HR directors and CHROs in dialogue - the discussion series
HR and the CHRO have been at the centre of events in recent years. HR was an important member of the crisis teams and therefore close to the business, employees and the public. The different experiences of HR managers during the COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting reflections on the changing role of the HR function were the focus of a virtual series of talks that we organised - in cooperation with the German Association of HR Managers (BPM) - between September 2020 and January 2021 with a total of 14 CHROs and around 700 participants from the DACH region.
People analytics will be key and HR professionals need to learn how to utilise data for business needs. We need people who are strong in IT, analytics and end-to-end processes.
Dr oec. Hans Werner
Chief Personnel Officer
Swisscom AG
The Chief People Officer with a focus on employee orientation must also be a performance driver in the company - these are the two sides of the coin.
Birgit Bohle
Board Member for Human Resources and Legal Affairs
Telekom AG
Hybrid working will be a huge challenge and we need to redefine the way we work - how we work together - not just home office and office.
Dr Emmanuel Siregar
Executive Vice President Human Resources
CLAAS KGaA mbH
Despite physical distance, we have grown even closer together as KPMG this year. This cohesion is based on our values, along which we have aligned all our actions.
Dr Vera-Carina Elter
Board Member for Human Resources and Family Businesses
KPMG AG
Central questions were in particular:
How have the CHRO role and the role of HR changed in recent months during the COVID-19 crisis?
Which (HR) trends will become even more important in the New or Accelerated Normal?
What are the biggest HR challenges in the coming months and years?
How are expectations of HR changing in the new normal? How does HR in turn need to change in order to fulfil these expectations?
We now have to look after people even more, give them guidance, support managers and ensure that employees feel well looked after and supported
.
Dr Immanuel Hermreck
Chief Human Resources Officer
Bertelsmann SE & Co. KGaA
The challenges for managers are dealing with uncertainty, mastering mental stability and showing empathy - a point that sounds simple, but which many of our managers
find difficult.
Dietmar Eidens
Chief Human Resources Officer
Merck KGaA
If we bring this agility, experimentation and understanding that failure is a fantastic learning opportunity into the workplace, we can make great progress as a function.
Caroline Barth
Chief Human Resources Officer
Lonza
The education sector in particular is changing the most, the fastest and the most sustainably. This is why HR must rethink education, design it innovatively and make it available to the right target groups.
Gunnar Kilian
Member of the Board of Management, Human Resources and Truck & Bus
Volkswagen AG
HR and CHRO: Through the crisis to a better normal
We have summarised the findings from this series of discussions and initial projects in a white paper. The white paper describes the new role of HR and HR managers and provides an overview of what is important now - from shaping the working world of the future, to leadership development and cultural evolution, through to workforce transformation. The HR function itself will not be spared from these changes and, in our view, will transform itself once again, albeit with a different focus than before. We look forward to actively shaping the future of HR with you!
Mutual trust is very important - a major challenge in hierarchical organisations. The manager must trust, but the employees must also organise themselves in return.
Dr Renata Häublein
Managing Director Human Resources and Organisational Development
Federal Employment Agency
The interlinking of areas is changing and the need for transformation in companies is growing as a result. The HR partner is much more in demand than perhaps years ago.
Angela Stoffers
Head of Human Resources
Kaufland Foundation
In HR, we need to become even better generalist consultants who understand and develop the business - but at the same time, in-depth expertise in specialised topics is becoming increasingly important.
Christina Trelle
Head of HR
Swiss International Air Lines AG
We create the greatest added value when we automate traditional HR processes, transfer them to Employee Self Service and concentrate on what is really important.
Nikolas Schmitz-Lau
Global Head of HR Business Partner
Deutsche Börse Group
The crisis will continue and we have to deal with it. What is important now is that we set our own priorities again and use the momentum of the crisis to shape things instead of being driven by it.
Carmen-Maja Rex
Director Group Human Resources
HeidelbergCement AG
We have gained momentum and now have to consolidate it. The pull towards the familiar is great. We now have to prioritise clearly - the freestyle in personnel is always long-term and forward-looking.
Inga Dransfeld-Haase
Director People & Culture DACH
BP Europe SE
