1. CHANGE ROLES MORE THAN BUSINESS AS USUAL?
It could be combination of both if for example you simply need a
Finance Director to step in quickly and carry on as before, this could
be someone between two permanent roles. I consider Interim to be
of greatest value where you want to leverage the Interim’s experience,
newness of thinking, rapid adaptability or injection of change that they
could bring.
DO YOU SEE THAT THERE’S BEEN MUCH CHANGE IN THE
INTERIM MARKET OVER THE LAST 8 TO 10 YEARS?
Interim works better in some disciplines, such as finance and HR or as
part of M&A activity where short-term skills and experience are often
needed. I can also see it being of value in IT at CIO and Director level
where change is always prevalent. Pure operational roles are more
difficult and not so obvious such as in my market, claims, underwriting
and broking – Interim is much less developed here. Key is that you can
over-hire whilst you think about strategy and permanent recruitment at
a level above where you actually need to hire on a permanent basis.
WHAT ARE THE KEY ATTRIBUTES YOU LOOK FOR IN AN
INTERIM PROVIDER?
A provider must understand the need in a real sense, not just a role
sense and pay particular attention to the optimal culture fit. It helps
greatly if you’ve worked successfully with them before and can therefore
trust their judgement of your need. If this isn’t the case, I get them to
play back to me in a meaningful way what are the business challenges
and culture that any Interim is going to operate within. Interim can
be very costly if you don’t get right and a very public mistake – as
can permanent of course but there are more stages to permanent
recruitment across the business. Dating and matchmaking takes longer
and this reduces the risk. With Interim, you make up your mind very
quickly, a more focused approach by fewer people - so trusting your
provider partner is critical. If bringing a senior person into
a business at a time of change, that person must land with credibility
and establish themselves really quickly.
IMPORTANT PARTS OF PROCESS FROM CONTACT
TO DELIVERY
It is good practice to see a written brief when moving at speed, useful
from both sides to check key deliverables and highlight anything
needing clarity. But I wouldn’t wait for that, so get started and it can
run concurrently. A gap in your organisation is often the reason for
taking an Interim so it is foolhardy not to listen closely to what they
learn in their early weeks. I believe in being open for evolution once
person is on board ...
Caroline Taplin, HR Director Ecclesiastical Insurance, discusses
with Tim Blackstone the role of Interim Management within the
people resourcing challenges of a changing business environment.
WHAT DO YOU SEE AS THE MAIN REASONS FOR
CONSIDERING THE USE OF AN INTERIM MANAGER
FROM A BUSINESS PERSPECTIVE?
Resourcing in any business is a constant challenge and at levels of a
business comes up all the time. Some needs are always thought of in
a very permanent sense and there is time to implement the process
properly but there are other times when you want to improve the
momentum and get something really moving as well as occasions
when you aren’t absolutely certain what the long term role will look
like. With an Interim, you are able to acquire skills now, get started
quickly and use the experience to work out as you go along with clarity
what you really need before committing to long-term recruitment.
HR DIRECTOR VIEWPOINT
WITH AN INTERIM, YOU ARE
ABLE TO ACQUIRE SKILLS
NOW, GET STARTED QUICKLY
AND USE THE EXPERIENCE
TO WORK OUT AS YOU GO
ALONG WITH CLARITY
WHAT YOU REALLY NEED
BEFORE COMMITTING TO
LONG-TERM RECRUITMENT.
- Caroline Tapin
View from The Riverside
HR Perspective
Spring 2015

2. WAY FEES ARE CHARGED
Most importantly, it’s good to be transparent and let’s face it recruitment
costs! To me, it’s less about how it’s structured and more about overall
cost – you can cut it any number of ways, it adds up to same thing. With
Interim I like that there are no hidden costs, you are clear up-front what
it’s going to cost. But I like to look at it retrospectively because when you
do and compare it to the all-in cost for a permanent employee, the cost
of an Interim often compares more favourably than people see when you
just look at day rate versus the permanent salary – often the on-costs
such as benefits, pension, holiday and sickness pay, National Insurance
get passed to other budget lines so are not always transparent. At first
pass, people are often not comparing like with like. If someone has
not hired an Interim before, the day rate costs can appear intimidating
but the recruiting manager often sees just the overhead budget cost.
Nevertheless, cost is a ‘sell’ internally. Charging fees on a daily basis
does mean that the financial risk is lowered, should it not work out.
IS CONTINGENCY CONSIDERED A DIRTY WORD BY
RECRUITERS ON THE CLIENT SIDE?
No, contingency a big plus, it removes a major barrier in the Interim
market. There is an issue with recruitment per se in that respect, it’s just
how the permanent search market is currently structured - that part is
certainly a distress purchase! But no, in the Interim market, contingency
delivery is an attractive part of the proposition.
