Interim management contractors have a new up-to-date resource to help them select the best agencies to help them find contracts.
“The guide will be a particularly valuable for those interims and contractors taking their first steps into a contracting career,” believes ContractorCalculator CEO Dave Chaplin. “With hundreds of agencies to choose from, winning that first contract can be daunting.”
The Institute of Interim Management’s (IIM) Interim service providers survey and guide 2014 (5th edition) covers 80 of what it describes as the “finest interim service providers”, based on a survey of over 2,500 interim management contractors.
“This guide shares how interim managers and executives may best work with interim service providers to get the best out of that relationship for both parties,” notes IIM chairman Ad van der Rest.
The publication begins by providing guidance on the subtle differences between search firms, interim specialists, recruitment agencies and consultancies. It then goes on to review agency rates and margins, which typically vary around the 21% mark, although there can be some wide variations.
Interestingly, fewer than half of all interim assignments come from agencies. “45% of all assignments are sourced via providers,” the report highlights, adding: “80% of interim managers will use interim service providers at least some of the time.”
“A valuable lesson from the guide is that most assignments are not advertised,” says Chaplin. “This underlines the importance of contractors developing their own networks to find work and to be found, and shows why it is key to register with the right agencies.”
LinkedIn is cited as being one of the most powerful tools for “being found”, as are referrals and knowing the recruitment consultant.
“You are seven times more likely to be placed on assignment through an interim service provider consultant that you already know than to be selected and placed from the provider’s candidate database,” notes the report. “Build that relationship steadily and professionally, without being a pest.”
The top five firms this year are: Odgers Interim, Interim Partners, Penna Interim, Eton Bridge Partners and BIE. A more comprehensive follow-up report is due to be published by IIM towards the end of July 2014.