Two recent articles by the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) point out why executive temping may be a lucrative area for recruiters placing contractors.
The first article, citing a survey from global outplacement and executive coaching firm Challenger, Gray, & Christmas, Inc., points out how CEO turnover is at its highest rate since July 2009. In fact, top executive departures jumped by 23.7 percent in May. Of those executives who left their positions, 42 resigned, 31 retired, nine took other jobs, four were removed by their boards, and three were let go due to the economy.
At the same time, SHRM reported in a later article that most companies are woefully unprepared for CEO departures. Citing research form an executive search firm and Stanford University, the article states that more than half of U.S. and Canadian companies could not name a successor if their CEO left today. The research also shows that only 54 percent are currently “grooming” potential CEO’s, and 39 percent said they have “zero” viable internal candidates.
So what does this have to do with contracting? Well, if a company’s CEO picks up and leaves tomorrow, someone has to step in. If the company does not have the perfect person lined up and ready to go, putting in an interim CEO on a contract basis could be the answer. FoxHire has mentioned many times on this blog how many retirees are not ready to bail out of the workforce completely, so putting a retired, high-end executive in on an interim, contract basis may be a great solution for both the company and the candidate!
