HR – Management Events

August 20, 2021

Amanda Pusa Edwall: A Positive Company Culture Holds an Organization Together

All companies, from start-ups to MNCs, have one thing in common: a unique company culture. It is the foundation for a company’s identity and plays a big part in employee satisfaction and productivity. After a year of unprecedented changes, the influence of company culture on corporate reputation and organizational growth is undeniable.

We had an illuminating conversation with Amanda Pusa Edwall, Chief People Officer at Anyfin, on the importance of building a healthy workplace culture and the evolving priorities of HR leaders today.

Signs of a Healthy Organizational Culture

Toxic workplace culture has been cited as one of the main reasons behind The Great Resignation of 2021. According to Microsoft’s Work Trend Index, 40% of the respondents are looking to switch jobs this year. In order to retain the best employees, organizations have the responsibility of making them feel valued, respected, connected, supported, and productive.

Edwall lists the following as indicators of positive company culture:

Employer and employee have matching values: “I have found both personally, but also from my job with HR that one of the most difficult things is when a candidate’s core values don’t align with the company. I think when that happens, it’s almost impossible to do a good job.”
A positive and encouraging environment: When people feel insecure or afraid to speak their minds, it signals an unhealthy workplace culture. Organizations need to work towards providing “a welcoming and positive culture where employees are encouraged to be the best versions of themselves.”
Money is not the main motivator: “People don’t work for a company because it makes the coolest product or pays the highest salary.” Companies with a positive workplace culture have “people who truly want to walk the extra mile and do something more. They genuinely care about their team, manager and company.”

Company Culture in a Hybrid Work Environment

When asked about building a company culture in a remote work setting, Edwall says “it’s very difficult, and the ones who say that it’s not difficult are lying.” She mentions challenges can be found in the following areas:

Onboarding: How do you onboard people when there is no face-to-face interaction? Edwall says that employees need to know that they are part of a team and part of something bigger. A weak onboarding process may leave new employees feeling lost. “If you’re completely new to the company, you don’t even know who to reach out to for the right information.” Therefore, employees must take the initiative to ask questions instead of leaving things up to chance.
Information sharing: Edwall says that this needs to be done “in a very thoughtful way.” Communication challenges in a virtual workplace make it hard to know whether employees have digested and understood the information given. Managers must create a safe space for employees to ask questions and seek guidance if needed.
Working in silos: This is more likely to happen when employees are working remotely. According to Edwall, “people perceive themselves to being extremely efficient but does not know what everyone else is doing. Are you doing what’s most important and in alignment with everyone else? Or do we have three people in the company doing the same thing?” Managers have to identify and eradicate silos in the workplace as they can negatively impact employee collaboration.

A digitalized HR function has the potential to mitigate these challenges. According to our trend report, CHRO Investments 2021, there is a significant rise in technologies to increase remote employee collaboration and productivity. Surveyed HR professionals have invested in employee management software (22%) and project management and collaboration tools (20%) respectively.

Characteristics of a Start-up Culture

Most start-ups are associated with small tight-knit teams, young and energetic employees, flat hierarchy and flexibility. “I think in a start-up like Anyfin, it’s quite fast moving, and responsibilities can shift quite a lot from day to day,” Edwall says.

The flat hierarchy structure of start-ups can result in leadership capabilities that are not fixed. According to Edwall, “managers are highly focused on getting results and are extremely engaged.” She adds that HR personnel and managers need to make sure that people take time off and that they need to reset.

However, she notes that priorities are slowly shifting. “Ten years ago, the focus was on having a career and getting a lot of equity. But now, I think more people care about the softer part of work as well.” It is also important to celebrate success and not rush to chase the next big thing. “There is pressure for perfection in many start-ups and to always aim higher because the work is not good enough. This can be very poisonous for young, motivated people. When can you ever feel proud of all the things you have accomplished if nothing is ever good enough?”

If company culture is left on the back burner, it could result in a toxic workplace that leads to a high turnover rate. Management teams must create a clear picture of their vision, mission and core values, and communicate them effectively to employees.

Shifting Priorities for Today’s HR Leader

Edwall says the HR leader role has evolved in the past 18 months. The biggest priority for CHROs now is to build a robust hybrid or remote working model. “I think for many start-ups, from a technical perspective, this has been a natural thing as the infrastructure is already in place.”

In addition, Edwall shares the following observations:

HR brings C-suites together

“HR has moved from being in the backseat to constantly reminding leadership peers on the company’s direction.” They ensure the top management are united in terms of planning and executing organizational goals. “I think HR is becoming more of the glue in the organization.”

