This morning I found some time to follow a very interesting thread in the Interim Management UK group on Linkedin. It had 72 answers! one of the most prolific, honest and interesting threads that I’ve found on the net. Here’s the link, but it may not work if you’re not subscribed to the group: http://alturl.com/5sau

It’s interesting how IM talk about their experience. Most have been IM for 12-15 years now, and saw the splendorous times in the UK; today they are seriously considering going back to Full Time positions.

In short, there is a wide sensation of disenchantment due to the global scenario affecting directly the UK. They all talk about a disastrous last year for the business. Two seem to be the most relevant factors (external conditions aside):

- The flood of unemployed traditional Full Time professionals that have joined the Interim sector and have seriously ‘damaged’ the IM image – read compensation, reputation- because they accept significantly lower conditions that hurt the Interim positioning and sometimes … they even leave projects half-way if they find a permanent role.

- The unprecedented increase in the number of Interim service provider firms (called agencies in the UK), that have flourished directly proportional to the lack of market and business knowledge that they bring to the table and that very few professional services firms stand to the best practises. They argue that generally extended practises include not updating you on process status (very frustrating!), making up project opportunities just to increase their databases, pro-rating the projects and generally trying to get in the middle of the value-added chain basically without adding any value (if not destroying some). Sometimes interim opportunities are made public in the UK (how far are we from that in Spain!) and these agencies just drop the prices like crazy. In one of those stories, one IM explains how a client expressed interest for hi profile and that 6 agencies called him for the same project. Each one lowering his pay rate as they argued that their proposal would be the winner (as per best price). How perverse is that game?

The recipes that they agree upon: Establish and nourish a wide and relevant social and professional network, maintain good relationships with the few professional interim firms out there (they have agreed to post a list of trusted firms!) and finally market yourself with marketing techniques (by-pass the middle-man).

These reflections are very curious to me: In the UK they have a mature market with typical growth concerns and that is directly affected by the global health of the economy.

In Spain we have a very different situation: A sector that has no structure and a market that is just not there.

Just the other day I was having a coffee with a senior director at global temporary services (ETT). He told me
that the situation in Spain reminds him of that one that he suffered in 1992 when ETT just started: There was legal insecurity and lack of knowledge of the service. As a note he commented that when they went to see the HR Director to explain how they could outsource the receptionist role, often they went mad just to think if that was even legal or if the labor unions would just get to his neck.

It was not easy, but the insisted and CREATED a new segment and finally a new sector.

Obviously the recipes that they are suggesting in the UK are not valid for Spain today. Here we have to make a lot of effort in evangelising the target audience to create a sector and market. The more we are together in this, the better. The more noise we make, the better and the sooner we will have a market.

¿Have you thought about investing in Marketing? That may be a recipe for our market and numbers may start to come along…