And you, what would you change?
There can be a thousand and one reasons to want to make changes to the way a company operates. However, when we talk about a true transformation, it is most often a deep strategic restructuring of processes, technology or people.
Because the transformation of a company is most often aimed at improving its competitiveness and value creation in the face of market changes.
If a company feels that competition is becoming tougher or value added less obvious in a changing market, the time has come to diagnose the problem and find the right remedy. An Interim Manager can be useful at this stage, in his ability, as an outsider, to analyze the company without prejudices or prerogatives.
At this stage, it is important to clearly identify the type of transformation that the company must undertake.
Finding the problem
It can be a need for a business process transformation.
Nike is often cited as an example when it comes to a successful business process transformation. By moving away from a product-centric model to a customer-centric one, with the help of data and commerce, the insights gained about the customer helped facilitate product development. At the same time, digital channels, effective loyalty programs and an improved customer experience have enabled the company to succeed in its metamorphosis.
In other situations, it may be a question of transforming the very organization of the company: transforming the hierarchy, hiring new recruits, possibly for temporary and very specific or time-bound assignments, improving the skills of employees through additional training.
Rolls-Royce, for example, succeeded in moving toward a skills-based, rather than title-based, model, enabling employees to move between roles based on capabilities.
The name John King may not mean anything to you. However, it is not certain that British Airways would still exist today if he had not, in the 80s, as one of his successors will say, “transformed the airline from a position of state-owned weakness to one of financial strength and global renown as a pioneer privatized carrier”. King managed to steer the company’s activities in a very complicated period to make it a profitable and sustainable business. More than forty years later, he deserves to be cited as a fine example of management transformation.
The company’s culture itself can sometimes be the main cause of its worries or the brake on its evolution. Succeeding in motivating all staff to integrate a new corporate culture is not easy. But the presence of Interim Managers can give you the extra strength to reinvent your culture.
Netflix’s reimagined culture, based on “freedom and responsibility,” managed to eliminate strict processes to foster creativity. It used the “keeper test” (asking yourself if you would fight to keep an employee) and post-mortems of failures to encourage transparency and innovation.
Another example of cultural transformation is Airbnb. To restructure its culture, the company has relied on transparency, in particular through open forums and the active participation of employees in defining their culture.
Transformations in the digital age
Of course, computer systems, the use or optimization of CRM, AI, social media, data storage, and e-commerce are elements that can boost performance while profoundly changing configuration.
In this sector, the transformation of the business model itself, like Microsoft’s shift from traditional software licensing to a cloud-first, SaaS model (Microsoft 365), is a perfect example.
Quanta costa?
In the case of a cost transformation, a CFO, even if on an ad interim basis, can earn his or her stripes by optimizing cost structures, enhancing operational efficiency, and driving sustainable profitability. Vinted, for example, pivoted from a free platform to a transactional system, charging commissions on sales to finance its growth and professionalize its service. Unilever used strategic outsourcing to streamline operations and reduce costs by delegating non-core functions. LEGO transformed its operational costs by effectively integrating digital elements (mobile games, digital marketing) to modernize its brand image.
Sustainability, quality, customer experience, and digital transition are also major areas of transformation that can contribute to reshaping the destiny of a company advantageously.
The keys to success
In the end, whatever the type of transformation, the company will only succeed if a few key elements are brought together to achieve it: a precise diagnosis, a clear vision and strategy from management, a commitment from management and all teams, the possibility offered to teams to train themselves to succeed in the transformation, transparent communication and finally, the ability to support the transformation over the long term.