CAROLINE ASKED HOW THE SKILL SETS IN INTERIM
HAVE DEVELOPED OVER RECENT YEARS.
Well sometimes Interim Management has been sold too broad and too
deep. For example, as we discussed earlier how in some specialist areas
as well as business development, it doesn’t work so effectively yet there
is a growing trend for interim sales management roles especially where
a PE owner is looking to shift the strategy. One major area of growth has
We are here to help our Interim Managers and clients alike,
so please do contact us even if you just want to consider
a potential need or need advice on market trends or fees:
hello@matrixinterim.com
Can you name three consecutive days
without using the words Monday,
Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday,
Friday, Saturday, or Sunday? (or day
names in any other language)
Test your brain!
3 More London Riverside, London SE1 2RE
Tel: +44 (0)203 283 4303
www.matrixinterim.com
been in digital marketing given its relative newness, speed of change,
constantly changing best practice and leading edge thinking within
sectors such as retail click and collect. Change remains prerequisite for
many assignments though.
CAROLINE WAS CURIOUS AS TO HOW INTERIMS DEVELOP
THEIR OWN SKILL SETS - AFTER ALL, YOU CAN RESELL
WHAT YOU KNOW SEVERAL TIMES BUT MARKETS MOVE
ON SO HOW DO INTERIMS KEEP UP WITH THIS?
Some don’t keep up and as a result their value in the Interim market
diminishes fairly quickly. We always encourage them to pursue their
own professional development and personal networking, the best ones
do this. The key is retained drive, energy and ability to stay ahead of the
client in terms of expectations and never to drag out an assignment.
Digital marketing and IT in general bring in a younger age profile to
the Interim market and these are classic areas where, without keeping
up with technological change on a personal level, you are unlikely to
succeed as an Interim.
CAROLINE: WHY DO INTERIM ASSIGNMENTS
OCCASIONALLY NOT WORK OUT?
Usually down to cultural fit despite due processes being followed –
although this in itself is very rare in our experience. In recent years there
has been some blurring of process with too many interviews so this may
raise internal barriers but the advantage is that more people meet the
Interim before they commit so cultural fit may be less of an issue in the
longer term.
LATERAL THINKING CHALLENGE

3. CHANGE ROLES MORE THAN BUSINESS AS USUAL?
It could be combination of both if for example you simply need a
Finance Director to step in quickly and carry on as before, this could
be someone between two permanent roles. I consider Interim to be
of greatest value where you want to leverage the Interim’s experience,
newness of thinking, rapid adaptability or injection of change that they
could bring.
DO YOU SEE THAT THERE’S BEEN MUCH CHANGE IN THE
INTERIM MARKET OVER THE LAST 8 TO 10 YEARS?
Interim works better in some disciplines, such as finance and HR or as
part of M&A activity where short-term skills and experience are often
needed. I can also see it being of value in IT at CIO and Director level
where change is always prevalent. Pure operational roles are more
difficult and not so obvious such as in my market, claims, underwriting
and broking – Interim is much less developed here. Key is that you can
over-hire whilst you think about strategy and permanent recruitment at
a level above where you actually need to hire on a permanent basis.
WHAT ARE THE KEY ATTRIBUTES YOU LOOK FOR IN AN
INTERIM PROVIDER?
A provider must understand the need in a real sense, not just a role
sense and pay particular attention to the optimal culture fit. It helps
greatly if you’ve worked successfully with them before and can therefore
trust their judgement of your need. If this isn’t the case, I get them to
play back to me in a meaningful way what are the business challenges
and culture that any Interim is going to operate within. Interim can
be very costly if you don’t get right and a very public mistake – as
can permanent of course but there are more stages to permanent
recruitment across the business. Dating and matchmaking takes longer
and this reduces the risk. With Interim, you make up your mind very
quickly, a more focused approach by fewer people - so trusting your
provider partner is critical. If bringing a senior person into
a business at a time of change, that person must land with credibility
and establish themselves really quickly.
IMPORTANT PARTS OF PROCESS FROM CONTACT
TO DELIVERY
It is good practice to see a written brief when moving at speed, useful
from both sides to check key deliverables and highlight anything
needing clarity. But I wouldn’t wait for that, so get started and it can
run concurrently. A gap in your organisation is often the reason for
taking an Interim so it is foolhardy not to listen closely to what they
learn in their early weeks. I believe in being open for evolution once
person is on board ...
Caroline Taplin, HR Director Ecclesiastical Insurance, discusses
with Tim Blackstone the role of Interim Management within the
people resourcing challenges of a changing business environment.
