Interim HR Manager Bridges Vacancy Successfully
The CPO just resigned and a new EDP system needs to be introduced. The following testimonial goes to show that, with the help of an interim manager, a situation like this can be dealt with successfully.
The Task
The company, which had multiple subisidiaries, a total revenue of 90 million euros and about 400 employees, suddenly found itself without a human resources manager after their own HR manager had resigned. For the time being, the vacancy was not to be filled because top management was undergoing a restructuring process. The commercial manager was responsible for signing on behalf of the human resources department, at least until the vacancy would be filled again at a later stage. But that is when things got tricky: almost at the same time that the HR manager had left the company, comprehensive new software for the HR department was planned to be introduced. Even though many employees in the department had worked for the company for years, continous professional development had almost never taken place in the past. After the HR manager had left the company, a noticeable knowledge and leadership gap developed. This made it more difficult to implement human resource projects and made it seem as though it was impossible to execute the necessary software modification, both from a qualitative and a quantitative angle. Due to this situation, it became obvious that there was a significant knowledge gap in the HR department. The company decided to opt for an interim HR manager, who was responsible for managing the HR department, broadening the professional knowledge of the employees and supervising the introduction of the new software.
HANSE Interim found a suitable interim manager with immense leadership skills and brokered him to the company.
The Challenge for the Interim HR Manager
Within two weeks, the interim manager took on the management of the department. He quickly integrated himself into the company because of his years of experience and because of being highly skilled. He had lots of expertise in the field of introducing new EDP systems and was thus able to fill the knowledge gap.
The core challenge for the interim manager was to ensure a successfull transition of the software to the new HR management system.
It all came down to the following:
The period that lied between the entry of the interim manager and the shutdown of the old system was merely nine months long. Payroll programs had to be adapted to various pay scale areas.
In order for the new personal management system to suit the company’s needs, some interfaces had to be realigned, such as the interfaces connecting to the financial accounting and controlling departments.
The interim manager also had to resolve whether or not there was a need for coordination with other areas in order to improve the organisational structure of the human resources management.
The Solution
In the company’s daily operations, gaps in technical knowledge were filled comprehensively.
By creating computer-based forms and work instruction sheets, lean structures in human resources management were implemented, spanning from recruitment to dismissal. The employees were each assigned clear responsibilities, single points of contact were denominated and the area of responsibility of the HR department in the company was clearly defined as well.
With regards to what the future business structure of the company should look like, it became apparent that inevitably, the vacancy in the HR department had to be filled. The interim manager was able to find the ideal solution to this problem:
At the same time as the interim manager was carrying out his assignment, the company started to look for a suitable applicant to fill the vacant spot in the HR department.
At the beginning of the project, the interim manager worked three to four days a week, but while the new HR manager was being trained, that time was reduced to just two days a week.
The Result achieved by the Interim HR Manager
Ultimately, several processes were optimized and streamlined.
For instance, after the EDP system was introduced, a part-time position in the HR department was cut, while in the production department, merely one additional indicator had to be recorded.
Conclusion
The company was able to leave behind outdated departmental structures and overcome internal tensions in the HR department. Subsequently, the cooperation inside of the department and with other departments worked extraordinarily well.
After the interim manager had made an outstanding effort, both personally and professionally, and after the employees had been trained, trust in the capacity and reliability of the HR department was reestablished.
