The owner family of a medium-sized market leader for the production of reusable packaging commissioned the interim manager to support the owner family in an ongoing generational transition. To this end, he was appointed to the management team for one year. In addition to the transition, he was tasked with working with managers and employees to sustainably implement new and efficient processes across departments and counteract the persistently high staff turnover.
New management culture for a smooth generational transition
In order to ensure a smooth handover of management to the next generation, it is crucial that no information is lost. When taking on the mandate, the interim manager quickly discovered that the company lacked the necessary basic organizational and communication structures. On the one hand, there was no regular exchange between the generations, and on the other hand, important information within the company was not available across departments or individuals. In order to create the basis for a successful exchange of knowledge, he established regular communication for managers.
In terms of content, a major challenge was to moderate the different understanding of leadership between the owner family and the second management level. In numerous discussions, the interim manager was able to bring both sides to a common understanding, which led to greater clarity, successful implementation and satisfaction within the company.
Restructuring processes and merchandise management system
After the interim manager had got the communication and fluctuation problems under control, he took care of the inadequate processes. When analyzing the reporting, he quickly discovered that a merchandise management system introduced two years previously was not providing very reliable data. The interim manager identified undefined processes, a lack of process documentation and an incomplete introduction of the merchandise management system as the causes. To make matters worse, there was constant turnover among the employees involved with the merchandise management system.
In order to remedy the deficiencies in the merchandise management system in the long term, the interim manager set up cross-departmental working groups. Together with the team, he was able to redefine and document the processes along the value chain, including the IT systems. With his controlling expertise and in-depth understanding of merchandise management systems, the interim manager was able to make a significant contribution to ensuring that the redesigned processes also provided high data quality for controlling from then on. The implementation of the processes led to significant increases in efficiency. At the same time, it was possible to raise cross-departmental thinking and cooperation to a new level.
Economic crisis overcome and generation transition prepared
The mandate involved complex requirements: The company was not only in a generational transition, but also in a difficult economic situation characterized by exploding energy and raw material prices. In particular, the reorganization of the processes made a significant contribution to ensuring that the goals expected by the owner family were achieved in the best possible way.
In addition, the interim manager was able to significantly promote the generational transition, in particular by agreeing on a cooperative management culture and cross-divisional collaboration. With his training and coaching expertise, he also helped to further develop the personal, methodological and professional skills of the owners and managers.
