Interim Management: sectors to convince

Article ECO NETWORK 07/29/2019

Interim Management, imported from the Netherlands, is experiencing double-digit growth in France. And the movement could still gain momentum. Not all sectors have yet adopted this new managerial practice. They will come there.

+ 19%, a growth rate that would make many sectors of activity green with envy. At the very least, transition management has succeeded in establishing itself in the French economy in around twenty years. The latest press release from the National Federation of Transition Management (FNMT) even reports even more sustained activity in 2016 or 2017 (23 and 27% respectively). “Companies must transform themselves,” explains Benoit Durand-Tisnes, founder of Wayden, “but they do not have the resources available internally. They became “super skinny”. Another frequent expression in the mouths of specialists: “There is no fat. In other words, the organizational charts have been so streamlined that only external input will be able to “negotiate the turns”. At the risk of exaggerating the line, the interim manager is the “service firefighter” of the company. “The notion of urgency is inherent to our profession, underlines Grégoire Cabri-Wiltzer, at the head of Nim Europe since 2011. With managers available within 48 hours, immediately operational, we thus distinguish ourselves from headhunting, consulting or even recruitment. No acclimatization time. Once an exceptional measure, interim management has become over the years part of the toolbox of business leaders. Or in their “mind set”, to use Richard’s language Branson, widely used in executive transition management, original name of transition management, for once refused in French. The word interim has a pejorative je ne sais quoi, of “middle management”, which is undoubtedly not considered a salesperson.

 

A new image

For a long time, this new managerial practice was associated with “restructuring”. In other words, factory closures, job protection plans, industrial lands emptied of their substance, decimated cities, the “grand faulx”, according to Benoit Durand-Tisnes… We could also speak of “ cost kill”. The transition “Transition management has been decorrelated from its image linked to failing organizations, to so-called wild or bandit closures, rejoices its manager. President Jean-Pierre Lacroix. Unfortunately, this has remained engraved in the collective unconscious. However, This only represents 10% of our missions. We forget to talk about the thousands of jobs saved!”

 

Niche but dynamic market

The dynamic interim management market lists no less than 3,000 missions carried out in 2018 in France, seven months on average and carried out by former senior executives, independent, via salary portage or affiliated with consulting firms. dedicated. This represents a turnover of around 300 million euros. Around a dozen companies are present on the market. In mixture, we can cite Nim Europe, Valtus, Robert Half, the managers of MCG or even Wayden Transition…

Industry remains the sector that uses the most transition management (51% of missions in 2018), far ahead of services (19%). The reindustrialization of France, observed in recent months with 5,200 jobs created in 2018, is undoubtedly not unrelated to this situation. Finally, restructuring with moves or relocations are beneficial back and forths for transition management. “And we have entered an era of permanent transition,” summarizes Guillemette Payen, partner at EIM France. There are no impregnable citadels. There are only sectors that start a little later. »

Within companies, some departments love it more than others. The breakdown by function gives: general management (10%), finance (20%), industrial (20%), marketing (10%), information systems (10%), sales (10%). The supply chain appears to be a potential growth driver, with sustained growth since 2015.

“It’s a niche market,” notes Stéphane Mellinger, founder of MPI Executive. The incoming call does not blow up the switchboard! But in 15 years, the situation has changed. The need for evangelization is less marked. No need to take the pilgrim’s staff anymore. Today, we strive above all to highlight what sets us apart from our competitors. “A quick look at what is happening abroad shows the room for improvement that French players still have. In Great Britain as in Germany, the turnover of interim management exceeds one billion – 1.2 billion and 1.3 billion respectively. Segments remain to be won.

CAC 40 companies are not the only ones affected. “If they are still predominant today,” emphasizes Stéphane Mellinger, “we are going down a notch, with missions taking place in medium-sized companies (ETI) and small and medium-sized companies (SMEs). »

 

Soon the civil service?

Jean-Pierre Lacroix is ​​convinced of this, as the lines are currently shifting. It’s a question of time. “The euro cent is becoming more and more expensive at the level of public management,” he analyzes. The missions will be relevant within three or five years. The need is already there. An example: health, with public hospitals still in deficit. This is the case of the AP-HP or the AP-HM in Marseille. But the sector is not yet open to this managerial practice. Today, the doors are manned by the unions. Priority is given to public officials. However, the subject is not to replace anyone, but to bring different skills. The civil service suffers from a lack of diversity. With Jean-Pierre Lacroix, the speech is cash! Already, the British public and parapublic have taken the plunge.

“WE HAVE ENTERED AN ERA OF PERMANENT TRANSITION. THERE ARE NO IMPREGNABLE CITADELS. THERE ARE ONLY SECTORS THAT START A LITTLE LATER. »

 

Also in the region

What are we also learning across the Channel? It’s not just London that offers the services of interim managers. Birmingham, Edinburgh… So many cities which are capturing and developing this market. Same in France. This rise in power goes beyond the border of the ring road, the outer ring, to gradually reach the province. The Île-de-France region remains the main provider of executives (51%, but down 7 points compared to 2017), ahead of the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region at 12%, down slightly (- 3 points compared to 2017). to 2017). This is what emerges from the latest FNMT survey. And tomorrow ? “Apart from Paris, Lyon and Nantes with H3O, it’s the desert,” notes Stéphane Mellinger. This is the case in Lille, Strasbourg, Metz, Bordeaux and Toulouse, also on the Mediterranean rim. A Nice company was forced to call on a transition management company from the Ile-de-France region. It’s not without problems. Regionalization is the other lever of growth.

 

A tight market

8,000 names in the address book of Nim Europe, in that of EIM, 2,000 at Wayden… “The number doesn’t mean much,” recognizes Grégoire Cabri-Wiltzer. No exclusivity contract binds us to transition managers. Recruitment is becoming more and more complicated. The market is tensing. This is the other side of the coin of the almost full employment situation enjoyed by executives. As a reminder, their unemployment rate is 3.5%, with 270,700 to 290,000 hires planned for 2019, according to the latest figures from the Association for Executive Employment (Apec). 48% of companies plan to hire executives with more than 20 years of experience – exactly the niche for interim managers. In financial, HR or industrial functions, the employability rate is so high that it is similar to a permanent contract (CDI), but with more autonomy.

Without pretending to play superheroes, these men and women – 22% of the missions were carried out by “they” – these senior interim leaders “must be able to change the situation quickly, to cash in,” Grégoire Cabri-Wiltzer further comments, to be free from family constraints, lead a balanced life to support the strong emotional load and not let yourself be guided by revenge for being caught…” A costume that does not suit all executives in France and Navarre! What tomorrow will also be like with millennials. , known to be in search of meaning? “The first will arrive at the head of companies in 2025,” analyzes Benoit Durand-Tisnes, founder of Wayden. Without a doubt, this profession is getting younger. Our clients have moved from an interest in retired academics to operational assets. The average age of interim managers is now 48 years old, compared to 60 years old more than fifteen years ago. The growing importance of IT is redistributing the cards between generations. The end of the reign of the gray temples?

Murielle Wolski