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Times are changing: what does the future look like for Interim Managers?

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Times are changing: what does the future look like for Interim Managers?

Companies are changing quickly driven by the ongoing pressure of globalisation and digitalisation. The functioning of organisations is therefore severely impacted and that especially holds for the role of the Interim Manager. What does the future look like for the flexible and competent Interim Manager? Will he or she be able to survive all of these developments? Let’s take a closer look by answering 5 key questions.

1. It’s always about profit. How does this affect the interim manager?

When it comes to job cuts that need to make space for more profit, the interim manager is often thought to be one of first to be affected. This can even lead to an increase in medical issues as well as premature fatigue and negative consequences on the labour market. Then again, a competent interim manager is good at his or her job thanks to being independent and the ability to show flexibility. Those who’ve carried out a many varied projects will be able to confront these circumstances and even keep on developing themselves on a professional level.

2. Is IT killing jobs?

IT and automatisation are definitely taking over. Although a lot of jobs are at stake, interim managers specialised in IT will get new opportunities as well. It is therefore very important to constantly retrain and apply digitalisation in order to keep up with the latest technology. By doing this an interim manager can prove he or she is competent to deal with upcoming changes.  

3. How can interim managers benefit from digitalising?

Basically, most of the information above holds for this question as well. By constantly being on the lookout, leading teams by the means of IT,  a qualified interim manager will be able to come up with added value to clients. One important issue is that digitalisation can lead to a large number of tasks becoming redundant. In this case, the interim manager will need to reorganise and make sure his or her team members perform other activities consequently.

4. Can interim managers help each other?

Like in all businesses interim managers can learn from each other. If an organisation makes use of interim management it will need to bring interim managers together to interact and learn from each other. Most often interim managers come from a complete different background and therefore have completely different skills and experiences. Managers who take both their personal and team’s development very serious will need to be highly valued. By bringing different interim managers together a company shows its willingness to contribute to the coherence, mutual understanding and harmony of its separate departments.

5. How to manage globalisation?

The world is getting more and more global and the same holds for companies. Interim managers working in international organisations will get affected by this development. Whether or not an interim manager is able to deal with globalisation depends on whether he or she is able to get the most out of economic efficiency, the team’s well-being, while environmental developments also play an increasingly important role every day.

The back office: where innovation in finance really starts

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The back office: where innovation in finance really starts

We even see it in the most innovating companies: finance departments relying on old-fashioned spreadsheets and manual processes. Although some old tricks never die, sticking to manual solutions can complicate innovating internal processes.

In a highly innovative world it however is essential to keep up with the latest technologies in order to boost efficiency. ERP’s are there to help. Make sure you get the most out of it.   

Thriving for innovation by involving the back office

Although we always urge for innovation, we do want to make clear that digitising your internal processes is more than only launching an app or using a fancy collaboration tool. We’re talking about making the whole finance department digital, meaning that the core processes will need a complete makeover. Sticking to spreadsheets rather than stimulating back offices to integrate enterprise resource planning (ERP) won’t help your company in the long run.

We therefore encourage CFO’s to change finance and other related departments from being a small player hidden hidden in the back-office to becoming a key player in the company, sustaining strategy and boosting results. Because at the end, ERP’s especially stand for real-time information, helping CFO’s to step forward and lead the way. All results are driven by finance, so let’s give the finance department the attention it deserves.

Hesitation, despite the advantages

So why are a lot of companies hesitant to integrate new innovative processes? Firstly, legacy systems are the main obstacle for innovative processes and although we need to understand its importance, we also stress the need to move forward. In addition, manual processes could just turn out to work fine, slowing down the will to change. It is furthermore not uncommon that some departments may lack the proper IT knowledge, meaning that IT department would need to step in, costing both time and money. For those involved in the back office it may become somewhat risky when large amount of confidential information need to be digitalised. Reluctancy due to uncertainties about the privacy of online data storage are not uncommon when it comes to introducing innovative processes.

Invest time to save time

Although there are numerous reasons for back offices to be reluctant towards ERP’s, lack of time is widely known to be one of them. “Not having the time to devote to it” is one of the hurdles to overcome, but luckily this is one of the most invalid arguments out there. Yes, we’re talking about the need to dedicate time to it and, yes, we’re talking about a probable change in the workplace culture. But with a knowing pair of hands and the harmonisation of all related processes will lead to time-saving and efficiency. Thanks to real-time data errors will be detected more easily, while we all known how automation saves time when compared to manual processes. Many companies focus too much on the customer-side while it’s undoubtedly important to place the focus on the back-office as well. At the end, closing the books faster can lead to benefits for all departments. Let’s start investing time to save time.

