Lessons learned from my year in a client organization

The end of 2022 also brought to a close my one-year post as one of our international clients’ Interim Communications Manager. I spent approximately one third of my time covering for an Internal Communication Manager who was on family leave. The experience was eye-opening and inspiring. So what did I learn and what tips could I give to someone thinking about leasing an external expert on a fixed-term contract?

It was clear from the beginning that the client was not looking for a consultant but wanted genuinely a team member – someone with their sleeves rolled up and equipped with a large, ready-to-use toolkit.

And that’s what the client got. In a small, efficient and international team, our roles fell into place and a common rhythm was quickly found. I took charge of various comms development and planning projects and naturally also supported and assisted the other members of my team in their tasks. This was a highly efficient solution from the client’s perspective – although projects are often of critical importance, they rarely require attention full-time. An external consultant brings the latest know-how, which is complemented by the organization’s own specialist knowledge. Every member of the team can focus on their own tasks and, most importantly, get help when they need it.

Strategies, change communication and sustainability tools

We organised my working hours so that they were spread evenly throughout the week. In practice, this meant that I was present in the daily life of the team. This gave the team peace of mind, as they did not have to wait or reorganize their work according to my schedule. Sometimes my help was needed more, but the overall balance was always maintained as the month progressed.

It was a busy year with a lot of planning work – planning communications to support organisational culture, planning and driving communications for two different organisational change projects, planning and implementing communications for an updated business strategy, organising leadership strategy days, building sustainability communications tools, planning Intranet 2.0 and supporting day-to-day communications and content production. I have been involved in everything from strategy to employee onboarding communications and employee satisfaction surveys.

An Interim Communications Manager can become a fully-fledged team member who plays a role in everything that the team does. I grew close to my team over the year and genuinely enjoyed working with them. My team in the client’s organization needed a skilled, proactive and efficient colleague, and that is what I was to them. Our common goal was to take the entire organization forward by improving internal communication and building efficient communication processes. And we also had a lot of fun!