The McKinsey Report intensified the focus on this issue. Deploying a steering committee comprised of leading search and human resources experts, the consulting firm surveyed 77 companies in the mid to top quintile, questioning 359 corporate executives and 5,679 of the top 200 executives and HR executives. McKinsey also conducted in-depth case studies at 20 of the 77 surveyed companies to uncover their strategies for sourcing, developing and retaining talent. For troubled companies or those straining to manage a rapid rate of change, responding to these imperatives and securing their fair share of talent can be difficult. When a company is trying to resuscitate a failing enterprise, creating a winning value proposition to attract talent is especially arduous.
Interim management offers a solution.
When two West Coast based fast food chains merged, a tired market concept and a lack of skills among the surviving management team began to spell failure. After six months of raising employee morale and deploying industry skills to improve company performance, the Interim CEO assumed permanent tenure, doubling the company s revenues and making it the number two chain in its category before purchasing it from investors. The McKinsey Report claims that sourcing great talent is tough even for companies in the top quintile. It is estimated that increasingly mobile executives will, over the next decade, enjoy almost seven jobs in the course of a career. Executive mobility can, however, work to the advantage of companies willing to take advantage of interim or project managers.