Interim Management in China

Thu, 13 Nov 2008 09:26:37 EST

How going Local (Expat) canhelp businesses in China, especially during the current global economicslowdown and in light of the new LCL.

Foreign Nationals have beenworking in China and Asia for decades. Most of them were originally on expatriate contracts, but a growingnumber of them have decided to stay in Asia now that their contracts have beensuccessfully completed. Step inIMS (Interim Management Solutions), part of the J.M.Gemini Group of Companiesto pick up the best C-level and senior level executives and managers andestablish a high quality China experienced resource pool.

The use of Interim Managersis a common business tool in Europe and the USA, but is just starting to gainacceptance in China. There aremany different situations where businesses can benefit from using InterimManagers including the obvious one of flexibility. China is about to enter a sustained period of businessrestructuring, mergers & acquisitions and rationalisation. This is where experience really doescount. Interim Managers from IMShave lived through and managed growth, efficiency drives, cost savings, largescale change. They have theT-shirt plus they have adapted culturally.

The new 2008 LabourContract Law (LCL) has significantly reduced flexibility in the workplace. The knock-on effect willmake MNC’s much more cautious when recruiting Senior Executives andManagers. This is where using anexperienced Interim Manager can be a real bonus, filling assignments for 3 to 6months while the company takes its time to find the right permanent executive.

There are also many caseswhere Interim Managers are deployed for longer periods, typically 12-18 monthsin order to restructure a business, or relocating a plant & leadingemployee training programmes. Business models in China are also changing from one relying on vastamounts of cheap labour to more efficient western systems basedbusinesses. A good example of thiscan be appreciated in the case of Interim Manager Joe Zink.

Joe is an American citizenand a highly experienced IT Professional, providing IT Project Direction andManagement, with over 15 years experience in the IT field of which 3 yearsworking in China (mainly Beijing & Shanghai). He has vast experience with Microsoft Systems and has evenmanaged the relocation of an entire IT division to a new facility in theUS. Joe speaks Mandarin at aconversational level and he is continuously improving his mandarin skills.

His current assignment forIMS is as Director of Information Technology for a textile company based inSuzhou, about 1 hour outside of Shanghai. He is now into the 7^th month of a 12 month contract where his main KPI is to specify anddeliver a new ERP system.

Joe’s hands-on experiencehas been invaluable in bringing the company’s IT infrastructure up to therequired standards necessary prior to rolling out a successful ERPplatform. Being able to adapt andprovide solutions not in the original assignment are all part of the skill setof the Interim Manager

General Manager of thetextile company, Geoff Newman comments, “Joe’s prior experience from the ITindustry and working here in China has meant the project is running smoothlyand to budget. The new ERP systemhas been specified and the next steps are the rollout and staff training (bothoperators and systems maintenance). Once the project has been completed, local staff will takeresponsibility for the systems. The use of an Interim Manager is exactly what our company requires toensure the project is a cost effective success. I can see that Joe’s skills will be much in demand”

Joe Zink adds “It was verychallenging especially in the beginning as I had to put new processes in placeand re-organize the IT structure of the company. I got support from themanagement and the IT team members and once the IT department was stable wecould start with the ERP system implementation.”

Using an Interim Managerprovides businesses with flexibility and experience without additionalhead-count. IMS takes care of allthe visa, insurance and payroll administration to provide a simple outsourcedsolution.

For more information log onto http://www.jmgemini.com/ims

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Interim Management in China