WHAT DO YOU SEE AS THE MAIN REASONS FOR
CONSIDERING THE USE OF AN INTERIM MANAGER
FROM A BUSINESS PERSPECTIVE?
Resourcing in any business is a constant challenge and at levels of a
business comes up all the time. Some needs are always thought of in
a very permanent sense and there is time to implement the process
properly but there are other times when you want to improve the
momentum and get something really moving as well as occasions
when you aren’t absolutely certain what the long term role will look
like. With an Interim, you are able to acquire skills now, get started
quickly and use the experience to work out as you go along with clarity
what you really need before committing to long-term recruitment.
HR DIRECTOR VIEWPOINT
WITH AN INTERIM, YOU ARE
ABLE TO ACQUIRE SKILLS
NOW, GET STARTED QUICKLY
AND USE THE EXPERIENCE
TO WORK OUT AS YOU GO
ALONG WITH CLARITY
WHAT YOU REALLY NEED
BEFORE COMMITTING TO
LONG-TERM RECRUITMENT.
- Caroline Tapin
View from The Riverside
HR Perspective
Spring 2015

4. WAY FEES ARE CHARGED
Most importantly, it’s good to be transparent and let’s face it recruitment
costs! To me, it’s less about how it’s structured and more about overall
cost – you can cut it any number of ways, it adds up to same thing. With
Interim I like that there are no hidden costs, you are clear up-front what
it’s going to cost. But I like to look at it retrospectively because when you
do and compare it to the all-in cost for a permanent employee, the cost
of an Interim often compares more favourably than people see when you
just look at day rate versus the permanent salary – often the on-costs
such as benefits, pension, holiday and sickness pay, National Insurance
get passed to other budget lines so are not always transparent. At first
pass, people are often not comparing like with like. If someone has
not hired an Interim before, the day rate costs can appear intimidating
but the recruiting manager often sees just the overhead budget cost.
Nevertheless, cost is a ‘sell’ internally. Charging fees on a daily basis
does mean that the financial risk is lowered, should it not work out.
IS CONTINGENCY CONSIDERED A DIRTY WORD BY
RECRUITERS ON THE CLIENT SIDE?
No, contingency a big plus, it removes a major barrier in the Interim
market. There is an issue with recruitment per se in that respect, it’s just
how the permanent search market is currently structured - that part is
certainly a distress purchase! But no, in the Interim market, contingency
delivery is an attractive part of the proposition.
CAROLINE ASKED HOW THE SKILL SETS IN INTERIM
HAVE DEVELOPED OVER RECENT YEARS.
Well sometimes Interim Management has been sold too broad and too
deep. For example, as we discussed earlier how in some specialist areas
as well as business development, it doesn’t work so effectively yet there
is a growing trend for interim sales management roles especially where
a PE owner is looking to shift the strategy. One major area of growth has
We are here to help our Interim Managers and clients alike,
so please do contact us even if you just want to consider
a potential need or need advice on market trends or fees:
hello@matrixinterim.com
Can you name three consecutive days
without using the words Monday,
Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday,
Friday, Saturday, or Sunday? (or day
names in any other language)
Test your brain!
3 More London Riverside, London SE1 2RE
Tel: +44 (0)203 283 4303
www.matrixinterim.com
been in digital marketing given its relative newness, speed of change,
constantly changing best practice and leading edge thinking within
sectors such as retail click and collect. Change remains prerequisite for
many assignments though.
CAROLINE WAS CURIOUS AS TO HOW INTERIMS DEVELOP
THEIR OWN SKILL SETS - AFTER ALL, YOU CAN RESELL
WHAT YOU KNOW SEVERAL TIMES BUT MARKETS MOVE
ON SO HOW DO INTERIMS KEEP UP WITH THIS?
Some don’t keep up and as a result their value in the Interim market
diminishes fairly quickly. We always encourage them to pursue their
own professional development and personal networking, the best ones
do this. The key is retained drive, energy and ability to stay ahead of the
client in terms of expectations and never to drag out an assignment.
Digital marketing and IT in general bring in a younger age profile to
the Interim market and these are classic areas where, without keeping
up with technological change on a personal level, you are unlikely to
succeed as an Interim.
CAROLINE: WHY DO INTERIM ASSIGNMENTS
OCCASIONALLY NOT WORK OUT?
Usually down to cultural fit despite due processes being followed –
although this in itself is very rare in our experience. In recent years there
has been some blurring of process with too many interviews so this may
raise internal barriers but the advantage is that more people meet the
Interim before they commit so cultural fit may be less of an issue in the
longer term.
LATERAL THINKING CHALLENGE