Our interim management value proposition in Romania and Belgium In the past 10 or 15 years, Interim Management has emerged to

become an industry in its own right, one that provides a wide range of

services to businesses. There are a number of different business

situations that could result in the need for an interim manager.

Typically these could be situations such as crisis management, sudden

departure, illness, death, change management, managing change or

transition, sabbaticals, MBOs and IPOs, mergers and acquisitions,

and project management.

The following factors are typical of the “interim management

value proposition”:

1. Return on investment. Our interim managers add value by

using their skills and expertise to help deliver an outcome,

solution, service or mitigate risk that provides a meaningful

‘return on investment’ to a client. Interim managers are paid on

the understanding of goals and objectives being performed and

delivered, and not simply on the basis of attendance.

2. Speed. Our interim managers can be in place within days as

opposed to weeks or months which is essential when time

constraints are paramount. Being practiced in engaging promptly

with the situation, they become effective quickly upon joining a

client organization. Because of their experience and expertise,

interim managers also conduct and complete assignments

effectively and with due speed (Plug & Play).

3. Expertise. Our interim managers typically operate at a senior

level in the client organization, often being sensibly over-

qualified for the roles they take on. They often bring skills and

knowledge not otherwise in place, to address a specific skills gap

or problem. Their experience and expertise enables them to be

productive and make a noticeable impact from the outset,

maximizing the likelihood of success.

4. Objectivity. Unencumbered by company politics or culture, our

interim managers provide a fresh perspective and are able to

concentrate on what's best for the business. Being independent

operators, they are able to contribute honestly without

constituting a threat to the incumbent management team..

5. Accountability. Rather than taking on a purely advisory role,

our interim managers are managers who will take responsibility

for and manage a business or project in their own right. They

expect to be held accountable for results and by being

instrumental in an assignment’s successful delivery, They give

clients the peace of mind that the interim manager has

experience for the project in hand.

6. Effectiveness. Operating at or near board-level gives interim

managers the authority and credibility to effect significant

change or transition within a company. They actively add value

to the client organization as a result of their expertise and

approach, even when the work and the decisions to be made are

difficult.

7. Commitment. Our interim managers maintain high professional

standards because their future work relies upon referrals and a

successful track record. They therefore have a stake in the

success of the assignments that they undertake.

The interim management assignment lifecycle

Interim assignments vary in scope and requirements, encompassing

change management, ‘gap’ assignments, project management and

turnaround management. The following stages of the ‘assignment

lifecycle’ are typical of how interim managers enter into an

assignment, reach and carry out the actual implementation, and finally

exit the assignment:

1. Entry. The prospective client and Interim make initial contact

and explore the requirement sufficiently for the client to be able

to decide to engage the interim manager (or not) to address the

situation. This is likely to involve a ‘preliminary’ assessment of

what the client thinks they want and the boundaries of the

interim manager’s contribution. Typically this takes place over

one or more initial meetings and results in the interim manager’s

provisional engagement.

2. Diagnosis. The interim manager researches the current situation

in order to understand it, how it came about, what are the

requirements of the varying stakeholders. At this stage a more

detailed understanding of ‘what the situation is’ is formed as

well as approaches to address it. Differing issues or problems

may come to light at this stage than initially highlighted by the

client. On a ‘gap’ assignment this diagnosis may run

concurrently with the handling of immediate issues. Typically

the diagnosis stage will take a few weeks/days.

3. Proposal. The interim manager presents a more detailed

proposal which acts as the interim assignment objectives and

plan. If this differs significantly from the preliminary plans

determined at ‘entry’, the solution may involve different

requirements from the interim manager or possibly the ending of

the assignment. It is common that this ‘proposal’ may challenge

the clients understanding of the situation, on the basis of interim

manager’s expertise. The interim manager takes the

responsibility to propose a solution most likely to be effective,

not automatically the one originally requested. In the case of a

‘gap assignment’ such a proposal may simply outline how the

interim manager will be a ‘safe pair of hands’.

4. Implementation. The interim manager takes responsibility for

managing the intervention, project, or solution, tracking progress

and conducting periodic feedback reviews with the client.

During this stage, interim managers particularly exemplify their

expertise, accountability and effectiveness. Depending on the

assignment, they get as close to the situation as is necessary,

whilst remaining an independent practitioner. They may be

managing teams, projects, dealing with crises or transformations

or simply ‘holding the fort'. Their implementation is

unencumbered by company politics or culture, focused on the

task in hand.

5. Exit. The interim manager, approaching project end, ensures that

objectives have been met, that the client is satisfied. This stage

may involve ‘knowledge handover and training’, determining

and sourcing ‘business as usual’ successors, and ‘sharing lessons

learnt’ in the process. The interim manager is focused on the

success of the assignment and not simply the length of their own

tenure, which means that this stage can be carried our

professionally and objectively. Often this will be end of the

interim manager/client relationship. Sometimes interim

managers may continue to give occasional ad hoc consultancy.

Sometimes the interim manager will be re-engaged on a follow-

on or further assignment, starting the ‘lifecycle’ again.

more info mail frjacobs@telenet.be