Women grasp interim opportunity

Interim management roles offer women greater equality
Politics still rife in UK businesses
Transformational interims add 6 billion to UK businesses

Interim management is fast becoming the career of choice for female executives. Independent research commissioned by Boyden Interim Management reveals that interim management is becoming an increasingly attractive career option for younger women. The survey revealed that in the 25 to 39 age group the female percentage was four and a half times larger than men of the same age group.

Female interims seem to find it easy to find regular assignments, with 30% more women in work for over 170 days per annum than their male counterparts. They also enjoy greater equality of pay than is typically found in the mainstream workplace, with very little variation in hourly rates between the sexes.

Nick Robeson, CEO of Boyden Interim Management comments: The survey shows that the benefits of interim management seem to be very attractive to women. The flexibility and equality of pay add to the attraction of a stimulating and varied career in which executives have a direct impact upon the value of a business.

Interims skilled at overcoming weaknesses in British Management
Asked about barriers to success, almost half of the respondents (48%) cited internal politics as their major gripe, followed by the setting of unrealistic goals or timeframes (34%). Interims seem to adapt to these weaknesses in British management style by redefining the briefs on arrival. In fact, the survey revealed that 57% always or often redefine a brief, with just 5% saying they never do so.

Interims boost the UK economy by 6 billion
Removing these barriers could have a very real effect on the UK economy. Over half (51%) of respondents classed their most recent role as transformational i.e. working to facilitate major change or turnaround within a company. Just 16% classified their role as ícoverí for an existing role.

Thirty four percent of those whose role was transformational unlocked between 1 million and 5 million and 20% unlocked more than 5 million for the company in which they most recently worked. Taken on a national scale, Boyden estimates senior interim managers are creating value of almost 6 billion. The average assignment cost to a business is 120,000.