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Good Fishing for HR Interims - HR Director Magazine

In today’s new world of austerity and financial pressure, organisations are increasingly focused on accounting for, and getting return on, the money they spend. In the majority of organisations, change is needed, either for survival, or for growth.  In the survival stage, armies of financial experts (many of them interims) and management consultants were imported to trim back the excess fat and ensure organisations were ‘running lean’. Many organisations didn’t survive, and most of those that did shed staff in one of the worst periods for redundancies the UK has ever seen. Hopefully it isn’t too optimistic to say that the bulk of the redundancies are over, and organisations will be taking the next step forward: balancing the need to grow with limited resources in a pressured economy.

At the heart of that growth will be people; meaning HR professionals with the ability to inspire and implement change are in demand. HR departments and teams have the opportunity to be the ‘engine’ behind organisational change, and strategic interims can bring the skills and capacity incumbent teams simply do not possess. The traditional view of interims as gap cover is outdated in today’s market, where flexible interim resources represent the chance to quickly import best practice and new ideas – and to drive positive transformation. Increasingly, companies welcome the innovations, best practice and new ideas an interim can bring. At a time when they are dealing with a great deal of change, importing new skill sets is can be a boon in the face of dwindling resources.

But the proof is in the numbers – in Green Park’s HR Executive Interim Survey 2011, more than a third of respondents indicated they are increasingly used as a strategic resource for turnaround and growth, or to help organisations drive innovation. In addition, a quarter of respondents said they had an important role to play in helping organisations to innovate, and a further one in five felt they had a big part to play in helping organisations create the best structures for growth in an extremely challenging market.

Robin Lewis, Interim HR Professional

‘The perception of HR interims has been steadily changing for the better as organisations realise our potential to add value at a commercial level. There will always be ‘gap cover’ assignments, but in the last few years I’ve personally seen far more opportunities to be part of real commercial change, driving the people agenda. In spite of the difficult economic environment, it’s actually an exciting time to be an HR Interim, since we have more opportunity to make a real difference to the culture, strategy and direction of organisations looking to move forward.’

So what’s behind the rise of the strategic HR interim?

To start with, interims can import best practice at very short notice, without locking the company into long-term expenditure at a time when they need to be absolutely sure of return on investment. This isn’t a case of ‘try before you buy’; it’s a sensible and cost-effective way to deal with a finite resourcing need. At the same time, the management consultancies that would have traditionally stepped into the breach have come under fire for charging exorbitant fees, but, perhaps more importantly, organisations have become more reticent to pay for someone to tell them what to do, without actually taking responsibility for doing it. In today’sera of accountability, the management consultancy path can look like money for nothing all too easily.

Throughout the recession, the term ‘groupthink’ became a popular way for commentators to describe the problem with industry and organisational leadership in the UK. Put plainly, groupthink means that people of similar backgrounds and characteristics will tend to have a uniformity of thought that is unlikely to breed now ideas, innovations and approaches, in favour of maintaining the status quo. Groupthink exists not only in the Board Room, but also in departments and teams, making them resistant to change at a time where the need for change is both imperative and immediate. That’s another area strategic HR interims add value: bringing innovative and entrepreneurial approaches, seeing beyond previously tried and failed approaches that are so often ingrained in an organisation's 'way we do things around here'. Combining that objectivity with best practice from similar assignments, experienced strategic interims can break down the entrenched corporate behaviours or approaches and bring the new ideas and approaches the organisation needs to move forward.

Unsurprisingly, driving change is a core responsibility for executive HR interims, with four out of ten respondents in Green Park’s survey indicating it was a primary responsibility in the assignments they undertake.

Eric Oram, Interim HR Senior Business Partner

‘Many of the organisations I work with are typically short on specialist resources and in a situation where change isn’t just desirable – it’s absolutely essential. Interims, when correctly deployed, can be powerful change agents, bringing fresh energy and perspectives at a time when organisations need them most. In the current economic environment, change assignments are very much the norm, and you’d have to expect that trend to continue for the short and medium terms at least. Those kinds of assignments come with their own pressures, but they are also very challenging and fulfilling from a career perspective, since you get to ‘hang your hat’ on the results or outcomes you deliver. The last few years the HR interims in my network have gradually seen more specific transformational work in creating, managing through change and importantly acting as a problem solver in providing solutions be they OD or ER solutions to change. It’s my sense that, across all sectors, the HR function in general has considerably improved its capacity and capability to drive and realise commercial change. While the recession has been overwhelmingly a challenge, it has had the benefit of driving HR further toward the top table.’

The most hackneyed phrase in the world of HR is almost certainly ‘People are your greatest asset.’ But, in my view, it has more relevance in this economy than it ever has before. The majority of organisations are pared back to the bone in the face of a market that’s only just moved out of intensive care and looks set to limp along for at least a couple more years. Efficiency drives have removed the bulk of financial excess, processes have been re-engineered, workforces have been decimated, and the potential for large scale investment in recovery looks exceedingly unlikely in the majority of cases.

While interims will always have a part to play in their traditional role as gap cover, those roles are now in the minority as the best interims are deployed to drive and embed sustainable growth. Organisations have increasingly realised that experienced strategic interims can inject new ideas, energy and horsepower at a time when immediacy and definitive action are not just desirable, they’re unavoidable.

That’s why I strongly believe there’s never been a better time to be an HR interim. It’s a chance to be at the forefront of change that simply has to happen for the economy to prosper.

Posted 25-01-2012