*** *** THE DAILY TELEGRAPH WEDNESDAY, APRIL 29, 2009*** ***The Daily TelegraphSUCCESS STORIES INTERIM MANAGEMENT GETTY| VSorting out a right royal mess King George VI unwittingly and reluctantly became an interim manager long before the term became fashionable — and he did an excellent job. Natasha Mann explains lthough as a monarch, King George VI got the job for life, in retrospect he was a superb interim manager. He bridged the gap between the abdication crisis and the stability of the reign of his daughter Elizabeth II, and restored the popularity of the monarchy during the war and the austere post-war years. Stephen Carver, lecturer in project and programme management at Cranfield School of Management, shines light on the qualities that made the king successful in rescuing, restructuring and rebranding “The Firm” so that it could be fit for a new age. He was concerned with the long-term survival of the organisation. King George may have hesitated in accepting the job at first, but as soon as he did, he did it with proper dedication. “Once he’d taken the job he was interested in the longterm success of the organisation, of the Royal Family and, one could say, of the country,” explains Carver. “Interims have the same agenda: organisational success and the bigger picture, because that’s what they will be judged on.” He was trusted and had high-level backing. “George had full support, not only from the prime minister, but largely from the country and the Establishment,” points out Carver. “He also had the support of his wife Queen Elizabeth, later to become the Queen Mother. At first many people in the Establishment were not keen on appointing him as king, but in the end decided the reputation of the Royal Family was at stake. George’s brother, Edward VIII, had done it no good by abdicating in 1936 to marry divorcee Wallis Simpson. But in the end the Establishment got behind him, as often happens with interims.” stopped with him in terms of responsibility, like it does with an interim.” He suffered in the ‘trenches’ with his ‘team’. Many interim managers are hired to see a company through a time of crisis, sometimes as it teeters on the edge of bankruptcy. That means they have to live through the tough times along with the rest of the staff. “George VI certainly shared in the suffering of the people during the Blitz,” says Carver. “When Buckingham Palace was bombed, Queen Elizabeth was delighted, saying: ‘I’m glad we have been bombed. Now we can look the East End in the face.’ “Certainly an interim manager will have to share in the company’s suffering whereas, say, consultants don’t. An interim manager takes the rough with the smooth and George VI certainly took the rough with the smooth.” Besides the bombing, George and his wife toured the ruins in the East End, and introduced strict rationing at Buckingham Palace, including limiting the amount of bath water allowed. Restructured effectively to fit new purpose. Finally, George VI did what many interim managers are brought on board to do. He restructured by dealing effectively with his brother and Wallis Simpson, and oversaw the transition of Britain from an empire into a smaller, though still influential, entity. “Interim managers will actually get involved in the dirty stuff, such as sacking people,” says Carver. “George VI did that and he did it well. He managed his brother by making him Duke of Windsor and bringing the issue to an end. “Also, although what was handed back in terms of empire may have looked like lost power and values, I think he handled it very well in that the Commonwealth was born. It was an empowerment rather than a disempowerment.”A‘Many interims are hired at a time of crisis, and George shared in the suffering of his people in the Blitz’He accepted line responsibility. “An interim manager is integrated within a company and given full line responsibility,” says Carver. “In that respect, George VI certainly had full-time responsibility. He was given the title of king, he couldn’t be a deputy king, or a part-time, associate king. The buckBorn Albert Frederick Arthur George on December 14, 1895, on the anniversary of the death of Prince Albert, Queen Victoria’s husband.Married Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon on April 26, 1923, after the success of his third proposal.Daughter Elizabeth, later to be Queen Elizabeth II, born on April 21, 1926.Abdication of his brother Edward VIII on December 11, 1936.Coronation on May 12,1937.Second World War broke out in September 1939.Chapel in the grounds of Buckingham Palace bombed in 1940.George died at Sandringham House on February 6,1952, aged 56.Success isn’t just about winning on the field of play. And it’s not only multi-billion pound premiership football enterprises that need sound financial advice. For a struggling football club, an interim manager can be the most important member of the side. Apart from an elite few, most League and non-League outfits need to have their finances managed astutely to keep them afloat. Celia Adams knows all about the feverish emotions surrounding a struggling football club. As a successful financial interim she was brought on board last summer to kick the finances of Blue Square League South strugglers Worcester City into shape. “The club knew it had been sitting on a pot of gold in the shape of its ground in a prime location at the centre of the city,” explains Adams. “But the time had come to sell that off. The problem was that in the meantime, the club had to show it could break even so it could continue to obtain money from the bank to trade. “Things were in quite a critical state. The bank needed to see accurate figures for going forward to the next season.” Without these it would not have been possible to sign new players. Adams’ job between June and September 2008 was to bring the accounts up to date so the club could balance its books. The club is now awaiting planning permission to sell its home of 104 years, St George’s Lane, to developers and move toA SPORTING CHANCE In the financially volatile world of sport a key temporary signing can be the difference between success and failure. Report by Natasha Mann WAYNE HENLEY“More than that though, it was really rewarding to give something back to the local community, and to the fan base,” says Adams, who felt her work was carried out for the public good. Balancing the books and justifying spending can be just as crucial in other sporting arenas. Deborah Stevenson is a chartered accountant with Business-Changing Interim Expertise (BIE), an executive interim recruitment company who worked on the financial side for the London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games in 2007. A keen sportswoman who has taken part in yacht races, run marathons and skied to the South Pole, Stevenson knows just how important money is to big-time sports. “Whether it’s a club or sporting event, you have to justify the amount spent,” she says. “If you waste money in the finance department or at an operational level, that means there is less to spend on your team, which, in the case of London 2012, means the British squad. “People who contribute to something like the Olympics want to see a fantastic event with all the funds, operations, security and so on properly run, so that they would be prepared to sponsor such events again in the future.” Friendly fire: Worcester City, in the blue and white stripes, come under pressure from visitors Cheltenham Town in a pre-season matchCHARITIES OPEN THEIR DOORS WIDER Investing in external help may seem extravagant, but it is money well spent when it boosts income for good causes, writes Rebecca Sheasbya new, less central location. “There were differences of opinion on what money was available,” says Adams. “And there were a lot of emotionsand local politics involved. The club has a very loyal fan base and is followed closely in the local press. “I was successful in getting tothe bottom of the finances. I brought the true figures, on which the club could secure further funding, into the public domain.TEnergy boost for public sector Barbara Lantin says interim experts are helping government and health bodies to stay fit and leanInterim managers are focused on getting the job done well, on time and to budget, instead of worrying about not offending people and building a career. That is the view of James Hunt, managing director of the interim division of the global human resources consulting group Penna. Fifty per cent of its interim placement work is in the public sector, which is increasingly appreciating the benefits of bringing in outside help. Public sector appointments account for 45 per cent of interim managers’ work — worth about £500 million a year — compared to 30 per cent just two years ago, according to the Interim Management Association (IMA).Major users include the Department of Health, the Home Office, the Ministry of Defence, local government and the NHS. Interims are increasingly being used to drive forward change in the public sector, rather than as stop-gaps or maternity cover. Councils may use them when change is needed quickly, or to implement new regulations from Westminster. Central government tends to use interims to deliver specific projects. “They must be adaptable, flexible and able to work fast,” says Hunt. “Things can change at the drop of a hat if a minister makes a statement in Parliament that affects the project they are working on.”Jason Atkinson, deputy chair of the IMA, says: “The public sector is becoming more comfortable with interim managers who are highly qualified and specialised and bring with them a skill-set that departments may not be able to lay their hands on quickly. “Generally speaking, the public sector is much leaner than it was. With a recruitment freeze in many areas, sometimes the only way to get things done is to ring-fence a project and bring in specialists.” Interims typically cost between a half and a third less than an executive from one of the major management consultants, and may be no less qualified. “The average interim is at least two levels over-qualified for thejob they’ve been recruited to do,” asserts Atkinson. They are likely to have spent years in key executive positions and are now seeking varied and interesting work — not necessarily top rates. Richard Birchett, a consultant and interim manager, agrees. For 20 years he worked in local authority housing departments up to assistant director level. “The public sector has been associated with a ‘Yes Minister’ culture of slowness, but in my experience decisions can be taken much more quickly than in the private sector when required,” he says. Birchett also enjoys “putting something back” into society, whether it’s regenerating run-down housing estates or helping people gain better access to services. Public sector pay has traditionally been lower, but the gap is narrowing as more government bodies recruit interims with private sectorexperience, according to John Laycock, director of interim management at Veredus, the largest provider in the UK of interim managers to the public sector. “Some organisations that used to rely on government contracts can’t do that any longer because of increased competition. They need a higher level of skill to help them embark on their commercial journey and may lack the expertise in-house.” Neither central nor local government should be seen as a soft option. John Melo, an independent interim manager and consultant, insists: “In my experience there are very high quality people in the public sector, and as an interim you need to be able to hit the ground running.”