The North American parent company of an engineering services company had decided to establish its future European headquarters in Frankfurt. On the one hand, the existing European branches and offices were to be merged. On the other hand, the HR interim mandate included staffing the Frankfurt office with qualified personnel and establishing a stable HR management system.
In particular, the group policies and procedures had to be adapted and transferred to the German conditions as far as possible. The same applied to the other subsidiaries in Italy, the Netherlands, Switzerland and the UK. These included the introduction of the HAY job evaluation system, a reporting system at the parent company, talent management, performance planning and process optimization.
Another project in this interim mandate was the harmonization of benefit offerings within the European subsidiaries. The interim manager developed a package for the social benefits, which also included a concept for a standardized company pension scheme.
Building trust in HR work
Before the establishment of the European headquarters, there had been no real HR management for the branches in this company. The interim manager was able to convince the managers with her good HR work and create trust in the work of the HR department. The mandate also required her to negotiate termination agreements with individual managers.
The company had acquired two companies within Germany shortly after setting up its European headquarters. One of the HR interim manager's tasks here was to help negotiate the contract with the previous managing director and owner of the acquired companies and to support the integration of the companies into the new European structure. A strong focus had to be placed on the different corporate cultures.
Effective and fast implementation
The interim manager quickly and effectively familiarized herself with the requirements of a start-up. She grasped the culture and ideas of the head office in North America, but also the culture of an engineering-oriented company. She quickly gained the respect and trust of the managers in Europe, but also of her HR colleagues in the head office. This trust is reflected in the fact that the HR interim manager was involved in the selection of the HR Director for Europe and another member of the HR department.
