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Inclusivity isn’t just a buzzword, it’s a powerful way to attract top interim professionals and strengthen your team’s performance. Organisations that embrace diverse perspectives, skills, and experiences not only open themselves to a wider talent pool but also see better problem-solving, creativity, and project outcomes.

Interim roles, in particular, are an ideal opportunity to champion inclusivity. With short-term projects and clearly defined objectives, managers can focus on matching the right expertise to the right challenge while making the working environment welcoming for all.

Why Inclusive Hiring Works for Interim Roles

Interim professionals often thrive when they feel valued for their contributions, not just their background. By fostering inclusive practices, organisations benefit from:

• Wider talent pools: Attract professionals from different sectors, experiences, and networks.
• Fresh perspectives: New viewpoints can uncover solutions that internal teams may overlook.
• Better retention and engagement: Even in short-term roles, inclusivity signals respect and encourages top talent to deliver their best work.

Practical Ways to Make Interim Hiring More Inclusive

1. Focus on Skills and Impact, Not Just Titles
   Look beyond job titles or career paths. For example, a project requiring process optimisation might benefit from a professional with experience in a different sector — someone who can bring innovative approaches.
2. Offer Flexible Working Arrangements
   Flexibility isn’t just about location. Consider adaptable hours, part-time projects, or hybrid arrangements. This allows professionals from varied backgrounds to contribute fully while balancing other commitments.
3. Communicate Purpose Clearly
   Interim professionals are drawn to projects where they can see the difference they’re making. Sharing how the role contributes to the team, organisation, or client adds clarity and inclusion making everyone feel they belong.
4. Review Recruitment Language and Processes
   Small adjustments can make roles more inviting. Use neutral, skill-focused language in job descriptions, and ensure interview panels are diverse. Even the way you present feedback can make a difference.
5. Celebrate Diverse Success Stories
   Highlight examples of previous interim professionals who brought unique perspectives to projects. Sharing these stories signals to future candidates that different experiences and approaches are valued.

Example in Action

A finance organisation recently hired an interim project manager from a marketing background to lead a system optimisation project. Their fresh perspective uncovered inefficiencies that had been overlooked for years, delivering faster results than anticipated. Inclusive hiring doesn’t just feel good, it drives measurable impact.

"Inclusive interim hiring isn’t just about diversity — it’s about unlocking the full potential of every project and every professional." — Malikshaw Insights

Key Takeaways

• Focus on skills, not just titles or traditional backgrounds.
• Offer flexible arrangements to accommodate diverse professionals.
• Clearly communicate purpose and impact to every candidate.
• Review language and processes to be welcoming and neutral.
• Highlight and celebrate diverse successes to attract future talent.

At Malikshaw, we’ve seen how inclusive practices make interim hiring more effective, productive, and engaging. Whether you’re managing a project team or exploring your next interim opportunity, inclusion opens doors for better people, better projects, better results.

• Hiring managers: Get in touch to find interim professionals who bring diverse perspectives and impact.
• Candidates: Sign up for our Weekly Interim Bulletin to get the latest opportunities straight to your inbox.

Finding the right interim professional isn't always straightforward. The right skills, experience, and fit need to come together, and in a competitive market, both candidates and hiring managers benefit from a clear approach. Whether you're looking to hire your next interim specialist or exploring opportunities yourself, a few key principles can make the process smoother and more effective.

Recruitment starts with clarity. For hiring managers, that means presenting a role in a way that makes it stand out. Candidates want to know why this opportunity matters, what impact they can have, and what kind of team they'll be joining. Sharing successes from previous projects or outlining the role's purpose helps potential hires understand the value they could bring.

"Top talent is attracted to organizations that clearly communicate their purpose and the impact of each role." — Dr. Mahiben Maruthappu, CEO and Co-Founder of Cera Care

Candidates, in turn, should make it easy for managers to see their experience, skills, and unique contributions. Clear, concise applications that align with the role always make a difference. Communication matters just as much as clarity. Whether you're managing applications directly or hiring through a framework of approved suppliers (Malikshaw is on many), keeping candidates informed and setting expectations upfront makes the process less stressful for everyone. Interim professionals appreciate transparency. They want to understand timelines, next steps, and the framework process if it applies.

Another key factor is impact and growth. Interim roles often attract professionals who want to make a real difference. Managers can help by explaining how the role contributes to the bigger picture and what success looks like. Candidates, don't hesitate to ask questions about objectives and team dynamics. Knowing the "why" behind a role helps ensure it's the right fit.

"Employers that prioritize clear communication and a positive candidate experience consistently attract better talent."