The mental health of employees

Work-life balance and mental health need to be investigated more closely. “What do we need to do for employees’ mental resilience? We need to give them the tools to be able to do that themselves.”

According to Gartner, 68% of organizations have already introduced at least one new wellness benefit to help improve their employees’ mental health. Companies are also taking actionable steps to increase mental health awareness by offering employees mental health leave and shutting down operations for a “collective mental health day.”

Upskilling and retraining

“I had to remold my employee base to work on things outside their job scope.” Edwall and her team worked on identifying their strengths and assigned them new tasks accordingly. For example, she encouraged talent acquisition staff to try out lead generation, market research and customer support, among others. This aligns with the findings in our report, HR Key Focus Areas in 2021, where HR leaders fostered a learning mentality and influenced employees to stay interested and open to learning.

Employee Investment is Key

The biggest takeaway from our conversation with Edwall is the urgency for organizations to invest with their employees.

“Anyfin today will be very different from Anyfin in three years. How do we truly invest in the people we hired today to make sure that they fit the organization a few years from now?”

Leaders need to rethink their organization’s culture and values, not just on-the-surface perks they can offer. Although it is nice having ping pong tables and fika breaks, Edwall says they are just elements of “shallow employee engagement.” Healthy workplace culture starts with leaders walking the talk and getting to know their employees in depth to identify their motivation for working.

July 9, 2021

Rune Todnem By: How You Can Provide EPICally MAD Leadership

During these uncertain times, organizational leaders are under pressure to perform their best as the world moves into a more digitalized and sustainable direction. The development of technological literacy has become increasingly important, in addition to soft skills such as adaptability, agility and empathy.

What challenges lie ahead of leaders today? What aspects of current leadership practices need to change? Rune Todnem By, Professor of Leadership at the University of Stavanger provides illuminating answers to these questions and more.

The Greatest Leadership Challenge Moving Forward

By argues that the main challenge lies in the very core of how we understand and practice leadership.

“The greatest challenge is not globalization, COVID-19, digitalization or any other current event, but rather that we currently have a very narrow and limiting understanding of leadership.” He refers to the tripod understanding which consists of the relationship between leader and follower, and the delivery of shared goals. This concept, being the basis for almost every single leadership theory and practice results in behaviors that are traditional, conservative, and limiting.

“It also leads to monopolizing the doing of leadership to a small group of individuals – who are in fact no more capable or ‘special’ than anyone else. Often, they just happen to be white, middle-aged men with privileged backgrounds. We are quite simply not as equal nor diverse which we so often like to think we are.”

“We are tied up in an outdated understanding of what is leadership. This does not bode well as it prevents us from finding the best solutions to the challenges ahead.”

Professor By dissects the tripod understanding of leadership further by explaining why ‘follower’ is not a positive word. He suggests it implies that “most of us do not have a mind of our own, cannot contribute independently, and require someone – a ‘leader’ – to push the start button for us to wake up in the morning.”

Additionally, he argues that shared goals are often not shared at all. “These goals are decided by someone else in an organization for reasons of short-term profit-making and efficiency gains. Organizational members do not have any shared ownership of these goals because they were never discussed with them.”

Therefore, it becomes very difficult to contribute to the delivery of such ‘shared’ goals as most employees can simply ask “Why should I contribute to something I don’t understand I was involved with or agreed to?”

Addressing this challenge

When By gets invited by an executive group to give a talk, he will first ask them for a definition of ”leadership.”

“They end up not defining ‘leadership’ but ‘leaders’, in terms of their skills and characteristics,” he says.

The solution to this challenge starts by understanding that leaders and leadership are not one and the same. Many leaders do not provide leadership, and many who do provide leadership do not perceive themselves as leaders. By says that people get surprised about this difference because “we were brought up in a society where it is suggested that leadership is something only leaders do.”

Changing the language used to understand leadership is essential. By mentions that “there are alternatives out there” and recommends a 2008 study by Drath et al. on the DAC ontology which stands for Direction, Alignment and Commitment. To shed light on the DAC alternative, By has further developed the model in his recent 2021 article, Leadership in pursuit of purpose, calling it the Purpose, Alignment and Commitment (PAC) model.

“Purpose is much bigger than just direction. Direction is something that can be changed in order to deliver on purpose,” he says. When leaders ask themselves “Why do we exist as an organization?,” it should encourage them to pursue purpose beyond profit, with proof suggesting such an approach will better support sustainable profits. More importantly, this can be aligned with individual purpose which is becoming increasingly important both in recruitment and retention. By suggests that organizations need to start focusing on providing people with a purpose rather than a bonus.

