The reason for the interim mandate was the upcoming six-month parental leave of the HR Director at a sales branch. The German DACH branch (200 employees), based in Baden-Württemberg, belongs to a globally active French pharmaceutical company.
- The client experienced significant changes to the framework conditions right at the beginning:
- The German managing director, who had been in place for many years, was unexpectedly replaced at the start of the assignment.
- A works council was established in the German company for the first time.
Coach and sparring partner for a management team with no experience in Germany
The changes presented the interim manager with a variety of challenges. Firstly, he acted as a coach and sparring partner for the new management team, who were working in the German legal area for the first time in this role. At the same time, the interim manager was responsible for re-staffing the management team in close consultation with the management. Half of the team had previously consisted of interim managers.
The establishment of the works council gave rise to a variety of tasks. First of all, the relationship between the new works council, Human Resources and management had to be established. To do this, the processes to be established as part of co-determination had to be set up and introduced.
Further changes occurred in the course of the process:
- The HR Director to be represented resigned during his parental leave. At the same time, the only remaining HR expert left the company to start a family.
- The management team decided to relocate the company headquarters from Baden-Württemberg to Bavaria within a year.
- The HR IT in Germany had to be adapted for the group-wide introduction of the HR software Workday.
Successful negotiation of reconciliation of interests, social plan and works agreements
As a result of the termination, the interim mandate was changed to the basis of employment subject to social insurance contributions with the agreement to accompany the company relocation and subsequently establish a successor.
The first major task for the works council and HR was to negotiate the reconciliation of interests and the social plan for the company relocation. The agreement was finalized after 5 months and could be implemented. This was followed by several works agreements, in particular on IT systems and the protection of personal data. The collaboration was perceived as very constructive by both sides.
Recruitment of 100 employees at the new location
After the move to the new location was announced, it quickly became clear that a high percentage of the office staff would not be moving to Bavaria. This resulted in a recruitment requirement of 100 positions in all back office areas. These positions had to be filled at the new location within a year. In the relocation project plan, this circumstance was classified as the highest risk for the project. HR was therefore temporarily increased in recruitment. The interim manager provided technical guidance to the employees recruited. The team was able to successfully fill all positions.
Management of additions and departures mastered under difficult IT system conditions
In addition, HR administration was temporarily increased. This was due in particular to staff turnover and IT adjustments. In addition to the new hires, the same number of departures had to be administered, taking into account the social plan regulations. The simultaneous conversion of the HR software again required the parallel use of the old and new system landscape, which increased the workload. In addition, the external provider for processing payroll was changed during this period.
Interim mandate concluded with successful move into new premises
The mandate, which was originally scheduled to last six months, ended after two years with the successful move into the new premises. The social plan had already been largely completed at this point. The new HR Director and the entire HR department had already been newly appointed and trained at this point.
