Energie Wasser Bern ewb supplies the city of Bern with electricity, gas, district heating, public lighting, fiber optic internet and water. In a large ongoing change process, the head of the decisive organizational unit unexpectedly dropped out. Management member Hans-Peter Wyss explains how the project was kept on course with the help of an interim manager.
Head of department absent during change process
Hans-Peter Wyss, head of the "Networks" division and member of the Executive Board, says about the initial situation: "With a view to new challenges, a project to optimize processes had started for the "Networks" division. When the head of the newly organized organizational unit, which was crucial for the success of the project, was absent for a long time, we decided to have an interim manager support us».
Structured and relationship-oriented
In the further conversation, Hans-Peter Wyss describes the task and the approach of the interim manager: "The interim manager should ensure in particular that the employees are included in the change process and cultural change. This has worked very well. He met the employees at the relationship level, which is not so easy with our flat hierarchies and therefore thirty employees who report directly. In this way, he was able to work through all the needs in a structured manner and thus provide a basis for the detailed implementation. He picked up concerns from individual employees without judgment, which strengthened trust in him.
He then outlined concrete training measures and located them on a roadmap. And he specified the new roles of the employees according to their profiles. The new head of the organizational unit was able to take over all of this directly.”
The pandemic as a major challenge
When asked what was special about the project and the assignment of the interim manager, Hans-Peter Wyss comments: "The pandemic was a particular challenge here too, as it not only complicated the day-to-day business, which was running at full speed, but also the implementation of our optimization project. With his relationship-oriented management style, the interim manager has managed to defuse difficult situations that have arisen and to bring about the necessary clarification. That was a great support."
If senior employees suddenly drop out, this is already a challenge in normal operation, but even more so in an optimization process. We provide you quickly and easily with experts who are familiar with your industry and have proven themselves as (interim) managers.
Contact us at office@top50interim.com or +41 (0)41 412 02 02.
‹ back to the overview