Flexibility and inclusivity are increasingly important to top interim talent. Roles that offer adaptable working arrangements, and teams that value diverse perspectives, are more likely to attract and retain the best people.

Practical Takeaways for a Smooth Recruitment Experience
• Present roles clearly and highlight the impact and outcomes.
• Keep communication timely and transparent, including details about frameworks if used.
• Make it easy for candidates to showcase their skills and understand the project.

Attracting top interim talent doesn't have to be complicated. It's about being clear, communicative, and focused on what candidates value. And if you need a hand, Malikshaw is here to help. We work across multiple approved frameworks and have extensive experience matching high-quality interim professionals with the right roles efficiently. Whether you're hiring or looking for your next opportunity, we make the process smoother for everyone.

• Hiring managers: Get in touch to find interim talent that's the right fit for your projects.

• Candidates: Explore our latest interim opportunities or sign up for updates to stay ahead of new roles.

In 2025, many public sector and aligned organisations are wrestling with what's being called the great retention challenge. Turnover is up, tenure is down, and hiring managers across the UK public sector are asking the same anxious question: "How do we get people to stay?" But perhaps the real question isn't about staying. It's about moving well.

At Malikshaw, we see every day that mobility can be a force for renewal. In the right environment, movement isn't a symptom of instability; it's a sign of momentum. People leave, new talent arrives, and ideas evolve. The result is a public sector that keeps learning, adapting and delivering more effectively for citizens.

Author and leadership thinker Simon Sinek put it perfectly:

"Working hard for something we don't care about is called stress. Working hard for something we love is called passion."

That line captures the heart of today's career landscape. People aren't moving because they've lost interest in work. They're moving because they're seeking meaningful work. Interim and project-based roles give professionals the freedom to choose missions that matter, to pursue passion instead of comfort, and to keep learning through change.

Take Malik, a senior programme lead who's spent the last five years delivering transformation projects for local councils and central government departments. He doesn't see himself as transient; he sees himself as transferring impact.

"Every assignment teaches me something new," he says. "I go in, make things work, help teams build confidence, and when I move on, I leave capability behind. That's the point."

Malik's story illustrates a growing truth: career mobility can be purpose driven. He's developed leadership, digital transformation and stakeholder management skills faster through varied interim roles than many achieve in years of permanent work.
Far from being a problem, strategic movement between roles can be an asset if organisations and leaders design for it.

Here's how movement strengthens public service delivery:
• Fresh thinking from professionals who bring experience from other organisations
• The ability to scale up quickly for complex programmes
• A culture of continuous learning through knowledge transfer
• Greater alignment between personal purpose and professional work

When viewed this way, turnover isn't disruption. It's innovation in motion.

For many professionals, interim roles are the modern apprenticeship of leadership. Each project builds a broader skill set, delivers visible impact and expands professional networks. Instead of waiting years for promotion, people can grow through variety, not just tenure.

The public sector's strength has always been its people, and people are mobile. When movement is supported rather than feared, it creates momentum. Ideas travel faster, delivery improves and both organisations and individuals evolve. Retention still matters, but the future isn't about keeping everyone forever. It's about ensuring that while they're here, they contribute deeply, and when they go, the organisation is stronger than when they arrived.
At Malikshaw, we help public sector leaders and professionals harness that energy, connecting skilled people with projects that matter and ensuring every movement creates lasting impact.

Let's turn movement into momentum, together.   Contact us today

EVISA SOLUTIONS LTD – Carbon Reduction Plan (PPN 006 Compliant)

Supplier Name: EVISA SOLUTIONS LTD
Publication Date: 1st November 2025

Commitment to Achieving Net Zero
EVISA SOLUTIONS LTD is committed to achieving Net Zero emissions by 2030.
Baseline Emissions Footprint
Baseline emissions are a record of the greenhouse gases produced prior to any reduction strategies. They serve as the reference point for measuring future reductions.
Baseline Year: 2022

Additional Details relating to the Baseline Emissions calculations:
• Calculated in accordance with the GHG Protocol Corporate Accounting and Reporting Standard.
• Emissions reported in tCO2e using UK Government conversion factors.
• Includes all seven greenhouse gases named under the Kyoto Protocol: CO₂, CH₄, N₂O, HFCs, PFCs, SF₆, and NF₃.
• Operational boundary defined using the operational control methodology.

