeping on top of planning and juggling client commitments were their biggest challenges. Other difficulties encountered included finding the work and managing the logistics of working in different locations. Multi-tasking is the number one skill needed for successful portfolio working according to a third of the interims, closely followed by leadership skills (24 per cent) and planning and organisational skills (22 per cent). Having good client management and people skills were also deemed important.

Interim Management is challenging but brings variety. It allows people to work at very senior levels in business and make boardroom level decisions. It suits people who do not espouse office politics, who want flexibility, individuals who are tenacious when it comes to finding work and who are willing to take a risk – giving up any permanent job in the current business climate and leaping into the unknown is risky. Having operated as an interim manager for many years now, I believe the rewards outweigh the risks and having a diverse and interesting career is something to which many people aspire.

Top tips for becoming an interim manager

Setting up a small business – Get the right financial advice on setting up a limited company and the tax implications of working as an interim manager. There are numerous websites including those of interim management providers like Russam GMS, the Interim Hub (www.interim-hub.com), which is a great source of information about how to become an Interim and from organisations like The Professional Contractors Groups.

Get your message right – You will need a good CV with clear messages on what skills you will bring to assignments with some good brief examples snd facts and figures of where you have made a difference. Make sure you tailor the CV for each assignment.

Networking – If you are leaving employment to become an interim make sure you retain as many contacts as possible with former colleagues and clients, go to events where your potential clients will be and join industry networking groups.

Marketing – More than 50 per cent of your work will be won directly with clients so networking and marketing are essential.

Peer Support – Get as much advice as possible from experienced interims through groups such as InterimWomen.com. You might find yourself competing for assignments but interims are happy to share experiences and offer support to get new interims started – we like healthy competition!

Get to know the interim management providers – Do some homework on the providers and see which ones specialise in your sector. Register but don’t forget that you need to get to know the consultants so you are on their radar for possible assignments. Join the IMA Institute which runs a programme to give members the opportunity to speak to providers.

Do your research – Once you secure an interview make sure you do some thorough research on the prospective client. The most successful interims are those who plan, plan and plan.

And finally – Interim management offers a great way to work with a diverse range of clients. But it is not a soft temporary option – it is hard work; assignments are intense and there can be gaps between assignments when you are not earning

>> Interim Women is a business network set up by Russam GMS. www.interimwomen.co.uk

Tags: Interim Women, management, management development, Rachel Youngman, Women in the Boardroom - Advice

Posted by Vicki Owen on Friday, February 25th, 2011 at 12:45 pm.

Filed under Ask an Expert, Careers, Equality, Feature, In the Boardroom, Lifestyle, News, Tagged as: , Interim Women, management, management development, Rachel Youngman, Women in the Boardroom - Advice.