(*) As a measure of confidentiality, the identity of the interim manager and the client are changed
1. BACKGROUND
The company is a service company, whose mission is to help film professionals achieve their digital transformation (transition from an ecosystem based on analogue to digital) through a structured financing solution on the one hand, and then a whole range of dedicated services (film editing, post-production, translation, etc.) on the other. This listed family business was founded in 2007. It is still managed by its founder, it has a turnover of €200 million and employs more than 700 people in 25 countries.
To initially deal with the resignation of his HR Director at the dawn of the summer period, the manager contacts WAYDEN, to set up an Interim HR Director for a while in a classic relay logic in order to be able to take the time to recruit a new holder.
Initially without much at stake, the mission will prove to be tougher than expected; the internal situation of the HR department in terms of processes and management, as well as the relations maintained with the 65 subsidiaries of the group are not quite the specifications presented at the beginning of the mission. It is an excellent example of the speed of execution that WAYDEN is capable of during a mission.
2. DISPOSITION
To carry out a classic relay management mission, in agreement with the client, Benoit DURAND-TISNES initially selected a generalist interim HR director , well known at WAYDEN, whose main strengths are her ability to lead a team in continuity on an HR development perimeter and to speak English.
The progress of the WAYDEN methodology during the first days of the mission revealed a completely different need: in fact, the internal organization of the department was in such a state that it was necessary to proceed with a total reorganization of the people, following various sudden resignations, and the implementation of structured processes that had not existed until then against all expectations.
As the profile of the interim HR Director was not suitable, by mutual agreement with the latter, the decision was taken to replace him or her with an expert in the structuring of the HR function; Valérie VELATO.
Focus on the Interim Manager course
Holder of a Master’s degree in Employment Law and an MBA in the United Kingdom, Valérie VELATO is an operational HR Director with extensive experience in mergers, demergers, and post-merger integrations of entities from various sectors. She has been involved in these aspects since 2015 as Interim Manager at GE, DXC Technology and HONEYWELL.
Always very close to business, she also managed the HR department of a prestigious French Business School. She is experienced in complex management situations and her very “attentive” and calm personality is a real asset in tense situations.
3. MISSION
The mission therefore consists of taking over on the fly a Human Relations Department of a service group of 700 people, located in 65 subsidiaries in 25 countries.
The organizations are very heterogeneous, the head office team is shaky because it is partially demotivated (4 out of 10 resignations in progress) and the processes are not clearly defined. All this within a company that is facing temporary working capital problems, which has nothing to reassure the teams.
4. ASSESSMENT
After spending a first half meeting and listening to teams that had suffered, Valérie VALETO focused on restoring confidence and stabilizing the situation.
It was at the cost of a lot of time (and travel) spent in interviews with each member of the team that motivation was regained and structuring projects could finally be launched. At the client’s request, she then participated in the recruitment of the future holder, which was greatly facilitated by her life-saving intervention.