Interim executives are busier, earning more and more confident in the economy

Interim executives are engaged in more assignments, are earning more - and higher - fees and getting more work through providers.



Those are the findings of a survey carried out by Boyden Interim Management and management consultants Corporate Insights, which also reveals that business confidence is high - and on the up.

Interim executives are busier, earning more and getting more work through intermediaries or providers. This is an important trend to note - the industry has been working hard to promote the importance of ensuring only the best and most experienced - and genuine - interim executives are appointed to what are usually crucial assignments, said Nick Robeson, Chief Executive of Boyden, and Chairman of the Interim Management Association.

More than 650 interim executives completed Boydenís UK Interim Management Industry Survey 2005.

The response levels lend the survey great credibility. This was an intensely in-depth piece of research planned and carried out over a considerable period. Here we are providing the headlines, but we anticipate the delivery of much more insight as we progress our review and analysis of the information amassed, added Nick Robeson.

Asked what level of confidence did they or did they perceive their employers had in the economy as election campaigning kicked off in 2005 compared with the same period in 2004, 61% of those surveyed said their employers were either quite or very confident in the economic prospects for 2005 - up 6% on last year - while 67% of interim executives, up 7%, said they too were quite or very confident in the 2005 economy.

These individuals are key indicators in the state of the economy and business in general. Interim executives are at the heart of business change - whether defending an organisation from difficulty, or attacking opportunity - and, in a nutshell, theyíre busier, getting paid more and feeling more confident about the economy, said Nick Robeson.

There has also been a significant change in the types of assignments theyíre taking on: they are engaged in fewer crisis or acquisition and merger projects, but many more focussing on performance and quality or internal or external change - change related issues being top of the list.

Of those responding to the questionnaire, 60% said they were on assignment for six months or more of 2004 compared to 54% in 2003. The figures for those working for less than a quarter of the year fell from 28% to 20%. Overall, more than 60% said they were working more in 2004 than 2003 - last year 48% said they had been busier.

Fees are on the increase: 46% charged between 500 and 749 a day in 2004, compared to 42% in 2003. Those charging less than 500 a day dropped from 31% to 24%. The number of interim executives charging fees of between 749 and 999 a day increased to 20% from 17%, while interims charging more than 1,000 a day remained static at 10%.

Earnings were generally higher: 62% earned more in 2004 than 2003, compared to 52% in 03/02.

Survey available at: