After the fast departure of a leader from a subsidiary with 1000 people of a large group, this interim management mission is to support the group’s interim general manager, to implement my methodology of taking a position in the interim management of general direction and aiming at giving to teams dynamism again, to make proposals in accordance with the unit’s strengths and weakness.

• Name of the interim manager: Anne-Claire Humeau.
• Date of completion of the mission: November 2018 -April 2019.
• Company name: confidential (subsidiary of a large group).
• Activity sector: Services to individuals.
• Company type: Subsidiary of 1000 people, turnover of 100 M €, 450 employees in production and a network of 10 shops.

Challenges of the interim management mission

The company was put in a bad position by a general manager in office for several years, due to the non-existent management, a contemptuous stance, reprehensible actions, and a construction of isolated services. The whole staff is discouraged, does not perceive light at the end of the tunnel, does not understand what is happening, is not heard neither when faced with difficulties nor when offers solutions. The financial results are catastrophic.

Results

• Communication is well established, hope is reborn, ideas emerge, proposals are made. 100 % of the people that wanted to leave the subsidiary decided to stay in their position.
• The dialogue is put in place. Commercial team “liberated” make a 10% increased of turnover.
• Bad practices are identified, and corrective actions are proposed.
• Major changes are recommended and followed by actions (departures and arrivals of staff, adjustment of the organization chart).
• The group makes key decisions for the unit’s future.

Actions taken

Step one

• Field visits inside the company: production, shops, services.
• Meetings and interviews with the management committee (7 people), and then meetings with their N-2 even N-3 at the request of the committee.
• Staff meetings are requested when situations are in crisis, either personal or within their professional responsibilities.
• Analysis of data provided by financial, management control, marketing, purchasing, HR, transport logistics.
• Throughout the interviews, the first report made to the leaders of the sector in the group.
• Feedback of this first round to the management committee: interviews and conclusions on the analysis of the context and the paths for the future.

Step two

• 2nd round of meetings, interviews, solutions with management committee members.
• 2nd mission report with specific proposal regarding the changes of organization chart and the daily team management organization, and point out the urgent decisions that need to be taken.
• Feedback exchange with the leaders of the company and its group.

Talents implemented

• Rapid understanding of complex corporate contexts and their leaders.
• Acquisition of new sectors’ related knowledge.
• Understanding of complex production systems.
• Knowledge of the functioning of Small to Medium-sized Enterprises, Employee Representative Bodies, and large groups.
• Capacity of listening and analyzing, leadership and ability to reassure, transmit dynamism and give impetus.
• Competences: financial, management control, HR, transport logistics, purchasing, production, management, experience as a member of Management Committee and Executive Committee.

A few words to conclude this interim management mission

• Exciting discovery of a new sector and an excellent company. Staffs are mostly qualified and passionate about their work.
• Satisfaction for having successfully established the internal communication, relieved the staff in difficulty, given dynamism, opened other potential leads, generated solutions and actions to exit the crisis.
• Satisfaction to see a big part of my proposals are accepted.
• New start for the company.

Final feedback from the client (CEO)

• Communication well established”, “necessary though difficult”, and a “big THANK YOU”

Interim management mission key figures to keep in mind

• 43 people interviewed, even more contacts during field visits.
• 1000 people, 100 million turnover and network of 10 shops.

An Interim Manager Success Story of rescuing a failing start-up

Mission

Company: You Take Control
Market: Privacy
Industry: Health Care
Position held: Interim CEO
Responsibilities: Worldwide Sales, Marketing, Service, Support, Business Development
How hired: I met the founder at a conference and he hired me to come in to grow the start-up.
Company status when started: Burned thru $300K with no product, no partnerships, no channels for distribution and no cash to run the company.

Methodology used to rescue the start-up

Step 1 – Evaluated the current state of the start-up

• Employees
• Who to keep, who to let go
• Who was good at their jobs including the current executives
• What did they think were the problems?
• Did they have any solutions
• Product, Quality of the product, Pricing, Reliability
• Competition
• Is it a win-win for them
• Software development, engineering resources, cost of testing and QA
• Service and support, Policies
• Financial condition, Balance sheet, P&L, revenues, expenses, investors
• What did they think were the problems, would they put in any more investments

Step 2 – Put together a plan and get buy in

• Worked closely with the founder and developed a plan
• Got buy in for the plan with the executive team
• If executive team did not support the plan then we let them go.
• All the team supported the plan
• Met one on one with the team
• Presented the plan to the entire start-up

Step 3 – Implemented the plan to rescue the start-up

• Met weekly with the team
• Monitored the effectiveness of the plan
• Raised another $2.3M from new investors
• Hired a new sales team and new marketing team
• Refined our brochures and presentation materials
• Hired a new development team and new branding company
• Developed a new brand for the product
• Changed the messaging
• Launched a new web site, created new demos
• Hired my replacement CEO from Pfizer

Step 4 – Exit strategy

• In the process of selling the company

What I learned:

1. Hire a CEO that is comfortable with start-ups
2. Take the right amount of time to understand the situation
3. Once you have decided to clean up the company do it quickly
4. Play off of your strengths and minimize your weaknesses
5. Act faster to resolve the problems

About the author: Steven Lund raised $40M and is the founder of 5 companies. He also was CEO/COO of 3 technology and medical companies. He closed a $3B deal for a tec firm, restructered a company and sold its assets, and he created strategic alliances that generated $20M annually in sales.