Pay pinch for interims
Their pay stayed flat in 2001, after soaring by 20% in 2000, says the consultancy Impact Executives.
David Bradford, the chairman of Impact, says that interim managers are now often brought in to oversee cost-cutting operations. 'It's more about saving money now, whereas before they were being given more development roles.'
A survey by the firm found that banks paid an average of 850 a day for interim managers provided by Impact. The highest daily rate was about 2,000.
Bradford said that banks frequently hired interim managers in IT, back-office and credit control functions.
In recent years they were increasingly brought in to manage projects, rather than merely fill in for someone who was absent.
Interim managers in the survey cited a desire for an interesting career as their main reason for choosing a series of temporary roles, as opposed to a long-term job.
Bradford said that the average interim assignment lasted about nine months. A fifth of interim managers ended up taking full-time employment at the firms for which they worked.
