Marketing Recruitment - Changing For The Future

There’s a lot happening in the world of Marketing especially in the jobs market. In line with an increasing move throughout the EU towards more flexible working practices and in response to skill shortages at middle management, Irish employers are turning to more flexible staff solutions. Nowhere is this more prevalent in an Irish content than with marketing positions. The reason? Primarily, the significant number of women in marketing roles in Ireland. These women, in line with their counterparts throughout the world, whether mothers or not, are seeking greater flexibility within their careers.

Reflecting similar patterns in Ireland, in the US in 2006 the number of female marketers returning to work having had children dropped significantly. One substantial explanation for this trend is that women are having children later in their careers. At this later stage these women have more secure financial situations and higher education, making “time out” from work a more viable proposition. In many cases the request to take time out, over and above maternity leave, is temporary and the response to this

by employers has been to replace their staff for a set period of time. Rather than loose their highly trained and very knowledgeable staff employers are choosing to make interim placements. But what exactly is an interim placement?

Interim placements are not contractors or consultants. Interim placements refer to the provision of executives to manage a period of change or of transition. Interim staff are commissioned on an assignment basis and act for a third party and, more often than not, in the capacity of middle to senior managers. They are free to focus specifically on the assignment in hand, available immediately and leave when no longer required.  They implement, share in confidential decision making and are fully accountable to the client.

The growth in Ireland for interim placements has come largely, to date, from maternity leave however, typically assignments can come from three key areas:

 

• Filling a gap: cover for maternity leave, illness, sudden departures

 

• Project management: introducing new systems, moves, new market developments, product launches, outsourcing

 

• Corporate change: start-ups, floatations, etc.

From an employee’s point of view there are a number of significant benefits of interim placements, including:

 

• Flexibility – the ability to decide when and for how long you are going to work

 

• The opportunity to add new skills to your CV or to gain experience of different industries and companies

 

• The variety that is offered by working on a number of one-off projects for different companies

 

• The option of working for a while and then taking time off to study, spend time with your children etc.

   

   

• The chance to earn while looking for a new permanent position

 

• Interim placements can often lead to permanent job offers

In many respects interim managers are treated as permanent staff. In addition to an enhanced rate of basic remuneration, an interim candidate’s package can also include many elements normally associated with a permanent position, such as holiday entitlement, pension, car, bonus, etc.

There are a number of reasons why the appointment of an interim manager can be a highly attractive option for an employer

 

• Speed – the speed with which they can put candidates in place can be crucial when time constraints are critical

 

• Level of expertise – focusing on short to medium term objectives allows the selection of someone with highly specific rather than general levels of expertise

 

 

• Breadth of experience – one of the disadvantages of working for the same company for a long period of time is a lack of exposure to new business problems and different ways of solving them. The breadth of experience an interim manager can bring can make a real difference

 

 

• Objectivity – being new to a company with its particular business challenges and therefore unencumbered by any previous involvement in company processes or staff relationships allows interim managers to look at things objectively and to focus on what is best for the business

 

• Accountability – a specific time frame lends itself to the definition of a specific set of deliverables and the appointment of an interim manager can be a good opportunity to redefine goals and expectations.

 

• If pay-rolled for through an agency, an interim manager does not usually effect head-count

In today’s market it would be wise to plan as far in advance as possible when recruiting contract marketers and even allow a generous over-lap if the right person becomes available earlier than would otherwise be ideal.

There is however less demand for contract personnel for very senior marketing management positions. It is felt in many companies that it would not be wise, or worth while, to replace the Head of Marketing for short periods of time such as maternity cover. Reasons usually stated are confidentiality and the belief that the Head of Marketing should be more knowledgeable about an individual company than their reports. Also, the learning curve would be very steep at that senior level and it is likely that the interim manager would just be getting up to speed by the time the person they are covering for returns to work.

Given the increase in demand in general for experienced marketers, the demand for interim marketers at all other levels has increased. It is now becoming increasingly difficult to find candidates to cover interim or contract roles at these levels. The increase in demand for marketers in overall terms for permanent roles means that the pool of people available for these shorter term roles has diminished.

Given all of this it is therefore not surprising that Interim placement is increasingly being seen as a win win situation for employer and employee alike. For a job seeker in today's marketplace interim work offers an alternative to a permanent position, allowing candidates to advance their careers in a way that is more suited to their personal circumstances. This is now a substantial and growing area of business for marketing recruitment specialists Marketing People. With their highly experienced team of consultants they are ideally positioned to assist candidates and employers alike with their search for an interim solution to their marketing recruitment needs.

David Allan, Joint Managing Director, The People Group