Two-thirds of interim managers questioned in a survey claim they are struggling as a result of the recession.

According to the second ‘Recession and the Interim Manager’ survey of 10,000 interims from interim management provider, Russam GMS, only 31% of interims said they had not been affected by current market conditions.

Half of all respondents said their main problem was fewer assignments on the market and 19% claimed that clients were taking longer to make decisions.

And 11% complained that the market is now flooded with people who have been made redundant from their permanent jobs, many of whom have no previous interim experience.

However, 61% remain confident that interim management is a good place to be right now, despite these challenges. They also believe their expertise, results-driven focus and flexible way of working means they are a well qualified and ideal option for businesses wanting to get back on track quickly.

Charles Russam, chairman of Russam GMS, told Recruiter: “In recessions, lots of executives are made redundant and this one is no exception. Once executives have got into interim management, they often don’t know how to make it work.

“Training and development is important. The IMA [Interim Management Association] Institute provides excellent interim training programmes and at Russam we have many professional development activities for our interims.

“The most important thing for interims is to think of themselves as a serious small business, not as an individual.”

See weblink for Russam GMS’s advice for interims.