How to quickly fill a senior skills gap
Rupert Price
I recruit Planners, Estimators and Senior Managers for UK Main Contractors.
In infrastructure and utilities, one of the biggest challenges is finding suitable candidates to fill senior roles when you need them. Even once you’ve gone through the hiring process and had an offer accepted, most senior professionals can’t just walk away and start immediately. They have to serve several months’ notice, which means that even after accepting an offer there’s a delay to starting in the new role.
An alternate option that many main contractors are adopting is to hire interims. Interims are senior professionals that have chosen to offer their expertise on a contract rather than permanent basis to companies. There are several key benefits to hiring interims for main contractors.
Fast start:
Interims can typically start sooner because they are not tied into permanent employment contracts that require several months’ notice. This means that if you have a skills gap at a senior level that you have been struggling to fill, an interim could step in for several months while you continue to search. Sometimes they may even stay on until a project is completed ensuring project success and continuity. When profit margins or the company reputation is at stake, having this kind of expertise available quickly can be invaluable.
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Specialist skills:
It’s seldom that projects progress according to plan and it takes specialist management skills to get things back on track. This is where interims can offer immense value. Not only do they have years of experience in the industry, they also have the ability to make the hard decisions that are sometimes needed to turn a project around.
Financial fit:
Another benefit to companies of hiring an interim is that the contract can be tailored to the specific needs of the company or project. If they need an interim for just 2 to 3 months to oversee a major bidding process then that’s the extent of the financial commitment.
Limited onboarding:
With permanent hires there’s usually a grace period that allows them to get up to speed with the company and or projects that they’ll be overseeing. This is understandable but not always beneficial to a company. By contrast, interims can literally hit the ground running. Their senior level of expertise enables them to quickly assess situations and start implementing changes much sooner. When projects may already be behind schedule this is hugely beneficial.