Evans warned, however, that there were inevitable downsides to working as an interim. "There is no guarantee that you'll ever work again," he said.

Evans argued that, moving forward, a partnership approach was necessary. "Interim agreements will have to be far more visibly 'together'", he added. "It has yet to be seen as having the trappings of a true profession."

Meanwhile, Peter Sanderson, managing director of Boyden Interim Management, told the gathering that change and transition on the part of clients was driving the interim market, leading to margins of more than 20% for recruiters.

An increase in private equity investment was also leading to greater demand for interims, he added.