Interview with Jean Dugas: The role of interim managers in HR development
Interim management is very regularly called upon in the field of Human Resources. True pillars of the company, HR requires a lot of human capacities and qualities to carry out transition projects, which are sometimes brutal.
What is the role of interim managers involved in human resources? What type of communication to develop in companies undergoing transformation and merger? What should the next generation of HR interim managers be aiming for?
Discover the human, creative and positive vision of Jean Dugas, Interim Director of Human Resources .
RE: What is your point of view on what interim managers can bring to the field of HR?
JD : “The first skill of an interim manager is to have an understanding of business issues. Working on a reorganization means working first on economic issues before HR issues. If we call on an HR transition manager, there is a reason. The interim manager needs to understand this “why” very quickly. The technicality of the interim manager must be irreproachable. His know-how is behind him. He knows how to deploy and deliver know-how very quickly. He must be able to say “I am an expert, that’s undeniable”, and prove it by adapting his expertise to a particular context. There’s nothing worse than copying and pasting what you’ve already done. He is not locked into his experience and expertise, he adapts it to different situations. »
“The HR transition manager is also an outside eye who can smooth things over and get messages across at all levels (to managers, staff, representatives, members of the Codir, General Management). It is very important in the transition because we are in a strong change of the company, and I am convinced that we are not making a strong change of the companies against the people. It is my belief! As soon as we are clear on the issues and explain why the changes must take place, the employees understand and are involved. It goes in the direction of business and people. Human resources must be win-win. We need to dialogue, we need to have transparency. Our voice (as interim managers) has credibility, since we are not destined to stay, our missions are temporary. »
RE: What methods do you think are necessary for transition assignments in Human Resources?
JD : ” Transparency. In a merger operation you have different individual and collective statuses. We know very well that the risk of a merger, for example, is to drive wages up. You have salaries which, for the same job, are 10% higher in company B compared to company A. Except that the economic context does not allow everyone to be aligned on 110%. It must be clearly said that we are doing this merger for x reasons, but that for such and such reasons we cannot align everyone at 110%. We lay out the data, we show the information to the representatives, we show the information to the staff. I believe in the positive virtues of dialogue because if we do that, it’s so that the company is doing better and maybe we can eventually pass people to 110% in the future when everything goes well. But at the moment X when this action is carried out, it is impossible and we explain it. »
“There is also time management, it’s a mix between taking the time and implementing. On the transition operations we can give ourselves time to think, but once we’ve left, we don’t go back and forth on the transitions. It can be done in thought before jumping in, but the transition is a one-shot gun. We know that the missions last between 5 months and 1 year and a half, so there must be room for explanations during this period and action must take place at some point. »
“Time management in France is a little more difficult to manage than in other countries. I work a lot internationally, so when you explain to your Headquarter Europe that in France, to put a new performance appraisal interview support you have to go through the CHSCT and first through the SECAFI Alpha audit … There are social relations in France that last longer than abroad. So sometimes the big international groups are a little surprised at the time management in terms of HR in France. »
RE: What should the next generation of HR interim managers be aiming for?
JD : “Collaborative work on transition projects. Communication is needed in multi-business project teams where there is a financier, a salesperson, someone from production, operations, marketing. You need fast interactive communication. There is a lot of talk these days about agile companies. Communication must go quickly and there must be reciprocal added value between the stakeholders in the company. »
“It goes without saying that the experience of interim managers in the HR function offers immediate responses to the needs of groups undergoing transformations or mergers. In general, human resources are at the heart of employee well-being, and generate good intra-company communication. This vital function in the company requires advanced skills and a sense of permanent adaptation. »
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