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 assignments 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 managers contribution. Typically this takes place over
one or more initial meetings and results in the interim managers
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
managers 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