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The more you share the more you kno... Taking the gap leaves big hole... Service that is more than just pretty p... Ready to tap Internet's potential... All set to become a major force... Get in the swing with Ernie ... Hired guns taking aim at business target... Vital role for information provider... Turning couch potatoes into mouse potato... Interim plan, lasting succes... Downsizing not always up to the require... Taking the guesswork out of productio... The firm which took Toco's bull by the h... Fads dropped in favour of fact... Companies still keen to consul... |
Interim plan, lasting successCNA, faced with declining market share, decided to recreate at its 13 flagship stores the CNA retailing concept which was part of the group's original success. This involved refocusing on the retailing mix and revamping the store design, systems and merchandising. What it lacked was a retailing expert to steer the process. Permanent placement would have taken unacceptably long, so CNA turned to Axis Interim Management for a temporary placement. Axis headhunted Rod Logan, former chief executive at Scotts stores, and placed him on temporary assignment at CNA. By all accounts, the engagement was mutually satisfying to all concerned. "Our interim manager was able to make a direct impact and provide value from day one in reformulating the store strategy," says Ed Steins, managing director of Axis, part of the Educor-owned Renwick Group. This view is echoed by CNA's then director for retail operations. When SA Breweries needed an interim financial project manager to construct and implement a system to provide feedback on expenditure by market segment, Axis was able to provide one within four days. The appointee was more than SA Breweries had bargained on - he was a former group financial director who not only implemented the system but added strategic input, drawing on his vast experience. Some 30% of interim engagements arranged by Axis involve interaction with management consultants. Executives tired of the corporate rat race, in search of new challenges, between jobs, or in semi-retirement are finding a new lease of life through temporary assignments which usually last from three to nine months - and sometimes lead to offers of permanent employment. Steins, a former Gemini management consultant, says interim engagements are becoming longer as clients feel more comfortable with the concept and the quality of the appointees. Interim management is relatively new to South Africa but is well established overseas, where between 250 and 300 companies compete for a share of this ever-growing market, reckoned to be worth $800-million (about R3.76-billion) a year in placement fees worldwide, and $500-million in the US alone. It allows companies to staff up or down at short notice and to hire top-flight skills without the hassles and overheads of permanent placements. Interim managers cost between a fifth and a third of a management consultant, another reason they are in demand worldwide. Axis has 2 000 interim managers on its database, 23% of whom were chief executives or managing directors in their last position. Some 42% have general management experience, 10% financial management, 7% sales and marketing, 12% manufacturing and 21% information technology.
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