Automating company processes: first start improving existing technologies

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Automating company processes: first start improving existing technologies

If it would be up to technology, robots would take over all company processes. Robotic Process Automation (RPA) is one of the technologies wanting to emerge everywhere, trying to convince companies to be adopted. In a nutshell, Robotic Process Automation can be described as a category of software tools enabling complex digital processes to be automated. This is done by operating them in the same way a human user would operate them, making use of the user interface and following a number of predefined rules. Although that may sound as something which could solve all world problems, it is very important not to exaggerate things here.

In fact, the combination of RPA and company processes is far for being a perfect one if the main objective is to improve the process instead of automating its current state. It is therefore very important to point out that RPA actually does not redesign anything. It merely operates at the task level and not the end-to-end process level. For these reasons, it’s necessary to first start improving existing technologies before automating company processes via RPA.

Focus on existing technologies

RPA can, however, be matched with other important changes in the business process. It’s important to realise that its objective should be one that goes beyond basic labour arbitrage savings meant to improve the process. Business trying to find new ways to automate their company processes should instead focus on their existing ones. RPA may sound very appealing and although striving for innovation should always be encouraged, it is wise to slow down its integration. Most companies only focus on the outcome and forget about everything between the initial input and the final result. As a result, these companies could see some small savings, but will more likely miss out on bigger opportunities that could in fact enhance complete processes, as well as improve quality, reduce costs, and lower production times.

First things first

Existing company processes are known to be very complex, often including unnecessary steps that would need to be removed before RPA is eventually integrated. As RPA means that company rules should be codified, things turn out somewhat complex from the very first moment. We all know that company rules often have not been tested for a long time, making it difficult to implement them in a modern environment. Simplifying the information environment is therefore a major challenge that should not be underestimated. RPA is known to involve a lot of back-and-forth access to different information systems. In an ideal situation, however, RPA would extract all the required info from one single system which is the main challenge for every business wanting to make the most out of RPA. Although it is undeniable that RPA can lead to significant saving of both time and money, it is crucial to known that all internal technologies should be improved before thinking RPA. First things first.

Robots are everywhere: even in finance

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Robots are everywhere: even in finance

For some reason it’s somewhat difficult to imagine robots being integrated in business processes. Nevertheless their presence is actually very notable in companies where the finance department plays an important role. Although Robotic Process Automation (RPA) was something only the most innovative companies had integrated a few years ago, the number seems to be a lot more elevated in 2018.

Based on a survey carried out by technology and outsourcing consulting firm Capgemini it shows that 41% of the respondents work with some sort of automation strategy. The survey was conducted by questioning 500 CFO’s in Europe and North America. Today we’re going to point out a few interesting conclusions of this international survey.

The future of automating finance

Robots are expanding their territory. Nearly half of the respondents confirm that their teams have automated one or more processes in their finance department. This does not only concern top-level business processes, like record-to-report and order-to-cash, but also includes financial controls. Most CFO’s agree on the statement that these processes will be most likely completely automated within the next years. Another interesting development is how CFO’s consider RPA to be able to move from a simple scorekeeper to an indispensable strategic partner. Within the next 3 years RPA’s are not only to be expected to lead to a better customer experience, but also to be able to deliver completely new business insights. The future of automating finance seems in the hands of RPA.

The opinion of “Masters”

Masters can be considered as those who are ahead of the rest when it comes to RPA. In the survey 26% of the respondents were described as so called Masters. People meeting these requirements often work in companies where financial processes are either partially or fully automated. There’s a notable difference between Europe and North America, however, when it comes to the percentage of Masters, as a lot more Masters can be found in North America (58%). While the same percentage of Masters says to expect notable benefits in the next 3 years thanks to RPA, it is also important to underline the main reason why this is expected: RPA is considered to be inexpensive. Organisations are able to experiment by following strict parameters while at the same time expertise is gradually accumulated. By conducting small pilots before implementing the tools into other processes, companies are able to benefit from RPA in a safe way. Therefore both the risks and the costs seem to stay rather low which seems like a fair deal. No wonder robots are everywhere: even in finance.