While Europe’s economic woes have factored into the fee structures and engagement levels of interim executives in recent years, Europe-based interims are concerned about another force putting pressuring on fees: headhunting firms.
Interims from Europe say the market is awash in placement firms looking to match European interim executives with the companies that need them. Of course, there are reputable placement firms that specialize in placing interim executives, but those firms aren’t the problem.
Fakers and Posers Flood the European Interim Market, Fee Pressure Up
European interims are concerned that many of today’s middlemen promise interim executive placement services, but are muddying the definition of interim and harming a specialty that lives by its promise of top-flight decision-making backed by experienced strategy execution under a fixed timeframe.
For the high rungs of interim executives, that watering down is resulting in lower fee structures.