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June 2005
Interregna talks to… Steve
Turley of Corus
Steve Turley is Director of Compensation
and Benefits at Corus. An HR specialist, he recruited interims
through Interregna in his previous position at a major telecommunications
company. Here, he gives his perspective on interim recruitment
from the HR point of view.
 As
a long-standing Interregna client in his previous appointments,
Steve has plenty of advice to those considering recruiting
an interim manager. “Interims are particularly useful
for companies in a state of transition. For many newer high-tech
ventures, that may mean permanently; because the business
is growing at such a rate.”
“You need to work out whether you need
resource or additional skills. Sometimes the requirement is
based on a resource squeeze, where there is no lack of expertise
but a need for more hands to get the job done. Equally, as
is often the case with compensation issues, the requirement
is for specialisms which might not be covered in-house.”
“The HR field in general, and comp/bens
in particular, is full of short to medium term project-based
assigments which require an injection of specialist skills,
from handling staff during a merger to recruiting teams for
new departments.”
An interim is ideal for these situations:
 Where
a gap needs plugging, but by a specialist with direct experience
of the challenge faced
Where
an outsider can come in, apply their skills rapidly, and then
go
Where
high levels of expertise are required at short notice
Steve believes that much of the best HR talent
is migratory in any case: “There are lots of HR consultants
out there practising as individuals. They’re doing precisely
what interests them most, and so by recruiting them you get
a better product. The annual round (compensation, share schemes,
benefits packages etc.) is a buzz first time round, but going
through the motions isn’t that exciting for everyone.
So interim management keeps the interest levels up and also
ensures that we’re exposed to new best-practice or original
approaches to old challenges. Plus of course, every interim
carries their experience on to their next job.
That openness and transferability of skills
is important in what is a fast-changing environment. “At
board level, corporate governance is the current hot potato.
The UK is the most governed country on the planet; although
others are starting to catch up. Especially if you’re
in a FTSE100 company, you’re being watched all the way.
That’s partly due to scandals like Enron, but also shareholder
pressure and media pressure: the City press is constantly
excited about executive pay. But that means that people at
the top of public companies live in a goldfish bowl. It’s
often tough to get good non-executive directors because of
the personal risks they take with the position. That’s
affected the comp/bens landscape enormously. Within our own
field, there’s constantly more regulation (admittedly
much of it voluntary), but that leads to a “tickbox”
approach of covering bases rather than either aspiring to
new methodologies or making the best decisions. The fresh
eyes of an interim manager allow one to reassess corporate
priorities despite the pressure of regulation.
There are well-known risks to interim appointees,
but Steve takes a phlegmatic view: “The classic objection
to the appointment of an interim manager is that they won’t
know the client organisation or its culture. Of course, that’s
largely true of a new permanent appointee, too. I think the
suddenness of an interim’s arrival can be both a good
and a bad thing- and it’s up to the line manager or
board to extract the best value. An interim’s lack of
rose-tinted glasses could be good for addressing issues; but
equally someone who is too pushy will disrupt the harmony
of the team and cause more pain than they cure. The person
needs to ‘fit’- they can’t be too pushy,
but they also shouldn’t be a shrinking violet. The personality
issue must be ironed out at the briefing and interview stage.
Steve also points out the importance- at every
level of an organisation- of managing an interim. “every
interim is responsible to someone; even if it’s the
board. You have to remember that an interim basically isn’t
answerable for what they leave behind. If you commissioned
them, it’s your problem when they go. My advice is firstly,
to remember that professional pride is important. Career interims
are proud of what they achieve at each company they work for,
and that’s what you should be looking for in a new appointee.
And secondly, make sure you know what your interim has done
and what their strategy is. It’s your job to know what’s
happened when they later move on.
That said, it’s easier to monitor and
manage an interim than a consultancy. “A consultancy
will not necessarily sit with you in your office; no matter
how effective a compensation scheme they design. They won’t
necessarily get to understand your company’s culture
or be hands-on enough to make a workable contribution. Plus,
the consultancy route can often cost twice as much. A well-managed
interim will not only deliver a scheme sensitive to the staff
it actually applies to, but can be expected also to be there
to see it implemented.”
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