HowtoCopeWhentheCaptainJumpsShip
01 October 2008
The impact of losing a senior executive suddenly can be addressed by engaging an Interim Manager...
The departure of a senior executive, especially when sudden or unexpected, often prompts wide speculation. Those affected will wonder who was responsible; where they are they headed now, who they might team up with for the future, and what’s in store for those left behind. Reputations can suffer, and the effects can literally hit the bottom line as uncertainty taints the relationship between a company and its staff, customers, investors and rivals.
This is a fraught situation for the HR professional, who not only must find a suitable replacement, but must do so with an eye to an added number of considerations - such as public relations, strategic direction, and investor sentiment - that may not apply in the case of lower ranked executives.
Long Time Scale
A compounding factor in all of this is the length of time it takes to replace senior people. Six months is not uncommon, and it's a fair bet that this will extend as the recession deepens and mobility at higher executive levels tightens. Yet, when a senior person bails out (for all of the usual human and career reasons), the HR professional's task is to get their organisation through the lengthy search process without incurring damage to reputation or trading.
Obviously, the ideal solution lies in filling the vacant post as quickly as possible. But choice will be a rarer luxury in the current economic climate, and hiring under duress from the best from a sub-standard group of applicants is ultimately self-defeating. The challenge is to keep the company's progress on track while the search for a permanent replacement gets underway. The only problem is, where to find someone often at very short notice - with the qualifications, expertise, and experience to temporarily deliver the blend of ability and strategic thinking a senior role demands.
HR Toolbox
HR management has its own 'toolbox' of options from which to draw in addressing these and other difficulties. Yet, all too often, the most flexible, adaptable, multi-functional, easy to use, and cost effective tool of them all- interim management is not even in the reckoning.
Interim Management is a smart and flexible way of acquiring specific, senior management talent for set time periods. It is well established in Britain and the USA, although Ireland is making steady progress in closing the gap.
The key strength of this particular HR 'tool' is the quality of the people it supplies. Interim managers are not 'temps', nor are they to be confused with management consultants. Instead, they are experienced executives of proven ability and high qualifications, with an established track record in their professional functional field. As mature individuals, they have the 'people skills' necessary to operate harmoniously in a new environment with full time staff. Most important of all, they contribute from the very outset, working with the existing team to maintain the effectiveness of the role they are asked to fill.
Unexpected Bonus
As for reputation and public perception, the high quality of individual interim managers can be taken as a comfort. The important message that goes out to all and sundry is that the role has been filled by someone very experienced and of comparable ability to that of the departed executive: in other words, a wise and steady hand on the helm, keeping the progress and ambitions of organisation on course until a permanent hire is found.
Interim managers are highly cost-effective, in that they do not impose any long term overheads, and can be availed of as frequently or rarely as required. A great benefit of their presence is that the job will be done and be seen to be done to the required (or higher) standard: an unexpected bonus is that they will leave behind a legacy, or managerial footprint, a fresh perspective that will continue to benefit the client long after the assignment has ended - knowledge transfer is a key benefit of the Interim Manager model.
From CIPD's People Focus - Autumn 2008 Volume 6: No 3