There
is increasing confidence in interim directors, especially among companies which
have first-hand experience of their use, according to research.
The
survey of nearly 200 chairmen, CEOs and managing directors among FTSE 500
companies reveals that almost 60 per cent of companies which have used interims
will use them again, compared to firms which have not used interims before, of
which just 4 per cent would consider employing their services.
Martin
Wood, managing director of interim provider BIE, said: "Although 18 per
cent of companies surveyed still regard interim executives as a distress
purchase – someone to ‘hold the fort’ – there has been growth in their use for
strategic roles, from acquisition management to turnaround and mentoring programmes.
"More
than half of all appointments are made by chief executives and the most common
deployment of interims is as financial directors."
The
survey by Mori, for senior interim provider BIE, finds that the proportion of
business leaders who believe that interim executives provide a more effective
solution than management consultants on issues of change and transition has
increased to 30 per cent from 15 per cent in 1999.
 The study reveals that four out of 10
captains of industry would use a specialist firm to source an interim executive
and 35 per cent would try to find one through recommendation.
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A
third of respondents would recruit a personal contact as an interim and a
similar proportion would use a headhunting firm.
