Short-Term Management Demands Flexible Resourcing

Almost half of British firms have employed senior managers on an interim or contract basis during the last 12 months, according to a new report by Executives Online.

The findings published in the Now Management Report reveal that UK companies now have to be a lot more flexible and reactive in the way they run their businesses, abandoning traditional long-term planning.

As a result they are becoming a lot smarter in their recruitment policies, keeping permanent headcount to a minimum and resourcing up with specific skills when tackling issues or managing projects.

Executives Online’s research amongst more than a hundred UK companies found:

47% of firms have used a senior manager on an interim or contract basis in the last 12 months

26% of companies have a specific budget for interim and contract managers

20% of businesses keep employee headcount to a minimum

14% of companies keep their senior team to a minimum

13% of firms have increased use of temporary and contract staff

Executives Online found that almost a third of companies (30%) now plan on a six month or quarterly basis. In fact short-term planning is so commonplace within many UK firms that 17% of bosses said running their businesses had become like managing a series of projects.

Companies say money is the main reason for this shift towards Now Management, with 11% agreeing that strategic decisions are made to satisfy the City or shareholders rather than customers, and 10% admitting that it is the financiers that are driving business strategy.

The result of this approach is that British firms are now more willing than ever to draft in highly skilled senior executives to boost their management skills. Executives Online found the roles that interim managers are brought in for vary, from providing specific expertise on a short-term basis (51%), strengthening a project team (46%), through to offering strategic advice
(14%) or doing a ’nasty or unpopular’ job (11%).

According to Executives Online, this growing demand for flexible resourcing will mean a change of approach amongst UK businesses - and recruitment specialists. Norrie Johnston, Managing Director of Executives Online,
explains: UK companies have to build the Now Management approach in to the way they do business, creating strong relationships with recruiters so they can rapidly respond to new business challenges and find the right people quickly.

But providers cannot just afford to sit back and send through CVs when a company needs new staff. At Executives Online we identify the skills and experience of the candidates in our network and match them to the needs of our clients. Our full-service approach is extremely fast. We interview and conduct a thorough briefing process, resulting in candidates being on-site and in the job in as quick as a week. We understand that companies want senior executives who can roll their sleeves up, get stuck-in and deliver the results they need straight away.

Executives Online boasts a network of more than 3,500 senior executives experienced in a wide range of job functions, from financial directors through to human resources experts and manufacturing trouble-shooters. Importantly, because candidates are experienced interim managers with a wide range of projects under their belts, many of them have skills in a number of different areas making them suitable for big multi-departmental projects.

In addition, Executives Online has launched a new project management service, backed by a dedicated website www.projectmanagementonline.co.uk which provides both clients and candidates with support and the latest thinking on project management.