Interim Operations Director

26/03/2008

Following a damning assessment of service delivery for older people, with the assessors seeing no clear direction for improvement, the Chief Executive of this local authority took the decision to bring in an interim manager who could ensure the confidence of members and improve the services.

Alium was tasked to find an interim management executive with suitable experience, fast. We identified an available former Director of Social Services with experience of operating in a fast-moving political environment and the confidence to tackle future inspection. The interim manager was assessed on a Wednesday, interviewed by Council members on Friday and started the following Tuesday.

The interim manager gained an immediate grasp of the agenda and made an objective analysis of what was required to improve matters. The first steps he took were to promote what the team actually did well – something that had been overlooked as the focus had all been on the areas of failure. This led to a marked improvement in morale coupled with some quick wins where, in advance of the follow up inspection, realistic targets were set and achieved.

From this position, the interim manager was able to increase the team’s willingness to consider alternative ways of working – and in particular, the use of external providers instead of the established culture of all services being kept in house. The budget was brought under control with a more effective monitoring and greater consistency in delegation. This has increased the confidence of managers to make decisions, and an underlying improvement in service delivery.