The role of the Interim Manager in high tech
An innovative, innovative and dynamic sector, high tech is a field of activity where recourse to interim management is very common. Indeed, high tech is going through a transformation that is both technological and commercial. This sector is changing rapidly and companies are exposed to significant changes. A Transition Manager is then a key player in anticipating, managing and supporting these changes.
Focus on the role of the Transition Manager, who can turn out to be a central player in the high tech sector .
Why call on an Interim Manager in high tech?
Let’s start by defining high tech: this sector includes all products related to new technologies. It therefore covers in particular telephony, internet, television, digital photography, etc. You should know that this sector employs around 1.3 million people in France and represents an annual turnover of nearly 100 billion euros.
Today, high tech companies face many challenges:
– Competition is fierce on the high-tech market, the sector is subject in particular to international pressure from Asian countries, which offer quality equipment for very low prices. It is becoming more and more difficult for French and more broadly European companies to fight against this competition.
– Technologies and markets evolve at high speed: in this sector, it is important to be able to anticipate changes, to be reactive and to adapt quickly to new conditions.
– Financial resources are limited: high-tech companies do not all have the same financial resources and their investment budgets are often smaller than those of their foreign competitors.
– The working conditions are very different from those of many other companies: high-tech companies are primarily looking for rather young profiles, passionate about their profession and who have difficulty accepting a strict hierarchy.
In the high-tech sector, the arrival of a new external manager with new skills who brings a fresh perspective on the company, on its problems and on the challenges it faces, brings real added value. An Interim Manager can be a welcome vector of change.
What positions for an Interim Manager in high tech?
The role of the future Transition Manager will depend on the structure in which he works as well as his profile and skills. There are several types of transition managers in high tech depending on their real missions:
– The Transition Manager delegated as project manager is responsible for supporting an existing manager in the transition phase to the new management team. He talks with the company, its personnel and its partners to understand the issues and obstacles to the transition. It helps in the preparation of the transition plan and its implementation. The Interim Manager accompanies the manager until he has made his mark in the company. He plays the role of “coach” and prepares the next generation in good conditions.
As we have seen, the high tech sector is constantly subject to major technical changes. A high-tech engineer transition manager may be in charge of implementing new functionalities on machines already on the market, or of completely designing a new product. The transition manager must also participate in the specifications and the design of the user manual.
He must be able to adapt to technological changes, market developments and the evolution of his team’s skills.
On the commercial level, the use of the Transition Manager is a winning strategy when a company wishes to attack a market and must adapt to new needs. High tech is increasingly present online, and e-commerce sites specializing in the sale of high tech products are multiplying. It is then up to the Transition Manager to analyze current needs, precisely define the market, set the objectives to be achieved and lead the sales team to support it in achieving its objectives.
What profile for an interim manager in high tech?
The transition manager in high tech must be accustomed to managing young profiles. High tech employees appreciate results-oriented, participative and autonomy-oriented management. The interim manager must ensure the integration of everyone within the team, monitor skills and develop them according to specific market issues.
The interim manager must be a very good project manager: high tech has to deal with a changing context. He must therefore be able to analyze the results, establish action plans and take decisions accordingly.
What price for a Transition Manager in high tech?
The high tech transition manager represents an amount of approximately €2,000 per day .
This amount is impacted by various parameters: seniority of the interim manager, supervised profiles and type of position held.
The interim management firm carefully studies the needs of its Client, defines the challenges of the mission and sets the rate of the interim manager according to these parameters.