Interim manager strengthens the integration of new employees in an international concern

Two major integration projects of new employees required experienced interim HR skills. But with a different weighting of core competencies than Pia Metzlaff thought she needed

The Circle K group had a challenge. They were in the midst of rebranding Statoil, the previous service stations, and at the same time they had bought Shell Denmark and a number of stations in Ireland. This meant that over 1,100 employees had to be integrated into the new global group.

In the midst of this integration stood the president of Organizational Design and Efficiency, Pia Metzlaff, in charge of the employee organization of the former Shell stations, as well as the new stations in Ireland.

Understanding the situation

The integration of the new employees consisted of extensive tasks that required both experience and expertise. Pia Metzlaff contacted Nextt Management for competent assistance with its many HR tasks.

“I think it was crucial that they understood that I needed a candidate fairly quickly. And they were very flexible when it came to resolving agreement, as I have to clear many processes internally, and it doesn’t always go so quickly.”

Pia Metzlaff had been recommended to Nextt Management by colleagues, who knew that Nextt Management offered efficient services at a very fair price.

Insights created trust

Although it was important for Nextt to quickly find the right candidate, Pia experienced neither a slack in service nor the necessary insight into the process:

“They were very service-oriented and asked what I wanted and what I needed from the candidates. Moreover, they were kind enough to explain the process on an ongoing basis so I could come back with feedback and explain what I needed.”

Respect for the process created both confidence and better insight into what skills Pia really needed to accomplish the task.

A clarifying process

Nextt Management presented Pia Metzlaff to two competent candidates with very different strengths. Pia had sought both overall understanding of the task and practical hands-on experience. Through interviews with the candidates, it became clear to Pia that the most important thing was the practical hands-on experience. And the practical-oriented candidate she chose quickly produced results:

“The candidate managed to step in and lift all the administrative tasks that I had difficulty spending my time doing two major projects at once,” she says.

A boost in competences

Pia Metzlaff’s ongoing portfolio of assignments has thus been reduced, and she therefore has time to focus on her core tasks. The interim manager assured that the quality of the practical work did not fall behind at the same time:

“The consequence of not finding an interim manager had been that we had to find some internal candidates, and thus less qualified workers, to do the integration of the new employees. It would not have been desirable outcome for anyone. ”

Pia Metzlaff would therefore like to use Nextt Management again, and she believes that interim is an obvious option if you need to use a temporary competency boost in the organization.