When key personnel suddenly disappear

As the HR director of EMEA in the French industrial group Alstom, Hedda Fjeld Ferrington has a wide range of responsibilities. When two key people left the HR department at the same time in August 2012, the solution was interim management.

"It was an acute situation because one of those who left was the director. We had to put someone in place quickly, but external recruitment would have taken too long, at least six months," says Ferrington.

Consultant or interim manager?

Besides external recruitment, the company also uses consultancy firms as a tool, but in this case this was not the optimum solution. Alstom's management team wanted to fill their professional hole with a temporary person who possessed the necessary expertise, experience and focus, a profile consultancy firms often lack. The solution, therefore, was interim management until a permanent solution was in post.

"Alstom had used InterimLeder before, and I thought that they have experienced people. I read more about their services on their website and decided to contact them."

Impressed by the good, quick process

The process started right after the first telephone call: "I was impressed that things happened so fast. In a few days my contact person, Tor Hansen, put a number of strong candidates on the table. You can always come up with candidates quickly, but most of those presented to us strongly matched our needs."

Recommends interim management in HR crises

Ferrington feels the process definitely met her expectations and was also very pleased with the candidate who completed their contract in December 2013.

"If you need to put in post an experienced, highly competent employee at short notice, InterimLeder is a good partner. Interim management is also an ideal solution when you need to fill a hole for a period, perform a clear up or project job, or deal with a peak," concludes Ferrington.

Alstom – a global industrial group

Alstom is a global leader in hydropower, energy, environmental technology and railway infrastructure. The company has a turnover of EUR 20.3 billion and a presence in around 100 countries. Of its 93,000 employees around the world, 200 work in Norway.