B2ER in the News!

1. The time has come for interim pm consultancy
Is interim consultancy an exciting growth area for 2009?
Tony McNeill
M
ost people are familiar with interim is so cost-competitive. skills, this means that project
management, but interim consultancy There have never been so many high-quality managers – particularly if
is much less well known. It’s an exciting consultants on the market, many of them trained they have special skills, eg, in
development area that offers new opportunities by the major consulting houses (who themselves financial management, or in
for project managers. It’s likely to grow rapidly have recently made widely publicised redundancies technical areas such as SAP –
because it offers essential consulting resources to which have increased the pool of talent available). are more likely to be accepted
companies in a way that is quick and easy to tap Interim recruiters can achieve very good matching as interim consultants, which
into when they are needed. of ‘skills and experience’ to ‘client needs’, and the opens up a new and lucrative
The severe issues currently affecting ‘UK plc’ consultants themselves, who have access to the market space for them.
means we need to innovate in order to stay entire job market, can choose the ‘best fit’ job, Tony says: ‘This focus on delivery and sustainable
competitive. Consultancy has traditionally played where their talents add most value. change means that disciplines well understood by
a big part in maintaining business competiveness, Tony McNeill, managing director of B2E project and programme managers are increasingly
focusing on issues like strategic planning, business Resourcing, sums up what clients are increasingly featuring in the requirements for business
development, and systems integration. That work demanding: ‘Historically business consultants have consulting roles’.
still needs doing, but there is less money available been seen as sage-like creatures, a “fountain of What is certain is that the current economic
with which to recruit. knowledge” with decades of experience and able to crisis will have a dramatic and lasting effect
It’s not hard to see that budgets for consultancy offer advice and wisdom for all scenarios. Today’s on recruitment, and there is very likely to be an
will reduce substantially, which means it’s simply consultants are much more likely to be worried increased and sustained shift away from permanent
not going to be possible to continue to spend at about what they can deliver for the client. It is employment, towards more flexible arrangements.
the levels of, say, even six months ago. Of course, more about “doing” than “advising”; more about Looking forward, the changing recruitment
meeting a consultancy need – as in many other outcomes than reports.’ marketplace is likely to favour the growth of
business situations – is a case of ‘horses for courses’. Project managers are used to delivering a interim consultancy and create opportunities for
The Big Five consultancies will continue to provide business outcome, on time, on budget and to project managers, as organisations seek to meet
comprehensive consulting resources, but interim quality, working closely with consultants. With the demands of what is certain to be an extremely
consultancy will grow, we think, in part because it an increasing emphasis on ‘process consulting’ challenging year.
‘Interim consulting works
really well for me because,
as I now control my
own career, I can select
assignments where I know
my skills and experience will
make a real difference to
the client. While leveraging
my past experience, I am
still able to work in multiple
industries and learn from
the inevitable challenges
associated with delivering
successful projects.’
Orla Delany,
a career interim consultant
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This pdf may not be copied, altered, or distributed to other parties without the permission of the publishers. First published in this form in Project Manager Today.
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