The HR Interim Manager was commissioned by a young, research-based pharmaceutical company to drive forward important core projects during the HR Director's parental leave and to support the young HR team as a coach. With the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, the development of the listed research company took on an unprecedented pace and scale. This changed the task significantly.
Parental leave replacement: driving HR projects forward with a young team
For the ten-month parental leave replacement, the interim manager took over the management of strategically relevant projects. He quickly realized that there was still a lot of development work to be done in the young team.
The initial focus of the mandate was to develop a system for remuneration and job titles, negotiate with the works council and implement it. At the same time, the areas of recruitment, HR operations, people development and HR legal had to be expanded. The interim manager also acted as a reliable point of contact for senior management and the Executive Board in all HR matters.
Core project: negotiating and implementing a new remuneration system with the works council
At the time the mandate was taken on, the responsible works council at the parent company's headquarters had only been in office for a few weeks. Another location had been taken over a long time ago with an existing works council. This posed the challenge of involving two co-determination bodies with different cultures in the negotiations on the remuneration system. The attempt to create an overarching negotiating team for both sites failed due to the incompatibility of these cultures.
In order to achieve the client's goals, the interim manager ultimately took a two-pronged approach. A viable system was developed within six months with the newly established works council at the headquarters, while the second works council was taken to a conciliation committee.
Covid-19 vaccine turns the research start-up into a global star
Just two months after taking up the position, the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic turned the world upside down, including the research start-up. The company immediately began developing a vaccine, which was successfully approved worldwide just a few months later.
This development alone led to rapid growth with the associated establishment of new structures and a complete upheaval in the corporate culture. This development work was made more difficult by the restrictions imposed by the coronavirus pandemic and the already rapid pace of development before the pandemic (doubling the number of employees in twelve months).
Acquisitions: different cultures successfully brought together
The client initially expanded the company at its existing locations and then made two acquisitions during the period of the mandate: A research company was acquired in the USA and a spin-off production site of an established pharmaceutical company was acquired in Germany. From an employment law perspective, the HR structures and regulations at the acquired units were significantly more sophisticated than at the still young parent company. Integrating this enormous range of structures and perspectives was a challenge in many respects.
HR functions adapted and expanded at top speed
In this situation, it was only logical to initially focus on quantitative growth and build the necessary infrastructure for the operational management of the many changes. As a result, the recruitment and HR operations teams developed most intensively. New processes were created under the leadership and coaching of the interim manager. Both teams were also strengthened in terms of personnel.
Expansion of HR Legal and renewal of HR IT initiated
The HR Legal department also expanded due to an increase in legal issues, for example in the context of due diligence and works agreements to be negotiated. And with the introduction of the new remuneration system and the integration of new locations, the demands on the HR IT systems also grew. The interim manager therefore initiated a project to renew the HR software, which had reached its limits.
Mandate extended once again after the end of the parental leave replacement
At the end of the mandate, growth was planned in additional countries, which also led to the expansion of corresponding competencies in the HR team. After the director's return, the interim manager took over the groundwork in People Development for a few more weeks. The mandate ended with the return of the team leader there from parental leave.
During these turbulent times, the interim manager acted as an initiator, hinge and moderator. Although new structures were created, the contact between the Management Board and the responsible employees in the HR team remained close. He was also the point of contact for senior management on many overarching issues.
