The interim manager (IM) was commissioned by one of Europe's largest medical clinics as Head of Marketing & Communication and head of a crisis team. After a few weeks, the assignment was extended to include the position of a board member of a non-voting Chief Operating Officer. The commissioning company, based in southern Germany, had a turnover of around 1.4 billion euros in 2020 and employed around 16,500 people.
Restoring the clinic group's reputation damaged by false reports
The clinic is a leader in the fight against cancer and in biotechnology. However, it suffered a serious crisis of confidence due to an exceptionally serious false report. A biotechnology subsidiary had reported that a research product was supposedly close to market maturity. In reality, however, it was not even close to being ready. Massive doubts about the quality standards of the entire hospital group and a serious loss of reputation were the result.
The project brief was to restore the hospital's excellent reputation as one of the leading oncology and biomedical centers in the world. The aim was to protect the brand of an institution that had been successful for many decades using all legal and socially legitimate means.
Crisis communication: reassuring stakeholders and owners as head of the crisis team
In the first few days after the reputational disaster, the Executive Board and Supervisory Board had remained virtually speechless and had sent different messages to the outside world. As head of the crisis team, the interim manager ensured effective coordination of tasks within a very short space of time. In particular, relevant information had to be obtained in order to reassure the company's angry stakeholders and owners. At the same time, the crisis team served as an effective link between the management board, supervisory board and the management of the biotechnology subsidiary that had created the cause of the reputational crisis.
Conflict and structural problems identified as the core of the crisis
The real problems lay deeper. It became clear that the causes of the loss of reputation, triggered by a single event, were primarily to be found in the inefficient structures between holding level and subsidiary level. One of the core problems was that the Executive Board was deeply divided and split into two blocks. As head of the crisis team, the interim manager sometimes had the role of a bridge builder, without having pushed for it. In addition, there was a pronounced blame mentality in the company, which made it difficult to deal with the events without fear.
After discussions with owners, board members and supervisory board members as well as with selected managers, the IM drafted a concept for reorganizing the group's marketing, sales and customers as well as restructuring the reporting channels within the group within a few days. In some cases, the interim manager completely redefined the interfaces between functional areas. The owners and supervisory board asked the interim manager to implement his findings in an additional role as Chief Operating Officer.
Appreciative leadership creates a focus on solutions and productive openness
Within an eight-month mandate, the interim manager succeeded in realigning the structures in the areas of marketing, sales and communication and improving quality standards in key areas. He presented a list of future-proof managers to the owners and supervisory board and focused them on growth and transparency in discussions. His fact-oriented, appreciative and motivating management style led to a greater focus on solutions and productive openness within the company.
New internal communication strengthens approval for the Management Board
In internal surveys on managers' trust in the Management Board, approval ratings rose steadily from a low a few days after the start of the project. This was also attributed to the continuous supply of content as part of executive communication and the participatory process in generating new core messages during the peak phase of the crisis.
Surveys: the hospital's reputation and brand have not suffered permanently
In the traditional media and social media, the proportion of negative reporting about the company fell from 93% to 41% over the course of the crisis. Customer surveys show that the recommendation index rose from 59% to 63% despite the crisis situation. This showed that the hospital's reputation and brand had not suffered.
Finally, the crisis management process was successfully completed after eight months. The owners, Management Board and Supervisory Board were very satisfied with the outcome of the project.
