A new week but similar challenges for the Public Sector. In this weeks announcement we have short summaries of new group members the results of last weeks survey and a brilliant Star Of The Week article.
To see the results of last weeks survey that was put out in the weekly announcement click here
As usual everything is available for reading in full on the website as LinkedIn has a word limit. Feel free to make a comment or discussion about anything from the article. I expect international experience, high interim fee’s adding value rather than costing clients and new ways of interim billing are all things that members will want to discuss.
Attenti’s Star Of The Week Returns
This week’s Star is David Higgins, an IT Programme Director and Transformation consultant who has bucket loads of experience in large scale public sector IT Programs such as the NHS National Spine. He has also worked on IT projects internationally, giving David a fantastic viewpoint on the UK interim market.
How is the interim market from your perspective?
The public sector interim market is definitely slow in the UK, however from my experience I can say that it’s better if you look globally; both the Middle East and Australia haven’t really slowed that much with some big programmes of work underway, especially infrastructure refresh in the
Middle East and pockets of public sector work in Asia Pacific.
One of the more visible gauges is the pressure on rates. This has been caused by a multitude of factors, but mainly the supply of interim personnel available. There are a lot of interims
chasing roles and this is meaning that organisations will go for the lowest priced resource they can get, it’s a factor of supply and demand – however I remember seeing a sign in a store in America that said “the bitterness of low quality persists after the sweetness of low price has gone” and there’s certainly burgeoning evidence of that.
It seems that there is a downward spiral ahead. Government departments do still have budgets however they are less willing to spend those budgets. This means that work still needs to be done, but it is simply being put back or that departments find the hurdle of getting central approval is too hard.
At this moment in time departments seem to simply want to save money rather than invest and spend it. Manpower across the public sector has been reduced, that includes the major consultancies as well as interims.
What effect has the CSR had on both your job security and future prospects?
The CSR has had a massive impact on the way government operates. Firstly it has removed any large new government programmes for the foreseeable future and secondly it’s slowed the business change work which, if not addressed, means that some departmental objectives and targets that require significant or complex software changes are going to be missed or delayed. Some of the big government departments spend more on BAU change than they do on programmes so it’s difficult to see how that work can just be turned off without impact. I also believe that government needs to get better at managing technology programmes, the lack of funding means that government is going to have look seriously at how it structures itself to contract and manage technology programmes going forward.
How do you see the interim market in the short and long term?
There is a lot of mobility of in the interim market with interims and perms crossing over one another. Interims finding the market difficult are settling for permanent roles, where as permanent staff that are being made redundant are considering interim work to fill the gaps. This has meant that rates overall have decreased as less experienced people pick up the remaining roles.
I would expect to see interim co-operatives developing as a result of the decline in the demand for individual interims. This would mean groups of highly qualified interims could form consortia to bid for projects that would otherwise be too large for individuals, this means that interims could bid for work that historically only large consulting firms could do. That would result in a comparatively lower cost for the purchasing organisation as they would get the skillset but without the consulting firm overheads.
From an individual interim perspective the short and medium term I believe it’s going to be a difficult time.
Have you been forced to reduce your rates since the general election?
No, I have not reduced my rates as I believe it devalues my expertise and marketability if I accept a role at a lower rate. I have rejected roles at very low rates for that reason, I would prefer to find a client who recognises the value at risk of their programme and seeks the right kind of experience to manage that risk. All of the highly experienced interims I know are currently sticking to their rates and seeking contracts where their skills add value rather than be seen as a cost. I know some good programme managers that are not currently engaged in looking for UK project preferring either look for work abroad or take the time to improve their skills, ultimately this is a loss for the economy in terms of expertise and tax revenue.
I believe that different models of interim billing are likely to become the norm for certain types of work. I think projects will move away from day rates towards a price for the delivery of a work package or outcome, I’m starting to see this approach it the market already. This also means that interims will need to become better at risk assessment and be able to argue the case for the value at risk.
As a response to lower rates I think we need to start getting customers thinking seriously about the value at risk associated with a programme and not the total contract value, there may be a much higher value at risk when compared with the programme cost. Mitigating that risk and achieving the greatest value involves implementing the right kind of management and
governance for the risk and then acquiring the skillset that is needed. The price of failure, be it financial, reputational or organisational is always much higher than the cost of avoidance, that applies in both the public and private sectors.
Have you seen an increase in job opportunities from the private sector as public sector positions have declined?
The private sector certainly has not picked up the slack. In most cases employers are not interested in the transferable skills that public sector workers have to offer. I’m always surprised when private sector customers mandate vertical sector experience, if I think about major programmes over the 10 years I can’t think of anything in the private sector to match the scale of very large government programmes and when I review private sector programmes they always seems to have similar issues to government ones so why not use those skills? Also, I think there’s much more parallel in technology (at least at the fundamental level) that the private sector would have us believe, if you were wanting to look for examples of non repudiable, mission critical messaging you’d be hard pressed to find anything in the private sector to match the scale of the NHS National Spine.
From your international experience what would to suggest to those looking to work abroad?
Working abroad is often completely different to working in the UK even though the outcomes may be the same. You are not able to operate in the same way that you are used to. You should also be aware of the cultural sensitivities that may exist, in terms of your output and overall
attitude. It should not put people off as long as you are prepared for what this means and can moderate your approach to match the environment.
If you’re not relocating your family there is an element of isolation while working abroad, this isn’t as bad as it was with communication improvements but you may be physically away from your family for 6 months and this brings significant pressures. It can also mean that you are effectively living on the job as a lot of the social outlets we have in Europe may not be available to you.
