Top Gun For Hire

By Deena Waisberg                                      Reprinted from The National Post - 2006              Print Version (PDF)

When most people hear the term “temp”, they think of low-wage clerical or administrative workers whom companies hire to type letters, file and fetch coffee.  But, there’s a new breed of temporary workers emerging on the Canadian corporate landscape who could not be further from a Girl-Friday.  Highly skilled and experienced executive temps, more accurately referred to as interim executives, are appearing in offices across the Country.

These hired guns cover the temporary absence of a senior employee, or the sudden departure of a full-time executive, or accomplish a critical task that employees don’t have the skills or time to do:  Perhaps they open a franchise, bring a product to market or change a sales strategy.

Mary Byczok, who lives in Aurora, Ont., has been working as director of human resources for a real estate investment company for the past four months, covering a maternity leave. Vancouver-based IT specialist Roel Coert has taken on project-based assignments to reorganize a software department, and to develop a business case and technical design to implement fibre-optics-to-the-home services for a municipality in British Columbia.

While interim executives and managers accounted for 11% of the temporary workforce in the United States in 2003, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, it is a relatively new practice in Canada, but one that is expected to grow significantly as Baby Boomers, who have already climbed the corporate ladder, look for alternative work arrangements and companies facing a growing labour shortage look for immediate resources without a permanent cost.

Interims should not be confused with consultants.  “Unlike a consultant, who assesses a situation, develops a strategy and delivers a report, an interim executive is responsible for implementation.  They not only strategize, but roll up their sleeves and actually do the work,” explains Frances Randle, managing director of Knightsbridge Interim Management, a recruiting agency that specializes in placing interim executives across the country. 

To get into the market, you need to get on the roster of recruiting agency.  (Occasionally, interims find work directly, but usually a company hires through an agency.)  And the price of entry is high because this type of hired help is expected to deliver results.
Knightsbridge requires a title of director of vice-president and up, and at least 15 years of experience.  Pivotal Integrated HR Solutions has some executives on its roster who have “failed” retirement and are looking for a new challenge.  “You can only get your handicap down so far,” quips Gord Wilson, managing partner, at Pivotal.   The point is no freshly minted MBAs with only text book experience need apply.

In addition to possessing a wealth of experience, executives also need the right kind of temperament: have leadership qualities, be adaptable (size up an environment quickly and fit in) and be able to handle ambiguity well.  “It’s not suited to those who like certainty and maintaining,” Mr. Coert says.

Contracts can run from a few days to longer than a year, says Murray Klippenstein, practice leader of the Vancouver office of The Osborne Group, which places interim executives.  The recruiting agency negotiates a contract and fee on behalf of the interim executive and includes a percentage for itself.

In many instances, contracts are extended, and sometimes the company hires the interim executive full time (if the interim is open to that).
Fee arrangements vary.  Pivotal typically negotiates a project fee and then charges the company an additional 20% to 25% for its placement services.So, for example, three candidates in Pivotal’s roster applied to fill a chief executive position at one company for 18 months.  They set their rates at $200,000, $250,000 and $350,000, respectively. 

The company selected the candidate charging $250,000 because the fee was reasonable and the person was the best fit culturally.

Knightsbridge charges a 25% to 30% margin, while The Osborne Group charges 10% to 25% for its services.

Mr. Coert says he makes more as an interim executive than he did as a staff person - $600 to $1,500 a day, depending on the type of work he is doing.  But he also points out it is necessary to make more because sometimes temps do not have work and when they are working, they don’t get benefits, vacation pay or stock options.  So forget the notion of cashing out as a multi-millionaire if a company’s stock soars.

The actual experience of working as a contractor is also different from being an employee.  Unlike a staff position, overqualified interim executives will often step into a more junior role for a limited time.

Case in point:  Ms. Byczok had worked as a senior vice-president of HR at a grocery retailer before signing on with Knightsbridge after leaving her employer as a result of an acquisition.  She was fine taking on a temporary role as director of HR with less scope. “I had one day of orientation and there was no time for a six month learning curve.  I had to hit the ground running,” she says.

And no matter how congenial the environment, you aren’t engaged in the same way.  “While I’m dedicated to doing my best, it’s not the same as being an employee.  I was at my last company 28 years and poured my heart and soul into my job.  But I’m not looking to grow my career here,” Ms. Byczok says.

Mr. Coert has had a similar experience.  “I’m not part of their team.  I don’t participate in their social activities and don’t share their successes in the same way.”

So why would an executive with a long track record choose this employment path? Contractors escape the office politics to a large degree.  This leaves them free to focus on the assigned task.  “I’m not trying to please the boss and advance in the company, so I’m free to say what I believe,” Mr. Coert says.

Also, interim executives enjoy flexible working arrangements.  “Lots of our clients have achieved a high degree of financial security already, and are looking for more work-life balance,” Ms. Randle says.  Interim executives can decide to take six months off after a contract and travel.  Try doing that in a staff job!

So while Ms. Byczok doesn’t know when her next job will turn up, she prefers the interim arrangement because she can work in a variety of businesses and also have time to take to the open road in her 1981 Porsche 911.