The Impact of COVID-19 on the Interim Marketing and Communications Market
We ran a survey to understand how the contracting market has been impacted, as well as highlight how interim marketers and communicators have been feeling throughout the crisis. The survey covers contract rates, IR35, and the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme.
We saw few contracts being created to carry out Covid-19 comms, perhaps due to the fact that interims were asked to carry out Covid-19 comms in their existing contract. From our knowledge, we have also seen many permanent in-house teams working at full capacity to manage Covid-19 communications rather than use interims.
Overall, many clients implemented their working from home policy successfully; 65% of respondents said that their client has a fantastic agile working programme with 32% reporting that their client had a few teething problems. Only 3% reported that the implementation of working from home policies has been poor.
88% felt that the Government's decision to postpone the IR35 legislation has not led to organisations creating new interim opportunities. With the adverse economic impact of Covid-19, it is difficult to anticipate how many opportunities this postponement will create.
10% of respondents intend to move away from contracting altogether and are now opting for permanent roles. Some respondents said they will move to a more flexible approach depending on the type of opportunities that become available.
********************************
VMA GROUP is a leading international interim and permanent communications, digital and marketing recruitment, and executive search specialist. Specialist practices cover internal and change communications, external communications, public affairs, marketing, digital, and agency services.
We have a reputation for providing leading consultancy services and advice supported by in-depth knowledge of the professions we recruit for. Our thought leadership and benchmarking studies have become go-to resources for the communications and marketing industry supporting planning and decision-making.
VMA GROUP has offices in London, Manchester, Amsterdam, and Brussels, but we work with organisations and individuals on a global basis.
