INTERIM MANAGEMENT IN ROMANIA
Our interim management value proposition in Romania
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 of the investment from Romania.
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 or investment. 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' for your investment. 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.
For more information on Romania and investment in Romania click :
Procedure to create a company in Romania
Guide for setting up a company in Romania