Daily rates for interims across the board have also remained resilient. According to the IMA though average daily rates across sectors dipped in the last quarter of 2009 quarter, they are only 7% down on a three-year high in Q4 2008. However as we move into 2010 with optimism, it's useful to first reflect on a couple key areas for HR and how businesses may need to regroup and refocus in the coming year.

For the majority of organisations the key focus during 2009 was on restructuring and cost cutting initiatives. Employees witnessed redundancies and may have been asked to take unpaid leave to help their organisations through difficult times. Unfortunately the detrimental effect this had on many employees was compounded by companies not focusing on employee engagement. Learning and development functions, for example, were heavily streamlined during 2009. Many businesses relied on their employees anxiety to move in the current climate so took their eye off the ball on how to develop, engage and retain their people. 

While some streamlining is understandable, damage limitation could have been increased through improved internal communications. Many organisations have underestimated the value of keeping employees informed through appropriate communication. This is one of the key areas that our candidates have commented on during 2009.

Fortunately some employers have started to refocus on engaging, retaining and developing their existing employees. There has been an investment in internal communications and there is a pattern emerging of a greater focus on how learning and development can benefit a business and help develop future leaders, rather than merely providing technical training.

Businesses need to be vigilant and invest in their employees. While the number of vacancies may be down on previous years, talented individuals will always be in demand and if an employee feels let down buy their existing employer, not only will they be disengaged and potentially less effective in their role, it will only be a matter of time before they move on – perhaps to a competitor.

The interim recruitment market has altered substantially over the last 18 months. During 2009, there was a marked reduction in the recruitment of temporary resource for ‘business as usual’ roles. With budgetary constraints, many organisations elected to share the workload between existing employees. Prior to the economic downturn, interim resource was often drafted in as a matter of course to cover ‘business as usual’ roles such as a maternity leave. Last year many clients reported that this was no longer the case, with additional workloads being shared amongst existing employees, placing high demands on those who were already in pressurised environments, often coping with restructures and high levels of employee dissatisfaction.

The demand for professional interim managers, however, was less affected with organisations recognising the need to draft in expertise that was not held in house. Many businesses benefited from working with interim managers. They are adept at assimilating into a new environment and driving change, using their skills to communicate with key stakeholders without fear of redress over sensitive issues that a permanent employee may have. Interim managers are often a cost effective alternative to bringing in a permanent hire for many reasons, including the speed at which they can turn projects around and the lack of costs associated with a permanent hire. In 2009, there was naturally a demand for interim managers who had specific knowledge that could assist with business critical projects such as restructuring and downsizing. The demand for learning and development and resourcing specialists decreased dramatically as it was simply not on the agenda for many organisations.

Many businesses are now looking forward and are focused on protecting themselves against future turbulent economic times. Many have a variety of projects planned around areas such as workforce planning, creating or extending shared services, outsourcing projects, M&As, or implementing new technology. We have already seen an increased demand for organisational development and learning and development professionals with some businesses refocusing on investing in their key resource – their people.  

While there remains some demand for interim resource to assist with ongoing restructures, during the latter part of 2009 and early 2010 we have seen a focus on organisational development, talent management and workforce planning roles. The demand for interim support remains high, but businesses need to be realistic when budgeting for this resource. Throughout 2009, many businesses underestimated the day rates commanded by interim professionals. There was an assumption that due to a reduced volume of roles, candidates would be grateful of any role and reduce their day rates accordingly.

Periods of not working are standard practice for many interim managers and they know their worth, so will often not reduce their day rates. It can also be a false economy to engage someone less experienced at a lower day rate when a more experienced interim professional could hit the ground running and complete the project in less time and more effectively.

Moving into 2010 we are seeing that the value of HR and its traditional perception as a basic transactional support function is changing. HR professionals are now required to understand what drives business performance and to align their people strategy with this. People are at the heart of organisations and having the right people in place is critical to an organisation’s success. There will be increasing demand for commercially astute individuals in 2010 who have a track record in analysing and implementing the initiatives required to drive that success.