19 August 2024
Akhil Yerneni, Partner in our Higher Education team, shares his summary of the main outcomes, findings and takeaways from the IIM – Institute of Interim Management 2024 survey, published in July.
There will be a bias towards the UK Higher Education sector, as that is the sector and community with which I spend the vast majority of my time, but there should be plenty of transferable insights, nevertheless. If there are any key points you’d like further elaboration on or any insights you feel are missing, do get in touch and I will do my best to answer.
Without further ado…
Demographics of Interim Executives: The average age of interim executives increased slightly to 54.1 years (from 53.7 years in 2023), indicating the nature of interim work, where experience and deep industry-specific expertise is highly valued, although it does suggest that we are struggling somewhat to bring in younger talent to fuel the pipeline of the interim managers of tomorrow.
Gender: There was a noticeable decline in interims identifying as female, dropping from 30% in 2023 to 25% in 2024, which is disappointing, although it should be noted that female representation in the public sector continues to consistently be greater than the private sector.
On a positive note, the gender pay gap narrowed from 21% in 2023 to 15% in 2024 (small wins!). My colleague Claire Carter is investigating this particular gap further in a series of articles, the first of which you can find here.
Ethnicity: Minor changes in ethnic composition of interim managers, with a 2% increase in Asian/Asian British backgrounds, suggests progress, albeit slow, in ethnic diversity. However, the results more or less reflect the broader societal demographics (as per the 2021 UK Census results).
Experience and Tenure: The proportion of interims with over 10 years of experience increased to 42%. There was also a slight increase in interims with less than a year in the industry (12%), indicating that, at the very least, new and experienced permanent talent entered the interim market (whether by necessity or active choice). My optimistic take is that this mix should help balance fresh perspectives with existing deep expertise.
Sectors: The private sector saw an 11% increase to 68%, returning to pre-COVID levels, while the public sector reduced to 27% from 37%.
Interestingly, however, the Anderson Quigley team and I have seen a large surge of interim leadership enquiries from our HE clients further to the general election, suggesting that after a prolonged period of stasis, interims and consultants are once again becoming the workforce of choice to kickstart the change, transformation and commercialisation agendas that many universities are embracing.
Gender-based sector preferences: Those identifying as female were more likely to work in the public sector (39%), while those identifying as male were more concentrated in the private sector.
Assignment duration: The average assignment length slightly decreased to 9.5 months (from 9.7 months in 2023). There was a 2% increase in short-term assignments (1 month or less). Generally, there seems to be consensus across sectors and disciplines on how long an interim manager is required to make an impact!
Remuneration: Good news (depending on whether you are a candidate or a client…): day rates increased. The overall average day rate increased by 8% to £873, with both genders experiencing increases (men: £902, women: £783). Private sector interims continue to earn 36% more than public sector interims on average, but this is not surprising for a multitude of reasons.
IR35 Status Impact: Further good news for interim managers: assignments outside IR35 saw a 6% increase in day rates, while those inside IR35 had a 9% increase.
My interpretation is that clients and candidates are getting more savvy in examining what falls in or outside IR35 and are taking a more measured and analytical view of things rather than a broad-brush risk averse approach to auto-categorising assignments as inside IR35. Of course, another reason could be that the very nature of requirements from clients are organically more consultancy and contractor focussed, and falling outside IR35 by definition (not necessarily something I have seen in practice within the UK HE sector).
Geographical Distribution: There was a 2.7% increase in interims based in Southeast & London and a 1.5% decrease in those from the Northwest. The number of interims working from home has decreased significantly from the pandemic peak, which we as an agency can certainly attest to. The majority of our clients are asking for a hybrid working pattern of 2-3 days on-site for the majority of interim leadership positions, with certain interim executive requirements now requiring 4 days per week on-site. ‘Visible leadership’ has been all too common a phrase and priority in briefing meetings with my HE clients.
Economic Impact and Market Trends: The interim market seems to be feeling the effects of broader economic challenges, with a slowdown in the number of assignments and reductions in billable days. Inflationary pressures, combined with public sector budget constraints, might be contributing to this picture at large. The percentage of interims without assignments rose from 3% to 5%, and there was a drop in those on assignment at the end of March, falling by 10% compared to the previous year.
However, we have seen an unusually large influx of interim client enquiries over August, which is typically a quiet period in Higher Education. There very much seems to be a backlog of interim requirements making their way to the market with proverbial floodgates being opened post general election. With financial sustainability and efficiencies indirectly or directly at the core of most interim assignments we are currently handling, alongside the usual gap-fill appointments, there certainly seems to be – at least in our experience – much more activity within the HE interim market than the broader data strictly suggests!
Whilst my observations are defined by my experience of the UK Interim Higher Education / University sectors and communities, I hope this article has presented to you a useful summary of the main shifts and trends affecting the interim management community in the UK as of 2024. If you’d like to get in touch to discuss your career and opportunities working within the interim management community, do drop me a line at akhil.yerneni@andersonquigley.com.
Akhil is a Partner at AQ, he joined in 2019 to support higher education clients with time-critical interim leadership and executive placements. His role has since expanded to include both interim and permanent positions, significantly enhancing AQ’s impact in public and private higher education.
As of 2024, Akhil has led and executed over 220 appointments, driving the transformation, professionalisation and development of more than 90 higher education institutions and universities in the UK and beyond. His focus on building diverse, high performing leadership teams for organisations in transition highlights his dedication to helping to progress the future of the sector and those who occupy it.