Baseline Year Emissions:
Emissions Total (tCO2e)
Scope 1 0
Scope 2 55.236
Scope 3 – Category 1: Purchased goods & services 2.098
Scope 3 – Category 4: Upstream transport & distribution 0.839
Scope 3 – Category 6: Business travel 0.420
Scope 3 – Category 7: Employee commuting 0.420
Scope 3 – Category 13: Downstream leased assets 0.418
Scope 3 Total 4.195
Total Emissions 59.431

Current Emissions Reporting
Reporting Year: 2024
Emissions Total (tCO2e)
Scope 1 0
Scope 2 38.731
Scope 3 – Category 1: Purchased goods & services 1.244
Scope 3 – Category 4: Upstream transport & distribution 0.498
Scope 3 – Category 6: Business travel 0.249
Scope 3 – Category 7: Employee commuting 0.249
Scope 3 – Category 13: Downstream leased assets 0.248
Scope 3 Total 2.488
Total Emissions 41.219

Emissions Reduction Targets
In order to continue progress toward Net Zero, EVISA SOLUTIONS LTD has adopted the following carbon reduction targets:
• Projected emissions reduction to 39 tCO2e by 2027, representing a 34.55% reduction from the 2022 baseline.

Carbon Reduction Projects
Completed Carbon Reduction Initiatives
The following environmental management measures and carbon reduction projects have been implemented since the 2022 baseline:
• Transition to a fully electric company car fleet
• Reduction in company travel through policy changes
• Increased remote and hybrid working
• Energy efficiency improvements to office lighting and heating systems
Impact: 5 tCO2e reduction (8.5% vs. 2022 baseline)

Future Carbon Reduction Initiatives
EVISA SOLUTIONS LTD plans to implement further carbon reduction initiatives, including:
• Supplier engagement and sustainability requirements to reduce Scope 3 emissions
• Installation of renewable energy sources in offices
• Adoption of carbon offsetting for unavoidable emissions
• Expansion of digital working tools to reduce travel-related emissions

Methodology
• Calculated in accordance with the GHG Protocol Corporate Standard.
• Operational boundary defined using operational control methodology.
• Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions reported per SECR requirements; five Scope 3 categories included per PPN 006 guidance.
• Emissions measured in tCO2e across all Kyoto Protocol gases.

Declaration and Sign Off
This Carbon Reduction Plan has been completed in accordance with PPN 006 and associated guidance for Carbon Reduction Plans.
Emissions have been reported and recorded in line with the GHG Reporting Protocol and UK Government emission conversion factors. Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions have been reported per SECR requirements, and the required subset of Scope 3 emissions have been reported per the GHG Corporate Value Chain (Scope 3) Standard.

Signed on behalf of the Supplier:
Robert Shaw
Partner | Public Sector
Date: 1st November 2025

The 9 to 5 is no longer the default for many professionals. Today, employees wear multiple hats—full-time worker, freelancer, side-project innovator, mentor, and sometimes entrepreneur—all at once. Side projects, freelance gigs, and passion ventures are becoming standard components of working life. This is not a passing trend. The side hustle is reshaping careers, influencing loyalty, and forcing organisations to rethink how they manage talent.

Side hustles offer more than extra cash. They allow individuals to pursue passions, test new skills, and explore career changes without leaving their main role. For interims, these additional roles are particularly relevant. Flexibility is a hallmark of interim work, and side projects enable professionals to bridge contracts, stay marketable, and broaden their skillset. Treat side projects as a showcase of versatility, but set clear boundaries to protect core assignments, avoiding burnout.

Candidates who approach side hustles strategically can turn them into powerful CV assets, demonstrating initiative, entrepreneurial spirit, and transferable skills. Framing is key: side projects should complement, not compete with, main responsibilities.

For hiring managers, side hustles are both a challenge and an opportunity. There are risks around focus, burnout, and conflicts of interest, but employees wearing multiple hats often bring fresh thinking and innovative ideas back into the organisation. Focusing on outcomes rather than hours and encouraging flexibility transforms potential risk into advantage.

Organisations that navigate this trend successfully provide flexible hours, remote options, and clear moonlighting policies. They also harness the skills and energy developed through side projects, turning them into innovation opportunities. Side hustles are here to stay. Companies that balance freedom with accountability and encourage growth while protecting productivity will win loyalty, creativity, and engagement.

Ready to explore how your organisation can embrace modern work trends and get the most from your talent?

Contact Malikshaw today

AI and automation are reshaping the workplace. But while systems are getting faster and smarter, some of the most valuable skills in today's market have nothing to do with machines. In fact, they're the ones machines still can't touch and likely never will.

Whether you're an interim professional stepping into a complex transformation, or building a project team to deliver one, it's increasingly clear that soft skills aren't just "nice to have." They're business critical.

