Advice You - Business

Interim management has traditionally been seen as a reactive response to organisational failure. Increasingly, a new breed of interims are emerging – people who regard interim management as a career and have transferable leadership skills to work across sectors. Building in organisational capacity to accommodate career interims ‘as part of the solution’ is discussed.

Interim management

According to USFDA, a combination product is one composed of any combination of a drug and device; biological product and device; drug and biological product

saw rapid growth in the private sector in the 1990s. It experienced a decline as the downturn bit in 2000 but has shown signs of picking up in the last eighteen months. In the public sector interim management has been slower to take off but has seen rapid growth in the last two to three years, first in London and then throughout the country. As with the private sector, interim manageme

; or drug, device, and biological product and fixed dose combination would include two or more combinations of drug.

Examples of combination products may in

t was associated with organisational failure but is now slowly being seen as part of the solution.

In both sectors – private and public – many corporate HR specialists, as well as group managers, are only just beginning to see the potential in recruiting interim managers as part of their change programmes. As such, interim management is still very much an untapped resource.

Below, we

lude drug-coated devices, drugs packaged with delivery devices in medical kits, and drugs and devices packaged separately but intended to be used together.

xplore these issues in greater depth with Linda Booth, Group HR Director for United Utilities, a FTSE100 company. The interview is interspersed with real life examples where Veredus interim managers have been brought in to help organisations.

Has there been a growth in interim management used by your company?

"Yes, but very gradual. At United Utilities group level we have used no more

here is enormous increase in the number of combination products entering the market in the recent years. Combination products have proven advantages but fixe

than possibly five to seven interims in the past two years. This, out of a total of 120 staff. We have three recruitment streams: from headhunters and executive recruitment brokers, from single independent contractors and from larger consultants who can offer specialist services. Within the larger group of 17,000 employees business managers have the capacity to recruit their own interi

d dose combinations are still in the process of convincing regulatory authority on their advantages over the single ingredient formulations.

Combination pro

staff. In the main we don’t use headhunters but rely more on independent contractors. My personal view is that interim management is still largely an untapped resource which, if used properly by organisations, could support forward thinking programmes."

Part of the solution – Veredus case study

Increasingly interim managers are being used by central government in a more strategic way

ucts have become life saving products for the pharmaceutical companies who doesn’t have many innovative molecules in their product pipeline and have been inc

In one part of central government an interim manager has been placed to oversee the establishment of a new agency with a high political profile. The interim has been responsible for setting up the corporate governance of the agency, establishing the structure of the new organisation and working with civil servants on recruiting the senior permanent staff team. In this case, interim man

easingly used in the product life cycle management. Even the companies having product patents are trying to extend their product life cycle through the combi

agement is being used as a resource to set up executive structures in a newly formed national organisation.

What are the qualities/skills you look for in an interim manager?

"In the main we are talking about senior managers. So, someone who comes with good technical skills and can ease into the role smoothly, someone who can quickly understand the organisational culture and work with

nation products and maximize the revenues. But the companies involved in this practice are overlooking that they are burdening the patients both economically

he grain, someone who can offer a challenge to the company and identify where improvements can be made, someone who is focused, has delivered before and can form easy – but not collusive – rapport with colleagues. Also, someone who can see the bigger picture. Equally important is the ability to not get ‘pushed back’ – someone who can stand their ground in the face of opposition once hav

and physically. They need to rightly judge the benefits of the combination products and they have to even look at the risks involved when combining the produ

ng agreed ‘the brief’ and has a clear definition of the role. Good interim managers come with a degree of maturity – they tend not to be phased by the ‘ups and downs’ of an organisation and have the ability to get on with the job. They know they are only going to be around for a limited period and can ride the stormy bits. Good interims get on with the job, can be set free quickly and w

ts. Some of the combination products were well accepted by physicians while others suffered. Companies involved in development of combination products are fi

nt to make things happen."

Has interim management changed in the last 2-3 years in terms of skills, talent and age?

"Most definitely. My sense is there has been a big change. Alongside those who have retired or taken early retirement is a new group of interim managers. Not just people with good technical skills but people with transferable management and leadership skills who can effe

ding difficulty in defining their combination products and facing various challenges from selecting a combination to marketing it.

Following aspects would a

ctively move between sectors. Also people who appear to have more flexible lifestyles, who see interim management as a career – either as a medium or long term opportunity – and who are prepared to travel. My other feeling is that they are getting younger. Good project management skills are essential but increasingly so are good leadership and management qualities. Only now are we becom

dd to the challenges in developing combination products:

Which markets to tap where the combination products can do fairly well?
Which combination prod

ng aware of the pool of talent available."

Part of the solution – Veredus case study

A national rail infrastructure company was awarded a ?3bn contract as part of a private/public sector package. Part of the business plan was to look at different elements of the contract and consider options for more rational and cost-effective models of service delivery. For example, whether to outso

cts are meaningful and rational?
Which therapeutic categories to select?
Which Combinations can address unmet needs of the patients?
Do combin

rce or keep in-house some aspects of the service as well as how to turn round failing parts of the organisation. In this case, interim management being brought in at an early stage to consider future strategic options for the company.

Is there a place for interim managers to be seen as part of your longer term business strategy?

"Generally we don’t plan for interims as a part of our b

tions increase the patient compliance?
What would be the developing cost?
How to tackle the risks encountered during combination product developmen

usiness cycle. As I mentioned before we still use interims as a reactive response. Using interim managers or technical experts as part of a planned development is still relatively new and undeveloped. I can see how built in capacity can be valuable to an organisation given the need to stay ahead of the game and give us a competitive edge. Not only technically but also managerially. Part

t?

As combination products don't fit into the traditional categories of drugs, medical devices, or biological products, the USFDA is in the process of devel

cularly in scoping either a new role or a new development where some uncertainty exists about long term viability. Less personal upheaval may result as well as less business instability. Certainly an idea that needs to be developed."

Part of the solution – Veredus case study

A medium size unitary county council had recently appointed a highly able Director of Children’s Services. The

ping new procedures for reviewing their safety, efficacy and quality.

Professional from academic institutions, pharmaceutical industries, health care indust

ew director had previously turned round a failing social services and was now expected to do the same for the education (schools) in the newly combined service. The authority agreed to bring in an interim manager – on a project basis – to work on poorly performing service blocks. The interim manager was previously a successful director of education. From the beginning role boundaries we

y and representatives from various regulatory agencies are working out to design the regulatory requirements for manufacture and sale of combination products

re made clear. The newly appointed chief officer would have complete responsibility for the management of the service but would use the interim as a mentor in getting to grips with the schools agenda, and as a resource in quickly drawing up action plans for ‘fragile’ parts of the education function. An example of interim management as a coaching resource and providing capacity to move f

.

As there is an increasing trend of the combination products companies manufacturing such products should be able to tackle the problems involved in the de

rward quickly in getting the whole service up to speed.

In a nutshell, how would you summarise the qualities of a good interim manager?

In a nutshell, people who provide you with immediate access to high quality talent, who come with good track records, represent low risk and maintenance and can offer you more instantly by seeing things through a fresh pair of eyes. It’s interesting t

elopment. They need to be wiser in analyzing the market trends and the regulatory requirements.

Companies that provide selfless information through particip

speculate - coming back to the question of using interims as part of the solution - what came first. Did organisations identify a need or were they reacting opportunistically to a more talented and flexible pool of talent. My feeling is that it was a bit of both. Either way, we need to use interims in a more creative way and develop a clearer understanding of what interim management is

tion in industry events and feedback to regulatory authorities would be able to face the challenges and will be successful in developing combination products

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