Organisations are now so 'lean' that they've lost key skills and talent. That's according to the majority of interims questioned for research, who believe they will see an increase in demand for their services as a result.

Chiumento consultancy led the research, which reveals that almost two-thirds of interims questioned believe the number of their assignments will increase this year. More than 50% believe the market is buoyant, while 22% think it is set to grow further. Just 5% believe it will decline.

Despite this, more than eight out of 10 interim managers believe that companies are failing to measure the return on investment (ROI)they are getting. Whilst 78% of interims say that organisations are still not doing enough to harness the skills and knowledge of the interims they use.

Graham Bird, director of interim management at Chiumento, commented: "With the use of interims becoming more commonplace, it is concerning that organisations are still failing to leverage the full skills and experience of interim managers, and are also still failing to measure the return on their investment. With a third of HR interims and half of finance interims commanding between £551 and £700 a day, this does not make business sense."

Chiumento recommends measuring ROI by taking the following steps:

Ensure there is a clear business case for using an interim manager.

Discuss and agree objectives with the interim prior to the assignment starting which will allow clients to monitor performance against these objectives.

Have an end of assignment evaluation and allow time at the end of the assignment to ensure knowledge is transferred from the interim to the client.

Bird added: "It may be difficult for clients to plan and measure ROI when an interim is brought in to deal with a crisis. However, when interims are used strategically, organisations are in a better position to measure the benefits of this type of solution."