Maria Dionis, a member of the Advisory Board of EPUNTO Interim Management and a professional with extensive experience in leadership and talent strategy, presents in this interview his views and assessments on transition management services and their value contribution as a strategic tool for organizational transformation.
Madrid, September 14, 2021
Digital transformation, globalization of the economy, and other essential factors, such as sustainability and diversity and inclusion models, are forcing companies to face profound changes, both at the organizational level and in their business models. What competitive advantages does Interim Management offer in the face of all these challenges?
From my point of view, Interim Management offers two major advantages. The first is that it allows companies to quickly acquire the expert knowledge needed to address these challenges, knowledge that they sometimes haven't yet developed internally. The strength of the model also lies in the fact that this experienced manager can develop these capabilities in internal professionals through a process of coaching well planned, so that there is continuity with the work done.
The second major advantage is that it's a time-bound service focused on achieving results. At the outset, specific and clear objectives are defined, and the manager's extensive experience facilitates the plan's execution from day one.
Large companies have been undertaking transformation, diversification, and internationalization projects by hiring Interim Management services, as their management resources are concentrated in their core operations. core businessCompanies have been severely impacted by the pandemic over the past year and a half. Incorporating experienced managers through Interim Management firms allows them to launch and execute expansion and growth projects without delays, additional labor costs, or the need to hastily hire a high-level professional.
Interim Management is a well-established form of executive services that has been around for decades in other European countries, such as the Netherlands, Germany, France, and the United Kingdom, and of course, in the USA. However, in Spain, although it is progressing, it has not yet fully taken hold. What do you think are the reasons for this?
In Spain, companies generally prefer to fill management positions with internal talent, and if they do hire an external candidate, they want to have an employment relationship with them. I would define this as the psychological need to have managers "on permanent contracts."
From my perspective, these companies need to embrace current trends. Organizations no longer talk about positions but rather capabilities and projects. This trend has already been adopted by many companies that have implemented agile work organization models at middle management levels, but they should also adopt it for executive positions. In this way, they would be leveraging all the managerial talent available to them, beyond their internal environment.
In the same way that the concept of an open innovation ecosystem has spread, and it is no longer conceivable to limit innovation within the boundaries of the organization, companies have to take advantage of the talent that exists beyond themselves, defining the ecosystem of their workforce composed of internal employees, expert freelancers and a flexible management.
EPUNTO Interim Management, one of the leading companies in this field in Spain, has taken a decisive step towards internationalization by joining the largest international network in this area, the Globalise Alliance, with a presence on five continents and more than 60.000 interim managers managed through its member companies. From the EPUNTO IM Advisory Board, of which you are a member, has this step been considered a solution to the low demand for these services among Spanish businesses, or is it due to other strategic reasons with medium- and long-term objectives?
The alliance with Globalise stems from the desire to EPUNTO Interim Management to support clients in the internationalization of their business. Globalise Alliance It allows access to candidates in multiple countries and, at the same time, provides Spanish candidates for multinationals that want to develop their businesses in Spain.
Clearly, this is a strategic decision that enhances the company's reach and, consequently, its growth. As a member of the advisory board, I am very proud of this decision.
In general, Interim Management firms also manage executive selection processes, in addition to marketing transitional management services. In this area, EPUNTO IM is applying cutting-edge selection methodologies, such as augmented intelligence, through its exclusive "Smart Recruitment"© method, which allows it to fill any executive position in less than 48 hours. Given your high level of specialization and extensive experience in human resources management and talent management, what is your assessment of the new technologies used in executive selection, and what path should be followed in the emerging social and economic landscape?
We must celebrate the application of new technologies, digitalization, and AI to recruitment processes. They provide invaluable information for identifying the right candidates for the position and the project, significantly reducing management time. However, I must caution that we should be careful, as algorithms also have biases. By working with past data, we are reproducing past, and in many cases, outdated, models of success. It is now necessary to incorporate other criteria into the algorithm, such as diversity criteria, among others. These are processes that cannot be fully automated. Reason and emotion must be present.