What It Means to be EPICally MAD

A highlight of Professor By’s work is the concept of EPICally MAD as presented at TEDxStavanger:

E for Energy:

By likens human beings to a fully charged battery after a good night’s sleep. “Our batteries should be fully charged, and it’s up to us how we want to spend this energy,” he says. He reminisced about being a founding member of the Public Leadership Foundation (PLF), where responsibilities were allocated based on what provided members with energy. “For example, I’m not good with numbers but it energizes other people! So, they took that responsibility. The way we work, support and challenge one another should be done in an energizing way.”

P for Purpose:

“We all have a purpose in life. We just need to discover it – and the same goes for organizations.” By says that there is nothing wrong with making a profit. In fact, it is a necessity for organizations in the private sector. “We should acknowledge and adopt the power of profit AND purpose. Having a purpose beyond profit is a strength, not a weakness.” He adds that organizations can base recruitment, advancement and bonuses on such a purpose, a purpose which should “last for a minimum of 100 years and which is bigger than any new CEO.” Tables have been turned in the job interview setting, where candidates are now the ones asking hard-hitting questions on purpose. “They ask, ‘Why do we exist?’, ‘What are we doing to improve the environment?’, ‘What are we doing to improve diversity? Why should I work with you?’”

I for Identity:

By says that a lot of business schools take an approach of “being factories churning out people that are leaders who look and think the same”. “I don’t think it’s our place in business schools or in HR to tell people how to dress or which skills and characteristics we need to copy from some ‘great’ leader or another.” Instead, HR departments should facilitate people to become the best versions of themselves. Professor By suggests we forget about “transformational and transactional – yes, even servant leadership,” and focus on the production of Purpose, Alignment, and Commitment.

C for Courage:

“This is about the courage to be yourself and stand for your purpose and core values,” By says. He provides an example of a meeting when the topic of XYZ was being discussed. “You find yourself not knowing what is being discussed but everyone else – including those you later found out were as bewildered as yourself – are nodding along, nobody daring to ask questions because they’re scared of looking stupid.” It takes courage to ask, and it takes courage to support the first one asking if it isn’t you.

Ally is a glue word and is about working together with others towards delivering on a common purpose. “We don’t have to be like-minded or come from the same background, but we’re allied in the belief of purpose.”

Professor By hopes that the idea of everyone being EPICally MAD can be adapted into HR leadership development programs or employee induction programs in the future.

Leadership is a Collaborative Effort

The University of Stavanger and the Nordic Institute for Studies in Innovation, Research and Education (NIFU) were recently successful in their application for the UNESCO Chair on Leadership, Innovation and Anticipation.

“We are integrating the concept of future literacy in the chair under Anticipation. It’s about anticipating different futures knowing it is not set and that we all have a responsibility making it what it will be.”

In partnership with UNESCO, Professor By and the University of Stavanger, and NIFU hope this Chair can be used as a vehicle to work with a range of organizations in true partnership developing both leadership and leader development programs fit-for-purpose moving forward. The next stage of the project is to identify partners to design, run and test new leadership and leader development programs with. This project will also integrate the PAC model to help employees see the link between themselves and their organizations.

When asked about the biggest lesson from the pandemic, By says that we all play a role in our organizations and society. “Performing leadership isn’t going to be successful if we continue to perceive it as a task only for ‘special’ individuals. We must expand our horizon and acknowledge leadership as a collective process where we can only achieve our full potential as individuals, organizations and society together.”

May 31, 2021

Kathleen O. Mathisen, CHRO of Grieg Seafood: Anchoring Diversity & Inclusion in the Workplace

Diversity and inclusion (D&I) initiatives may have been paused due to the pandemic as companies went into survival mode. However, it is time for organizations to restart D&I efforts to reap benefits of a diverse and inclusive workforce. According to McKinsey & Company, the likelihood of diverse companies out-earning their competitors have only grown in the past five years.

Grieg Seafood, a multinational salmon farming company headquartered in Norway, has been a strong advocate for human rights and diversity in the workplace, in addition to sustainable fish farming practices. We speak with Kathleen O. Mathisen, CHRO and Internal Communication of Grieg Seafood, about the importance of D&I, closing the gender gap and what it means to be a HR leader today.

Diversity as a Core Focus Area

According to the Food & Agriculture Organization (FAO), fish catching is male dominated in most regions around the world. Offshore and deep fishing in ocean-going boats is delegated to male crews, while women work onshore carrying out skilled and time-consuming tasks such as processing and marketing catches.

