The transfer of 200 IT employees from a large German state bank to the 100-strong software consulting company of the largest German IT service provider for the Sparkasse financial group presented the management of the buyer with completely unknown challenges. There was no in-house HR department, nor did the management have any concrete ideas about how IT outsourcing and insourcing should be prepared and implemented from an HR and labor law perspective. This was exacerbated by the fact that the vendor side was characterized by strong, unionized employee representation and the vendor side had no experience with collective bargaining issues and change situations.
In the planning and preparation phase, the task was to prepare the implementation of the business transfer from a human resources perspective. In addition to the development of an HR implementation concept, this included the development of a phased, target group-oriented change and communication plan. Furthermore, the HR Interim Manager represented the client in the negotiations on the personnel transfer agreement. Together with the external law firm, she evaluated the scenarios resulting from the negotiation results.
During the course of the project, the client benefited from the interim HR manager's change management skills. She prepared employee information events on the transfer of operations and provided the legally required information letters in coordination with the HR department of the seller side.
Other topics for the HR project manager role in this interim mandate were the alignment of the existing organizational structures, including the mapping of hierarchy levels and job titles. The interim manager's tasks also included preparing the integration of the 200 IT employees. This primarily involved analyzing existing and developing new HR processes, vested rights regulations and induction materials.
The interim manager's range of tasks was rounded off by advising the management and overall project management on employment law and HR issues as well as on tailored employee communication.
After a project duration of eleven months, the interim manager's assignment led to the successful integration of the transferred employees into the existing workforce. The handover to the newly recruited HR manager took place at the same time as the end of the vacancy bridging period.
