The client for the HR interim mandate was a nationwide logistics service provider with around 5,000 employees. The company had established a legal advisor in its HR department exclusively for the area of "Labor Relations". This department was responsible for drawing up works agreements and negotiating with the local works councils and the general works council. Numerous projects had resulted in a backlog of work. The HR Interim Manager's initial task was to draw up works agreements in order to clear the backlog. The project was estimated to take 3 months.
During the process, it turned out that a large part of the backlog was due to the very (legally correct) formal approach. The interim manager, who in addition to his work as a lawyer also has many years of experience as an HR manager, took a different approach in consultation with the legal advisor. He involved the people affected by the agreements, such as managers, HR employees and works councils, while the works agreements were being drawn up. This made it much quicker to identify critical issues in advance and separate the important from the unimportant. This approach was particularly welcome for the works councils, which operate in a complex and difficult environment. The open and cooperative approach led to a high level of mutual trust. This made the subsequent negotiations and agreement much easier.
Balancing of interests, social plan and redundancy management
After just 2 months, the interim mandate was extended and its content expanded. The interim manager was assigned independent projects to negotiate with the works councils. After a slump in turnover was recorded in one company, the interim manager led the negotiations with the HR department head on a reconciliation of interests and social plan with the works council during the necessary operational change. He was also entrusted with the operational implementation in the form of mass redundancies. The company benefited from the fact that the interim manager's law firm had the necessary resources to support such exceptional operational situations.
The interim manager then supported the client's other HR projects. After a total of 24 months, the formal interim mandate was terminated. However, the manager is still advising the company today on occasional specific issues or capacity bottlenecks.
The advantages for the company are obvious. A lawyer who is personally familiar with the company's situation and all contact persons and knows the day-to-day running of the company thanks to his own professional background provides more effective and appropriate advice than a "normal" external lawyer, but also has the necessary distance to question established company processes and point out new approaches.