The Five Skills That Aren't Going Anywhere
These are the traits and behaviours that consistently drive real-world results in organisations going through change, especially in environments where pressure, ambiguity and pace are the norm.

1. Critical Thinking
AI can process data. It can't interpret political nuance, regulatory context or unintended consequences. Critical thinking is essential for shaping decisions that stick. It's what allows someone to walk into a tangled situation, ask the right questions and spot what others have missed.
2. Empathy
Particularly in transformation programmes, empathy isn't about being soft. It's about reading the impact of change on people and adjusting your approach accordingly. Understanding how teams feel, and why they might be resistant, is the starting point for getting them on board.
3. Creativity
Automation thrives on patterns. Creativity thrives on ambiguity. Solving a legacy process problem or finding new ways to deliver under constraints demands the kind of thinking that isn't rule-based. That's where experienced professionals shine by applying creativity to real-world complexity.
4. Adaptability
No two projects are the same and no plan survives first contact. The ability to flex, to recalibrate in response to new data, changing priorities or political realities, is what keeps momentum going. Interims know this better than most. It's core to the way they work.
5. Influence and Communication
Stakeholder alignment isn't something you can automate. You still need someone in the room who can explain the bigger picture, build trust across departments and turn strategic goals into local relevance. Especially in complex programmes, influence is what gets things moving.

How Interims Can Show They Have These Skills

These traits rarely show up in a CV line or a project plan. So how do you prove them?
Start with evidence over adjectives. It's not enough to say you're adaptable or emotionally intelligent. Point to examples where that adaptability made a difference, or where empathy changed the direction of a programme. Build out your portfolio with stories and outcomes, not just job titles.
Ask for feedback on these qualities, not just delivery metrics. Testimonials from sponsors, peers or stakeholders can offer real insight into how you show up, not just what you deliver.
And finally, frame your soft skills as part of your core value. They're not the icing. They're part of what allows you to operate effectively in high-stakes, high-complexity environments.

Real-World Example: Turning Around a Government Programme
One of the clearest demonstrations of this came through a Malikshaw interim recently placed in a UK government department. Brought in to oversee a stalled digital transformation programme, they quickly identified that the problem wasn't the system. It was adoption.

Front-line staff didn't trust the rollout. They felt excluded from decisions and confused about how the changes would affect their day-to-day work. Rather than pushing the implementation forward, the interim stepped back. They spent time across teams, held listening sessions and surfaced concerns that hadn't reached the leadership level.
They adapted the training offer to reflect the reality of how different functions operated. They also built a network of peer champions from across the department, trusted individuals who could speak credibly to colleagues and act as bridges between programme and operations.

Crucially, the interim reframed the challenge at board level, helping senior leaders see that they weren't facing a technical failure, but a cultural one. Within ten weeks, user adoption rose from 20 percent to over 80. No new budget. No additional tech. Just better engagement, delivered through human insight and influence.
That's what makes these skills future-proof. And what makes the right interim a critical part of delivering successful transformation.

Hiring for These Skills in Project Teams
For those building transformation teams, it's just as important to look for these qualities as it is to check off technical experience.
When assessing candidates, especially for interim or contract roles, don't just focus on systems knowledge or delivery frameworks. Ask about how they've handled resistance. How they've adapted under pressure. How they've built relationships quickly in new environments.

And where possible, use experienced interims to seed these qualities into your wider team. They often bring a level of maturity and situational awareness that helps stabilise fast-moving programmes and sets the tone for others.

Final Thought: Soft Skills, Real Impact
The most valuable skills in complex change environments are the ones that can't be codified. The ability to think critically, build trust, adapt quickly and communicate clearly isn't just a professional strength. It's a requirement.
For interims, these are often the differentiators. For those building teams, they're the foundations.

If you're focused on future-proofing your programme or your own career, start with the skills the machines haven't mastered.

If you're ready for a new challenge or perhaps you're building a new team, we'd love to hear from you.  

My Biography

A passionate recruiter focused on helping people find roles where they can thrive and helping businesses build strong, high-performing teams.

My Areas of Expertise

Executive Search & Leadership Hiring
Inclusive Talent Acquisition
Market Insights & Talent Strategy

My Languages

English

My Interests

Literature

Travel

The way we work has changed and so has the way we lead.

Remote and hybrid teams are no longer a temporary fix. For many organisations, especially those delivering large-scale transformation programmes, they’ve become the norm. At Malikshaw, we’ve seen this shift up close over the last few years, as public sector delivery models have expanded to include increasingly distributed teams, often made up of permanent staff, interims, contractors and delivery partners.

