The sector
Multinational companies have always produced managers or cross-function teams who can deliver rapid solutions to serious, urgent management problems inside the Group and in affiliates in other countries. These are exceptional resources who speak foreign languages, have deep knowledge of the company culture and expertise in all aspects and tools of management. No longer young, they have experience in general management in companies within the Group and have acquired considerable skills in different functions. They are usually assisted by young managers, specialized in specific functions or business processes.In a certain sense temporary management firms have turned these resources from multinational organizations into an institution, by offering small, medium and large companies a pool of managers who can deliver solutions to challenging problems within a finite time scale.
In the last few years the scenario in this sector has been widening. New players have appeared in addition to the firms who first specialized in temporary management: executive search agencies, management consultancy firms, managers’ cooperative associations, personnel recruiting agencies and a range of free lance managers. All these players claim to practice temporary management, but in some cases this is not exactly what they offer. This is because the sector is going through the development phase of its life cycle. In fact the labour market is undergoing major changes. There is a large supply of managers available, Italian companies are very interested in the new service and entrepreneurs, whether from this sector or others, who have decided to enter the market (with methods that are not always orthodox), are riding a wave of optimism. Today operators in temporary management can be divided in four groups:
1. Temporary management firms
Having started as an offshoot from the management consultancy business, they specialize in interim assignments for general management, heads of function and project management. They are different from their competitors because they take the responsibility for providing a solution to the client’s problem. Temporary managers do not operate in isolation, but have the ongoing direct support of the temporary management firm. It is the firm who deals with the client, is accountable for the quality of the service and provides the appropriate managerial solution to solve the problem.
2. Executive search agencies
They specialize in recruiting top level managers via personal contacts and have thick files of managers to allocate on open-ended contracts. Their clients are usually large or medium-large companies who have been dealing with them for years. Hence the service is well established. These firms are mainly of international standing. Those who have set up companies or divisions for temporary management have gradually collected files of managers who are prepared to work on a short term basis. The type of service they provide does not differ much from that of open- ended contract appointment. They analyze the client’s needs, consult the files then select the candidates who best meet the requirements. The shortlist is presented to the client, who makes his choice and pays a fee calculated as a percentage of the remuneration to be paid to the manager. The link between the client company and the temporary manager is direct and based on a fixed term contract of consultancy, ongoing collaboration or project assignment. The interim manager has no effective support from the executive search agency. When the contract expires, the relationship between the manager and the client company may be converted to a full term employment contract if both parties are in agreement.
3. Free Lance Managers
After coming to the end of a career or after resigning from a company, some managers offer their services on the market as temporary managers, especially to small and medium size companies. They act as professional temporary managers but in the typical position of a consultant. There is no filter between the company and the manager and no intermediation. The manager “sells himself” on the basis of his own abilities and managerial skills and his flexibility. But above all his success in obtaining assignments depends on his ability to market his product – i.e. himself. The process of selection and evaluation of candidates is carried out directly by the companies, who may find valid solutions, provided they are able to make the right selection. The manager undertakes the assignment as a self-employed person with a contract for consultancy or continuous collaboration. If the company is interested, this may be converted into a contract for long term employment. If there is no need for this, or if the manager prefers to remain a freelance professional, once the assignment is over he will have to look for another job. Free lance managers usually devote part of their time in a temporary assignment to public relations, networking and cultivating contacts with potential clients with a view to securing later assignments. Inevitably they are cut off on an operative and cultural level. They cannot rely on help from colleagues or share experience and knowledge or new developments in management.
4. Associations
This is an interesting way in which entrepreneurs have pooled resources to face the problem of finding work for a professional category that never had particular problems in this respect in the past. These Associations promote awareness of the temporary management tool. If there is a placement, the relationship is directly between the company and the manager selected by the associates, as in the case of managers selected by executive search specialists. The client decides the fee directly with the manager selected from a shortlist of possibly two or three candidates supplied by the association. If the client is interested, the contractual relationship with the free lance manager may eventually be converted to an employment contract.