Interim Telecoms’ professionals with sales skills and media experience - appointed in just ten days

The Challenge

BT Rich Media was established in March 2004. A subsidiary of BT, this new organisation was formed to transform the way that organisations deliver rich website content – making it quicker and easier than ever before. With a high profile media launch just weeks away, Sales Director, Mark Longstaff contacted Brooklands with a requirement to urgently source Telecoms professionals with first-class contact networks in the UK and US. He needed to fill two key interim sales roles.

The Solution

Finding people with the right combination of sales skills and media industry experience could have taken months, but BT Rich Media needed a quick solution without compromising on quality.

Thanks to Brooklands’ excellent network of contacts in the media industry, consultant James Ashmore was able to identify candidates within days and started to feed CVs to the client within a week of being briefed. Working through the weekend, James not only trawled Brookland’s portfolio of contacts, but also used his own extensive networks to source quality candidates that matched the clients’ requirements.

As a result, the two urgent Interim Sales Manager roles were filled in just ten days and an additional position of Interim Marketing Director was filled soon after.

Action Taken

After quickly providing quality candidates to meet the immediate recruitment brief, Brooklands continued to work closely with BT Rich Media to ensure their resourcing needs were met. Throughout the following weeks, James worked with the client team to help identify gaps in the new organisation’s structure and clarify the skillsets required to meet their objectives.

What the client said

Mark Longstaff – BT Rich Media Sales Director until October 2004

“Brooklands’ quality of service and attention to detail were evident from the start. James took a detailed face-to-face brief on a Thursday and had strong CVs in front of me the following Wednesday - which led to interviews the next week and appointments a few days later.

“He worked hard to understand our needs as a new business and our culture, enabling him to source people who not only had a rare skillset, but possessed the qualities and characteristics we needed to help drive the business at this crucial time.”

About the business

UK telco BT set up BT Rich Media as a digital media platform provider enabling anyone from a large corporate to a small business to create and deliver rich online content.

BT Rich Media involved a partnership with media streaming company Real Networks to provide easy-to-use management tools that make publishing and managing content user-friendly. BT also partnered with digital asset management company TWIi, which provides the Interactive Content Factory (ICF) platform enabling content owners to remotely edit and produce online material.

Sourcing an Interim Director of Parking with commercial and public sector expertise

The Challenge

In May 2004 Westminster City Council assigned Brooklands to source an Interim Director of Parking. The appointment was to last for three to six months while Westminster searched for a permanent candidate for the role.

Westminster’s parking service is the largest in Europe and while leading the function, the Interim Director of Parking would need to develop the Council’s relationship with external service partners, oversee the implementation of new technologies and continue to promote a customer-centric culture. The person appointed would also take on a unique new challenge: offering parking solutions to other London authorities.

The Solution

Candidates with a rare mix of skills and expertise were required. Senior level experience in a commercial environment had to be combined with a sound understanding of the public sector, the ability to lead over 800 staff and ideally some exposure to Public/Private Partnerships (PPP). The person appointed would represent the Council in a high profile role attracting significant media attention and requiring a high level of political sensitivity. They would also need to help Westminster exploit new technologies.

Brooklands consultant James Ashmore provided three strong candidates within just ten days of taking the initial brief. Following Brooklands’ usual practice, all candidates were thoroughly vetted, interviewed and briefed before being introduced to the client. The team at Westminster was then able to meet three carefully selected candidates in one half-day of interviews, make a quick decision and arrange for their preferred candidate to start the following week.

Action Taken

Once Stephen Lawrenson, the new Interim Parking Director, was in post, Brooklands performed a number of checks with both Stephen and the client to ensure the fit was right and identify any possible issues. This involved both telephone and face-to-face contact.

At the end of the interim contract, when a permanent Director of Parking Services had been found, Westminster reappointed Stephen with a new assignment leading a partnership of central London councils aiming to improve parking products and services. This will include outsourcing to other authorities – a unique project redefining a Council operation as a commercial, revenue-generating business.

What the client said

Vic Baylis, Director of Customer Services, Westminster City Council:

“I hadn’t used interim professionals before and was a little sceptical about how well the arrangement would work. However I was impressed with the service Brooklands provided from the outset. They spent quality time with us, ensuring they thoroughly understood the role and our culture, took a very broad view of the business context, and tested their understanding with me before proceeding.

Brooklands then took full responsibility for managing the project, creating a timeline with deadlines they fastidiously met, and handling all the initial stages without the need for further consultation. This meant we only needed to get involved once good quality candidates had been vetted, and were able to appoint a very strong individual within a matter of days.

The aftercare Brooklands provided was also impressive and the fact that the person recruited has stayed with us to lead other projects has been an unexpected bonus and a real asset to our team.”

About the business

Westminster City Council is one of the UK’s largest metropolitan authorities. It is widely respected for its progressive and highly commercial practices and the quality of its management team. Westminster is rated by the Audit Commission as one of the best Councils in the country and currently enjoys the title of Council of the Year.