These teams are spread across different locations, time zones and working patterns, yet they’re expected to align quickly and deliver with precision. Leading in this environment isn’t just about being a good communicator. It’s about setting up structure, expectations and culture in a way that works, even when people rarely meet in person.

This change is especially visible in the public sector, where the scope of programmes has grown. Timelines are tighter, transformation goals are more ambitious, and delivery teams have to scale fast. That often means drawing on short-term or specialist resource. Done well, it’s a flexible, high-impact model. But without the right kind of leadership, things can slow down fast.

So what does remote-first leadership look like?

It’s not about recreating the office virtually. It’s about designing the way work happens when people aren’t in the same place or working at the same time. That might sound obvious, but it often means rethinking some very established habits.

Some key things make a real difference:

• Encouraging asynchronous communication, so work doesn’t stop when someone logs off
• Making roles, goals and expectations clear and easy to access
• Focusing on outcomes over visibility — trust that people are delivering, even if you can’t see them doing it
• Including interims and contractors in key conversations and team rhythms
• Building feedback and reflection into how the team operates

This kind of leadership builds trust, avoids duplication and gives teams the freedom to get on with the work. It’s also the best way to make sure that all contributors — not just permanent staff — are part of the delivery culture.

Tools help, but the real shift is in mindset. Remote-first leadership is about being deliberate. It’s about understanding how people work best when they’re not in the same room, and making sure that clarity, communication and connection aren’t left to chance.

It also helps avoid some of the common pitfalls of remote delivery. Without it, decisions stall, priorities blur and key contributors can feel isolated. When teams are under pressure to deliver, these small breakdowns can quickly become major risks.

Looking ahead, remote-first ways of working are here to stay. Not every team will be fully remote forever, but flexibility, mobility and distributed delivery are now built into how programmes run. The challenge isn’t whether remote teams can succeed — it’s how we lead them effectively.

At Malikshaw, we continue to work with organisations navigating exactly this space — building remote-first teams, integrating interims and specialists, and delivering transformation across complex, fast-moving environments. It’s clear that strong leadership is what ties all of this together.

Getting it right is no longer a nice-to-have. It’s a core part of making modern delivery work.

You’ve spent time and money hiring the right person. The interviews are done, the offer’s accepted, and the start date is in the diary. But too many teams assume the hard work is over at that point, when in reality, it’s only halfway.

Poor onboarding is one of the most common reasons for early leavers, slow starts, and frustrated teams. It’s particularly damaging in consultancy and interim work, where people are brought in to hit the ground running and deliver from day one. In transformation programmes, where complexity is high and timelines are tight, even small onboarding gaps can have serious consequences.

The problem isn’t always obvious. Poor onboarding often hides in the background. Things like no contact between offer and start date, unclear expectations, or basic tools and systems not being ready. Or a lack of context, no real introduction to the team, and that all-too-common "sink or swim" handover. These moments add up and send a message: we weren’t ready for you.

That message has a cost. Replacing a leaver can easily exceed £30,000. Productivity loss is even harder to quantify, but very real. Most new hires take several months to get fully up to speed. In public sector programmes, there’s the added risk of reputational damage and slower delivery. And for teams already stretched, a poor onboarding experience doesn’t just affect the new hire. It pulls others off track too.

This is especially true for interim professionals. There’s a myth that experienced contractors don’t need onboarding and can just “crack on”. But even the best interims need clear objectives, political context, and a sense of who’s who in the team. They need to know what's been tried before and why it did or didn’t work. Without this, time is lost. Mistakes are repeated. Confidence suffers, both theirs and yours.

In transformation work, those early days matter. If someone spends the first two weeks figuring out basics that should have been clear on day one, that’s a red flag. Not on them, but on the process.

So how do you fix it?

• Start before Day One. A welcome email, a named contact, and confirmation that tech and systems will be ready.
• Make the first week feel structured. Share team charts, key contacts, delivery plans or timelines. Even for interims, a light-touch onboarding checklist helps.
• Assign a buddy or go-to person who isn't their line manager.
• Set a few clear goals for the first week and month, not just a list of admin tasks.
• Book regular check-ins. Not just to ask how it’s going, but to find out what’s unclear, what could be better, and what to fix next time.

These aren’t big asks, but they make a big difference. Done well, onboarding gives people the confidence and clarity to start delivering quickly. It builds trust. It protects the investment you’ve made in hiring and the outcomes you need to deliver.

If you're hiring for transformation or managing contract teams, onboarding isn’t a nice-to-have. It’s part of delivery.

Want to improve onboarding across permanent, interim, and consultancy roles? We help organisations build fast, effective onboarding processes that set people — and projects — up for success.

Get in touch to find out how we can help.