@JOBS ONLINE: jobs.telegraph.co.uk/ careers-insiderraditionally charities have used interim managers to provide staff cover and to deliver specialist projects, but the tough challenges created by the shrinking economy mean they increasingly need outside help. “The income charities receive from corporations is proving harder to come by,” says Mike Whitlam, specialist adviser to the charities practice at Russam GMS, a leading provider of interim managers. “Research last month showed that private donations are bearing up, but the assumption is that it’s going to be a tough couple of years.” Charities are responding with cuts in spending. “Budgets have come under greater scrutiny and they are focusing on cost control and efficiency,” says Jan McQuaker, business director for Hays Public Services. “Charities are examining their income and expenditure to ensure that they can sustain the projects they’re running.” Many are turning to interim managers to make existing funds go further. For example, at the children’s charity Barnardo’s, Simon Varley, interim recruitment manager, was takenon to deliver a centralised national recruitment unit. “This required me to identify and equip premises, recruit a new team and create improved working practices,” says Varley. “A key aspect was budgetary control and the management of third-party contractors. I delivered the project ahead of schedule and below budget.” Outside help can quickly make a difference. Peter Alderson is interim deputy chief executive at the Novas Scarman Group, a social enterprise business. “I have been looking at the organisation of the finance department and changing the reporting routines of the whole group,” says Alderson. “I have driven strategic changes, in particular a shift in business focus from social landlord to social enterprise. I am currently overseeing one of the businesses to ensure it is profitable.”As well as improving efficiency, interim managers can help charities respond to changes in funding. “They need to look for a wider source of income,” says Mike Whitlam. “For example, primary care trusts have traditionally given grants to voluntary organisations. Now they are cutting back on these and instead asking charities to pitch to provide services. So smaller charities now need skills that interims can provide to help win contracts.” Securing funding is the driving force behind Rachel Youngman’s role at Leap Confronting Conflict, one of five youth charities that have been given government funds to improve efficiency. Youngman has been project manager of information systems for four months. She says: “I have implemented a centralised database. It’s important that the charity is able to measure the impact of its programmes to maintain and increase its funding. This strengthens the organisation’s position when seeking money.” “Using interims means charities can access expertise without permanently adding to their overheads,” adds Youngman.
*** ****** ***FOCUS ONThe Daily Telegraph Wednesday, April 29, 2009 jobs.telegraph.co.uk/caInterim managementProduced byTelegraph Create Special ReportsTHE BUSINESS WORLD’S ANSWER TO THE SAS RIDING TO THE RESCUE PAGE 2HAVE YOU GOT WHAT IT TAKES TO BE A SUCCESSFUL IM? THE CHALLENGES: PAGE 3NORTHERN R
*** II*** *** WEDNESDAY, APRIL 29, 2009 THE DAILY TELEGRAPHINTERIM MANAGEMENT OVERVIEW ANDY MARTIN/HEART|***The Daily TelegraphThe trouble shooters Whether you call them company ‘doctors’, change consultants or turnaround specialists, interim managers are in the business of converting loss to profit
*** *** THE DAILY TELEGRAPH WEDNESDAY, APRIL 29, 2009*** ***The Daily TelegraphTHE CHALLENGES INTERIM MANAGEMENT| IIIHave you got what it takes? If you have years of business experience and thrive under pressure, interim work could be for you, says Gabrielle Collett-WhiteThe bank is on the brink, th
*** IV*** *** WEDNESDAY, APRIL 29, 2009 THE DAILY TELEGRAPH|***
*** *** THE DAILY TELEGRAPH WEDNESDAY, APRIL 29, 2009*** ***The Daily TelegraphSUCCESS STORIES INTERIM MANAGEMENT GETTY| VSorting out a right royal mess King George VI unwittingly and reluctantly became an interim manager long before the term became fashionable — and he did an excellent job. Natasha
*** VI*** *** WEDNESDAY, APRIL 29, 2009 THE DAILY TELEGRAPHINTERIM MANAGEMENT WORK PATTERNS|***Women ponder work-life equation More mothers are becoming interim managers. But just how easy do they find it to juggle working lives and family commitments, asks Natasha MannANDY MARTIN/HEARTSATISFACTION
*** *** THE DAILY TELEGRAPH WEDNESDAY, APRIL 29, 2009*** ***CUTTING EDGE INTERIM MANAGEMENT| VIIMore organisations are turning to business ‘doctors’ for a cure. Lisa Sewards reportsThere is seldom such a thing in business as a lost cause... that is the philosophy of seasoned turnaround expert Ian Gr
*** VIII*** *** WEDNESDAY, APRIL 29, 2009 THE DAILY TELEGRAPHINTERIM MANAGEMENT EXECUTIVE PROFILE|***The Daily TelegraphHOW THE NORTHERN ROCK SAGA UNFOLDED JULY/AUGUST 2007: Banks become reluctant to lend to each other owing to fears over potential losses on high-risk US “sub-prime” mortgages. SEPT
