The interim manager was commissioned by a young real estate management company as interim CFO. A short time later, the interim mandate was also extended to include the role of interim HR manager. The project brief: The interim manager was to develop and implement a concept for the reorganization and restructuring of the property management company.
Management of a real estate portfolio with around 7,500 residential units
The client company was founded at the end of 2015 following a real estate deal between Vonovia AG and Deutsche Asset Management (now DWS). It was to ensure the property management for a real estate portfolio with around 7,500 residential units at five locations in northern Germany.
After the surprising departure of the Head of Finance, the interim manager stepped in to take over and optimize this specialist area on a temporary basis. However, it quickly became clear that the vacancy was not the main problem. Rather, the company was neither efficient nor effective in terms of management or structure. This had a negative impact on liquidity and earnings.
One of the problems was that the management and shareholders of the property management company were based in Frankfurt. However, there were no decision-makers and no personal management at the property location.
Responsible for five locations as acting branch manager
After detailed discussions with the property owners and shareholders as well as employees of the property management company, the interim CFO developed a concept for reorganizing and restructuring the company within two weeks. The client made it a condition of implementation that the interim manager lead the transformation process himself. For this process, he temporarily acted as branch manager at the five locations.
Restructuring functional areas and creating a middle management level
After analyzing the processes and responsibilities within the specialist areas, the interim manager then restructured the departments along the functions or created them for the first time. This resulted in the areas of management, technology, operating cost accounting and contract management. The interim manager also defined interfaces between the functional areas and designated contact persons to ensure smooth communication and handover of content. He also created a middle management level, including position descriptions, definition of responsibilities and allocation of competencies. The central tasks of IT, finance, HR and internal administration/secretariat were placed as divisional components above the functional structure.
New commercial manager and new head of IT bring in new skills
The interim manager worked with a recruitment agency to draw up job advertisements for the necessary personnel reinforcements. In addition to several clerks, the company hired a new commercial manager and a new head of technology. The additional skills and experience gained made the organization as a whole more resilient and effective.
Improved communication and transparency lead to a leap forward
The reorganization restored internal functionality: the company began to live as an organism and the processes interlocked. Communication and transparency within the company took a huge leap forward. Employees started talking to each other again rather than about each other. Factions dissolved and motivation increased noticeably. Employees enjoyed coming to the office again and enjoyed their work. Overall, this had a positive impact on productivity and the company's key figures. The original assignment as interim CFO almost took care of itself.
Leading the company into growth with new staff and structures
The company is currently focused on growth again. New clerks and managers have been hired. The company is in a future-proof position to take over property management for new portfolios and implement further projects. The new structure has proven to be efficient and resilient without being inflexible.
The transformation process was successfully completed after seven months. The interim manager has handed over his duties to the commercial manager. The shareholders of the property management company and the owners of the properties are satisfied with the performance and prospects.
