Management Audit
- Franz Schaudy
More than a psychological dowsing rod
Contrary to 5 or 10 years ago, most HR workers today know what a Management Audit is. It is no longer something threatening, untransparent, something that one should avoid like the devil avoids holy water, at least as a participating manager.
These last two years, Management Audits have established themselves as a standard tool for strategic company management. Still, their social acceptance – the »face validity« - is poorly developed, especially in the new EU-countries. Therefore the acceptance gains main importance in the handling of the audits.
The dowsing rod
Even if the image of a dowsing rod caricatures reality, it does generally show what Management Audits are about. One wants to see something that was not visible before. The reasons for this are versatile: one could not see, did not want to, did not have the time, or was simply inattentive. One wants to ascertain how well somebody would perform a role. One wants to know whether somebody would perform equally, worse, or better under different circumstances. One wants to decide which one of several potential managers could takeover a certain function most successfully. Or one wishes to systematically further develop the managers and bind them to the company through single and team coaching, management techniques, modified and/or additional task assignments or other measures.
The Methods
Usually, great processes of change are the trigger for Management Audits. The handling is very sensitive and has far-reaching consequences, for the individual, as well as for the entire company. The choice of the right consultant and the adequate method plays an important role.
The combination of qualitative and quantitative methods, as it has been practiced by HILL for more than 20 years, has proven itself as the most reliable method. It gains valid and objective results that are directed towards future requirements. Meticulous and careful consulting service is necessary to live up to the professional, methodical, and human requirements.
Border-crossing standardization
Increasingly more Management Audits need to be handled beyond borders. And an increasing number of companies find themselves confronted with the task of looking behind the curtain of a »post-communist paranoia« or a »western paradise projection« in different countries with their different cultures. Objective statements regarding abilities to perform and potentials can only be gained with standardized tests and clearly structured interviews – lead by professional experts.
Challenges in practical experience
In practical experience there are many resentments towards audits, sometime for good reason: the predominant acceptance is absent, or no consequences are drawn from the results of an accepted Management Audit – demotivation and stagnation are inevitable! It is just as fatal if Management Audits are used as pseudo-justification for unpopular personnel and organizational measures. If you limit the Management Audits to the evaluation of individual persons, team structures and processes, as well as the social level of cooperation and communication remain unconsidered – however, this interaction is essential for entrepreneurial success.
Avoid the above-mentioned traps, and you will gain real use from Management Audits: future-oriented strategical direction and motivation of the service providers and development of potentials for the increase of efficiency and value.
- HILL Management Audit Process
Successful examples from practical experience
As our experience shows Management Audits can be beneficial for assessing management competencies and potentials in different change processes.
- Border-crossing
A worldwide active insurance company with subsidiaries throughout Eastern Europe is undergoing restructuring. The competence divisions are to be changed, the board of directors is to be expanded, respectively internationalized. With the decisive competitive advantage of standardization of the structured interviews and hearings (held in the respective national language) as well as the language compatible competence analysis HILL was able to audit the managers regarding potentials for the board of directors beyond border and cultures and create an objective ranking. With the necessary communication and transparency at the beginning of the audit and an immediate feedback (and decision!) after the end a result could be achieved that everybody was willing to accept.
- Pre-Merger
An international investor group aims to gain majority takeover of companies in plant manufacturing (food branch) in several countries in CEE. Next to the financial Due Diligence a HR-Due Diligence review in form of a Management Audit is to be done. Until now HILL has performed management audits in several Eastern European countries and companies with 100 to 800 employees.
HILL was able to guarantee the objectivity of the team processes through the psychological know-how and analyze the group-dynamic interaction of the management.
- Restructuring
Restructurings in a public institution and an economically very relevant branch require the joining of many small(est) regions to form few large regions. The consequence of this is naturally the decrease of so-called »regional kings«, along with an internal new positioning of the large regions. How can party-political influence be eliminated, and how can general acceptance be achieved? HILL was able to achieve broad acceptance due to the careful and sensitive work during preparation time. Transparency during all steps, methodical enlightenment, and communication on all management levels allowed objective and most of all comprehensible personnel decisions.
- Competition
The EDP-Team of a very successful Austrian trade company is managed by the manager himself. The range of tasks increases, the team grows and is to be made into an own department. There are several candidates for the new position as department manager. No employee should leave the company frustrated after the Management Audit. In such a difficult competitive situation HILL was able to gather all competitors into one boat for the creation of the requirement specifications and the determination of the Management Audit criteria. Transparency in all steps of the process (interview, competence analysis, assessment center) and an extensive individual feedback assured the acceptance of the new department management.
Checklist:
Are Management Audits an adequate tool for your company?
Can you answer »yes« to the following questions?
- Is your company currently undergoing a change process (mergers/acquisitions, internationalization, expansion, strategic reorientation)?
- Is the development of your company characterized by (too) strong company growth or by negative business results?
- Are you pressured for increase of efficiency/decrease of costs, respectively do you have to handle a change of management and fluctuation problems?
- Does your company have a broad basis of managers, and do these ponder strategic questions of the future?
- Is the corporate culture in your company open and transparent?
- Is the management generally willing to name human resources as an important factor for success?
- Is the management willing to undergo evaluation themselves?
- Do the decision makers have an open mind for psychological diagnostics?
- Is the management willing to accept internal discussion, possibly even conflicts for the improvement of quality?
