A gap had arisen in the management of a Swiss-based SME with a focus on FMCG and more than 1,000 employees. At the same time, the business had to be ramped up again after the coronavirus pandemic and digitalization had to be driven forward. The company hired the interim manager as interim CEO to use his expertise in digital transformation to restructure the organization, continue the digitalization process and secure day-to-day business at the same time.
Organizational analysis reveals weaknesses in structure, processes, tools and culture
At the start of the assignment, the interim manager carried out a comprehensive analysis of the organization's structure, processes, tools and culture. Following discussions with employees, management and customers as well as a functional and technical review of the most important applications, the interim manager realized that the existing tool landscape no longer met current technological standards or the current framework and working conditions. Various business processes no longer met current requirements, for example with regard to short-termism, increased mobile use, increased need for recruiting activities, dwindling loyalty of part-time employees or reliability and use of data. This blocked too many internal resources, which impaired the efficiency of the core business on the one hand and left no room for innovation and creativity on the other.
Roadmap and project setup developed for new applications according to the RACI model
The interim manager worked with employees from business and IT to develop a catalog of requirements for new business-relevant applications and a roadmap with several phases that showed all the dependencies in the transformation. The interim manager coordinated the project set-up based on the RACI model with those involved, taking into account the available human resources and day-to-day business.
External service providers with the right skills and mindset engaged
As it is almost impossible for an SME to assign a dedicated team to a digital project, the interim manager looked for a service provider that could take on as many tasks as possible and provide sufficient resource security. However, he was also pursuing another goal: by working collaboratively with the digital partner, he wanted to strengthen the digital mindset in the SME and expand the knowledge of those involved.
Together with IT, the interim manager decided to invite two potential partners for a chemistry meeting and a rough calculation. This was followed by a workshop with both candidates in order to better identify and deepen mutual expectations and the basis for a budget calculation.
Communication concept contributes significantly to successful implementation
As an experienced transformation expert, it was clear to the interim manager from the outset that the project could only succeed if everyone involved was always up to date and convinced of the benefits of every step. This is why he also developed a concept for transparent communication with the agile project management team. The communication concept for the months leading up to the first release played a key role in ensuring:
the anticipation and understanding of delays in the individual sprints,
the willingness to make a contribution if required and
the core team did not have to spend a lot of time answering questions.
New effectiveness of many processes creates financial and creative freedom
With the development of the new business applications, various processes were also rethought and redesigned. A completely digitalized recruitment process, for example, has increased efficiency in recruiting enormously.
In the case of the other business applications, the agile and collaborative implementation with the involvement of all stakeholders contributed significantly to the applications being well received by employees from the outset. The effectiveness of many processes was significantly increased for both the business and the users - and financial and human resources were freed up for further creative innovations and optimizations in the business.
Cost-benefit optimization: three-year plan developed for business and IT
At the end of the mandate, the interim manager developed a three-year plan for business and IT, with which processes and technology are to be aligned in the long term in order to ensure the greatest possible benefit and the lowest possible follow-up costs.
