Given the magnitude of the global economic turmoil, it would be extremely brave to suggest we are over the worst of the recession. Whilst signs exist that global financial markets are fluctuating less violently, that property prices may be stabilising and that retail sales have declined less than expected, we have yet to see the worst effects of unemployment and the lack of liquidity. We are also facing potential deflation.
Whilst Alium is fortunate to have a flourishing
Public Services practice and a focus in the Private sector on
Turnaround and
Business Transformation, some parts of the Private sector remain relatively quiet. One concern raised by many of our interim executives is the increase in redundant executives on the market potentially eating into the work normally delivered by practicing Interim Executives.
Unlike the recession of the early 90’s when Interim Management in the UK was in its infancy, we now operate in a far more sophisticated marketplace. Demand for interim executives in some parts of the private sector is down by up to 60% as organisations grapple with issues including restructuring headcount, mothballing factories and closing operations. However, interim executive skills in Restructuring, M&A and Crisis Management are in ever increasing demand as organisations begin to see the wood from the trees.
So it is clear that high calibre executives made available through redundancy will eat into potential interim opportunities. However, it is much understood by sophisticated users of interim management services that the competence and behavioural skills required by a successful interim executive are profoundly different to those of a mainstream permanent executive. In this climate when organisations require startlingly quick reflexes , it would be naive to suggest that the £2bn UK
interim management industry is being usurped by redundant executives.
In fact, it could be suggested that the ability to arrive at pace, to synthesise and disseminate large volumes of data objectively and deliver rapid change to businesses undergoing a variety of recessionary wounds is best left to those who have experienced the injury before rather than those who are waiting in triage.
The nature of our business however makes us something of a bell weather for the climate amongst a wide variety of organisations. In a nut shell, our Public Sector business remains incredibly strong whilst significant parts of the Private Sector are showing good signs of life as the dust settles on the worst economic storm in living memory.