Transformation leader Paul: “Using interim management because it's easy”
Paul De Freene is Vice President Service Operations and Chief Transformation Officer at market-leading IT company Proact. As a leader in a fast-growing company with a forward-thinking approach, Paul uses interim management to quickly and efficiently solve emerging skills needs. Having a dedicated interim provider has even been important in appointments where the interim consultant was recruited through his own network.
Paul, you started out as an interim consultant and are now a client of interim services. For which roles have you used interim management?
That's right, I've been hired as interim Vice President Service Operations and am responsible for the Service Operations Transformation at Proact and as part of my transformation mission I've brought in a Project Manager and an Enterprise Architect on an interim basis.
In what way has interim management become part of your skills supply?
I use interim management because it is easy. I have been through many recruitments and some appointments can take up to six months. On the one hand, you have to find the right person, and on the other, you have to take into account the candidate's notice period. When I've hired interim consultants instead, I've gotten the right skills without losing any efficiency in the company; projects that have been started have continued seamlessly and I, as a leader, have been able to implement the change work quickly and as planned. In other words, interim management makes my job easy.
Why have you chosen to work with a dedicated interim supplier?
There are many interim consultants on the market who are good at marketing themselves, but I see a great benefit in having a supplier who works in a specialized and systematic way and where I as the client only need to give my input and a clear specification of what I and the company need.
In one of your appointments, you found an interim consultant yourself in your own network but still chose to use an interim supplier to appoint the consultant. Tell us about that choice.
I come back to the high level of service and simplicity. Although I found an interim consultant with the right skills myself, all documentation and administration is handled by a subcontractor. It is also a great security for me to know that the consultant has undergone a mandatory background check and works under tailor-made contracts adapted to interim recruitments. Having a dedicated interim supplier also means that you have an advisory, active sounding board regarding the consultant's profile, onboarding and assignment length, which is especially important in cases where I have found the consultant myself. Security and quality assurance become even more important in those cases.
