Situation
Our customer is a leading global manufacturer of medical textile products, such as compression textiles and stockings. The group is family-owned with headquarters in Switzerland and has been in business for over 150 years. They have production facilities in Europe, the USA and Asia. Other interims had been placed with the company over time, as they were returning customers.
In 2015, the Group acquired the market-leading Polish supplier and producer of medical textiles, which has been in business since 1990. By 2018, the situation in Poland had escalated, results were negative, there was no clear strategic direction and measures, sales were falling rapidly and they were losing market share. Then the employees started to leave and overall the employees were insecure.
The management group in Switzerland called for an experienced turnaround manager who could calm the situation and give the company and its employees a clear management framework and the basis to work profitably again. It was clear that sales had to be increased and market share regained. There was also a sustained outflow of funds, which had to be stopped immediately.
Action
The headquarters team in Switzerland decided to hand over the tasks to an interim manager experienced in turnaround management. Top Fifty in Switzerland, with the support of its Polish partner CTER SP in Warsaw, presented several candidates within a few days. The top management from Switzerland traveled to Poland the following week to interview candidates. Three weeks after the customer inquiry, the interim CEO was at the company.
The interim CEO’s first task was to stabilize the situation. Everyone knew that a change in leadership style was needed; from a very patriarchal leadership to a more collaborative leadership style. The main focus was on sales, and the team developed a clear sales strategy and began to replace the sales staff. In addition, a change management team was required as the existing management team was unable to make the necessary changes.
Result
The situation analysis was completed quickly and communication with the head office was smooth and trusting. As a result, the head office team was quickly able to decide on options and define investments in sales. This enabled a new sales strategy to be developed and implemented quickly. The following measures were taken:
- Sales centralized, external office integrated
- Evaluation of field service and department carried out
- New sales employees recruited
- Intensive training of sales staff
The new strategy showed immediate results and increased by 5% compared to the previous year. This enabled the Polish company to regain some of its lost market share. In the end, the management team was completely changed. The team held “town hall” meetings with employees to show them a clear future for the company.
Overall, productivity has improved and the reject rate has been reduced to an acceptable level. Once the changes had taken place, the brain drain of people leaving the company stopped and the company stopped losing money.
At the end of the assignment, the internal team provided the following feedback:
- “It’s great to work here, but there’s a lot to do”
- “Thank you for the trustful cooperation with HQ”
- “We feel much safer and more comfortable now”
