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Interim managers are the lubricating oil of Dutch business. In some sectors there is a shortage of these temporary specialists, and demand will continue to increase in the future. How can we see to it that the proverbial oil keeps flowing?
The fines imposed recently on a number of Dutch banks for not having proper oversight of their cash flows once again brought to light the great importance of specialists in our business life. These specialists are scarce, so experienced problem solvers are often brought in on a temporary basis to put things in order.
Not only in Finance, Risk & Compliance and Banking & Financial Services is there currently a great need for good interim managers. In HR departments too the demand for interim specialists exceeds the supply. As a result of their scarcity in the labour market the time between assignments for interim managers is becoming shorter and shorter.
Interim managers are much in demand because they often have years of experience and know-how to offer that companies do not always have in house. Thus as well as for example optimising processes and guiding personnel, they can see major changes within the organisation through to a successful conclusion in a relatively short time. At the same time a good interim manager often looks to the future and makes sure his or her know-how is transferred to the permanent employees. In that sense they are the lubricant of Dutch business life and as such of the economy.
The big question is how together we can keep that oil flowing. Government has thrown quite a bit of sand in the machine in the last few years. The uncertainty around hiring freelancers will persist until the much criticised DBA (Employment Relations Deregulation) act comes into force, which is not until next year.
For that reasons many organisations are playing safe and hiring fewer freelancers. With supply already tight it is becoming even more difficult for these companies to find interim specialists. One alternative is to work with a payroll construction on an employment agency basis. But most freelancers do not wish to work with that construction because it entails giving up their self-employed tax status.
In the short term it is to be hoped that the act when applied will bring improvement, but in the long term a lot more will need to be done to keep the machine running. The need for interim specialists in the future is more likely to increase than to decrease. In order to be able to compete in the global market, businesses must be able to respond ever more quickly to changes. The general expectation is therefore that organisations will evolve into small cores of permanent employees encased in large agglomerations of interim professionals.
The consequences of this are considerable. For example how will the company of the future ensure that its corporate culture is preserved if a large group of employees is constantly changing?
Another challenge lies with interim specialists themselves. As freelancers, wanting to shift for themselves is part of their DNA. However in some circumstances it is important to organise as a group. For example to be able to sit around a table if a new law is proposed that directly affects your sector.
The biggest question is how government, interim professionals and companies are going to find the balance together between flexibility on the one hand and certainty on the other. This bearing in mind that our whole package of social insurance, pensions and disability benefits is based on a system with fixed contracts. How are we going to make this system future-proof?
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