Westminster Parking Services has revenues of over £100m per annum and is the largest operation of its kind in Europe. It is quick to embrace new technologies and works in partnership with external organisations including Vertex and NCP, to provide a seamless range of services.

Wall Coverings Manufacturer

The client manufactures and markets a range of wall coverings for the contract market. They operate internationally. Faced with a contraction of their order book through the economic climate meaning fewer companies were moving into new premises, and the trend towards open plan offices, the client asked Brooklands Executives to supply a professional Interim International Marketing Director to develop a new strategy for the future. Although in competition, Brooklands won the assignment with one of the three candidates we proposed being chosen.

The client commented upon the fact that all three candidates we proposed were suitable, the superior service level we demonstrated in handling the enquiry and the more comprehensive information we provided on each candidate. During the 60-day assignment, the Interim Manager not only delivered against the brief, but was also asked to handle the annual budget preparation, such was the client's confidence in the abilities of the Interim Manager.

This was a classic example of Brooklands' rapid response (face-to-face briefing meeting within 48 hours of the telephone call to us and candidates in interview with the client after just 8 days), high quality selection and support, and satisfactory outcome (on time and with added value beyond the brief).

Waste Management Contractors

The client is the UK leader in waste management services. The market is becoming increasingly competitive and as a result the client decided to close an operation in Scotland. As the permanent General Manager had left, the client required a professional Interim General Manager from Brooklands Executives to handle all aspects of the closure programme - whilst maintaining the necessary staff levels and service levels during the transition phase. The chosen Interim Manager started within 10 days of the first call to us and completed the assignment in 60 days - on time and to budget. The client was very impressed with the value of having an Interim Manager on board - the first time they had used the strategy - and this has resulted in the Interim Management option being part of their resourcing strategy for the future.

Major Retail Group

Part of a major retail group, this division is the home delivery service developed by the e-commerce division. The client approached Brooklands Executives to supply a professional Interim Supply Chain Manager to work with the in-house team to develop maximum synergy across the group and to cut distribution costs in the short term - without tying the operation into long term agreements since the objective is to integrate the e-commerce home deliveries into the mainstream activity of the group in the medium to long term. All the assignment objectives were met within the 80-day duration of the assignment and an effective hand-over to the permanent team meant the strategy could develop in the following months.

As a multi-sector, multi-discipline provider, Brooklands Executives aims to be a one-stop-shop for our clients. We have the capability to provide almost any skill you may require as we have over 2,000 professional Interim Managers in our portfolio.

Resolving Sarbanes Oxley compliance

When Salt Union’s incumbent IT Manager retired, they commissioned Brooklands to source a senior interim IT Manager. But this was no simple IT role: the interim would need to resolve a number of complex challenges. These included the implementation of Sarbanes Oxley – Salt Union’s largest project and one that affected almost every area of the business. A candidate was also needed with the skills to lead major projects involving a systems upgrade to Oracle 11i and the installation of a new wide-area network.

The solution

Brooklands presented four candidates and Salt Union appointed Gerald McEwen, an Interim Manager with over twenty years’ experience. Gerald’s profile and knowledge of Oracle 11i, logistics and haulage tracking systems completely matched Salt Union’s requirements.

Action taken

Salt Union are a subsidiary of a US-listed company and to comply with Sarbanes Oxley, they had until the end of 2004 to meet the act’s requirements.

Under Gerald’s leadership, Salt Union’s IT team worked hand in hand with internal auditors in the UK and US to prepare for an external audit. Together they examined all IT process including those with external trading partners and service providers, as well as their Oracle system.

The audit, which was carried out by PWC, was completed by the end of October 2004. Following usual protocols, PWC then presented Salt Union with a Summary of Aggregated Deficiencies (SAD) document and Gerald’s team set to work putting new documentation, processes and auditable controls in place for all of Salt Union’s IT infrastructure and financial applications.

In mid-December 04, PWC revisited Salt Union to test that the required remediation had been carried out. Gerald McEwen explains: “The audit uncovered areas where the current system had been implemented without the required security controls or correct separation of duties within the financial systems. We worked extremely hard to complete the work on time and it was very pleasing to have the auditors give us a clean bill of health.”

What the client said

David Goadby, Salt Union Managing Director:
“The highly qualified Interim Manager that Brooklands provided gave us the opportunity to review our systems strategy from the inside, rather than through an external consultancy. With such a credible and effective professional on board, we were able to focus on Sarbanes Oxley’s stringent control requirements - identifying the issues, providing remedies and, vitally, implementation of those remedies.”

Margaret Dalgity, HR Director:
“Gerald seamlessly bridged the gap between the exit of our IT Manager and the recruitment of a new one. The timetable was tight, but the exercise has been successful - and positively project managed by Gerald and the rest of the IT team.”

About Salt Union

Salt Union limited is a wholly owned UK subsidiary of Compass Minerals Inc, the fourth largest salt producer in the world. Based in Kansas and publicly listed on the New York Stock Exchange, Compass Minerals produces and sells approximately nine million tonnes of salt across North America and the UK each year.