School. Everyone knows it and everyone can say something about it. That describes the initial situation in this exciting project. The client was the international sponsoring organization of a global school association. The aim was to ensure a uniform HR function with a high level of consulting and specialist expertise for 13 schools in eight European countries. The main focus was on recruiting, HR management and HR development.
The schools were each founded by local school associations. Since their foundation, they have managed HR with the help of volunteers. As part of the unification of the association into an organization with a uniform brand identity and consistent organizational structure, the position of Global HR Director based in Auckland (New Zealand) was created and filled. All structures and functions that are part of a multinational organization are still being developed. For Europe, the interim manager took on the role of Regional Director HR Europe.
Developing HR strategy for Europe
The task for Europe was, on the one hand, to develop a clear strategy for the common direction. At the same time, eight different jurisdictions and 13 small "family businesses" had to be brought under one roof. The interim manager was therefore also the manager of the integration process. The local schools are managed by the representatives of the parents' associations - usually independent entrepreneurs. These also had to be managed.
The first thing was to get a quick overview. What is available at the 13 locations? How do they work there? Who are the contact persons? Where are documents located? What professional support is available? It was also necessary to achieve the highest possible level of alignment in terms of objectives and operational work with local, regional and global clients. Everyone within the organization saw themselves as a client. Wherever possible, communication in the local language helps enormously here. The interim manager fulfilled this requirement in a special way. He speaks fluent English, Spanish and French.
Defining processes and structures
The high degree of independence of the local organizations and the still developing and distant central organization repeatedly presented particular challenges during the course of the project. As the project progressed, the aim was to develop standards in processes, structures (working time models, salary structures, target agreements) and documents (employment contracts, guidelines, employee handbook) as far as possible. At the same time, the local representatives of the organization (head teachers and volunteers) had to be professionally empowered. The first steps towards a uniform contract structure were taken, taking into account the requirements of the respective jurisdictions. This was accompanied by operational work in the individual processes. This applied in particular to the recruitment of management positions in the regional organizational structure. Other focal points were the introduction of processes for target agreements as well as the development and training of the managers concerned.
The interim manager was able to hand over the highly complex project to a permanent HR manager after ten months instead of the planned six. The search had proved to be very difficult due to the complex requirements of the project and the particular challenges involved.
