2020 marks a year that will go down in history as the year that coronavirus effectively shut down the world. Many companies currently find themselves undertaking unprecedented changes to how they operate as a business. Around the world, self-isolation measures are being enforced meaning workers are working from home and companies have had to shut their doors facing the slowest year of economic growth globally in over 10 years (BBC,2020).
This leaves businesses in positions they never thought they were going to face, how to respond and adapt in light of uncertain futures, with the FSTE and DOW seeing their biggest drop in over 30 years (BBC, 2020) and over 100 countries now putting in travel restrictions (BBC, 2020) will business as we know them to change forever? Companies that do not put in place new measures or implement new ways of working risk falling victim to the crippling effect this outbreak is having economically.
Interim Management is a business that thrives in the face of uncertainty. The focus is to provide companies with the resources they need to rise to their challenges whether this is financial or productivity. Interim managers are chosen based on their skills to work under pressure and turn around the impossible. Conceptualized with the mission to help those under insolvency to remember why they started in the first place; interim managers are well prepared to help you survive this pandemic recession.
One of the key assets of this service is the possession of strong leadership. When a company was in a disruptive period of transition between owners, the uproar amongst staff led to uncertainty and frequent theft. After 2 months of sending interim managers, the thefts reduced to zero, and workers felt secure during a challenging transition.
Another example is the ability to bring fresh perspectives and innovative ideas. One of our most recent examples has been with an established real estate company that had been struggling to sell some of its properties for over 6 years. After sending in a specialist, the properties were rebranded with a new focus and are looking likely to make their first sale imminently.
What many companies are finding most unnerving in the present pandemic is knowing what it is exactly they need either in skills or investment to make it through. Interim managers have been harnessing the ability to expertly preempt, anticipate and foresee what specific expertise a company needs in the face of disaster. Many businesses have not needed to bring in colleagues with these skills, until now.
Areas of concern could be:
Online security and safety: setting up workforces to work remotely is more than just providing them with laptops. It’s making sure they can access documents and secure servers that don’t leave your company wide open to hackers.
Reducing overheads: expenses such as travel or networking might be at a halt, but this might not balance with the general overheads of paying rent or keeping offices secure.
Investment knowledge: now might be the time to look at investment opportunities or ways to release the money to help minimize the impact of cash flow for your business
Interim Management augments the existing team’s capability with the experience, or the skill set to effectively manage or implement a plan to reduce the impact of the COVID-19 recession. This provides the temporary provision of management resources and skills to help companies through periods of transition, crisis, or change.
This is carried out in a simple but effective way that has been proven globally to work with a track record of success. Following a preliminary assessment of need the interim manager provides a diagnosis of your business needs. In comparison to other HR or consulting agencies interim management company doesn’t just pair you with a manager who is free but instead purposely selects the executive who holds the skills and expertise you need. This manager will then provide a time-sensitive, high-impact proposal of changes to give you the best shot at coming out the other end of this crisis.
Unlike other solution companies, it doesn’t just stop there. Interim Managers then implement those plans, holding full accountability. This element of this service is particularly useful as it is outside of your company or the internal politics making it easier to remain neutral in the face of difficult decisions. Once this implementation period is successfully over, they will handover to you and exit the company.
If your company is facing uncertainty in this worrying time and if you need expertise providing high value and impact on a temporary basis to manage the COVID-19 global pandemic, Interim Management is here for you.
Authored By
Vineet Relia
Managing Partner
Relia Management Services LLP