Mathisen says more women are found in the support function in the seafood industry. “Many women didn’t want to go into [the seafood] industry years ago because it was hard work,” she says. However, advances in automation and technology have drawn more women to the industry. Laborious tasks are now automated and simplified at Grieg Seafood with technologically advanced control rooms.

Machine learning and AI has enabled remote feeding of fish which increases fish welfare and reduces fish waste. Digital farmers are now able to remotely feed seven million fish living in 12 farms, all from Grieg Seafood’s land-based operational center in Rogaland.

“The key here is to balance and minimize the gender gap without losing the core competence that you have,“ Mathisen says.

D&I as a Top-down Approach

Once a culture of inclusion is fostered at the level of an organization’s decision makers, it will eventually trickle down to the management team and the rest of the employees. Mathisen stresses that “it’s about making those long-term plans, it’s about being strategic, it’s about anchoring the decision to minimize the gender gap at the top.’‘

To start this process, Mathisen advises C-levels initiate a change of mindset and behavior. Management teams should look inward and analyze communication practices with their peers.

“Are we different? Or are do we always agree? If we always agree, that should be a big question mark!” With that said, leaders should not be afraid of addressing shortcomings in the diversity department. It’s a matter of being bold and transparent in sharing information with their peers and employees. This will instill trust and confidence that C-levels will follow through with D&I initiatives.

However, Mathisen is concerned that these initiatives are still at the drawing board and not fully implemented. ”It’s sad that we need to have those discussions – that gender balance is important, that diversity matters, because of course it matters!”

A Competence-based Hiring Policy

Grieg Seafood has a goal of increasing the percentage of female employees at Grieg Seafood to 40% by 2026. According to her, the 50/50 ratio of male to female employees should not be in the end goal, and is neither right nor wrong.

Additionally, Grieg Seafood has a gender-based hiring policy in place where the organization tries its utmost to have a man and a woman as the two final candidates for a position. However, Mathisen says that that’s not always the case. Shortlisted candidates may be two women or two men. This is because at the end of the day, Mathisen stands behind a competence-based hiring process.

”You shouldn’t be asking where people come from or [look at their] gender. You should look at competence, and that should be the final measurement when you’re recruiting people.”

Occasionally, Mathisen comes across a disruptive candidate that challenges the status quo of the role’s requirements, pushing the organization to remove their biases and ultimately revise the job criteria to be more inclusive. There is a number of benefits when it comes to hiring based on competence such as consistency in the hiring process, accurate predictions of future performance and lower turnover rate.

Creating a Culture for Sustainable Employability

As sustainability is one of Grieg Seafood’s main focus areas, it’s no surprise that it extends to the company culture as well. Mathisen says that having sustainable habits at the workplace stems from the employees themselves.

”It’s not a corporate initiative that starts at the top [that forces] people to [work and think in a sustainable way]. It comes from the people, and that has a totally different dynamic.”

In an employability context, sustainability carries a different meaning. The right conditions need to be in place to ensure employees are happy, healthy and motivated. Capable employees who are motivated and passionate about their jobs stay at their company three times longer, generating long-term ROI for an organization.

Mathisen reveals some of the ways Grieg Seafood creates an environment for sustainable employability:

Listen to your employees: Pulse surveys are used to collect feedback from employees on how the company is doing and what can be improved.
Provide training and development programs: Employees have access to a wide range of e-learning programs. Another pilot project has been taken on to provide more programs to employees so they can educate themselves.
Instill trust and flexibility: Employees are treated fairly according to their needs. A working culture that is rooted in trust and flexibility is key to unlock employee engagement and productivity.
Implement proper hybrid work policies and regulations: It is important to have planned meeting points, face-to-face onboarding sessions and revised insurance packages in the future.

“If you have a good culture, you don’t have to [spend] a lot of money on branding,” Mathisen says. She adds that companies with a “walk the talk” mentality will attract and retain the right talent.

“Young talent comes in all shapes and sizes. [People] will look for companies that have values they can identify themselves with.”

Mathisen says that the CHRO role has become broader in the post-pandemic era. Today’s HR leaders must focus on the future of work for their companies — finding new solutions, pushing innovative strategies and ensuring team members feel connected in a hybrid work environment.

May 19, 2021

Das sind die Geheimnisse guten Managements

Die Managementweisheit des letzten Jahrhunderts geht auf keinen Geringeren zurück als Jim March, den unlängst verstorbenen Vater der modernen Organisationslehre. Bereits in den 1950ern proklamierte er, dass langfristig erfolgreiche Unternehmen sich sowohl der Suche nach Neuem – vornehmlich durch Ausprobieren – als auch der Prozessoptimierung und Effizienzsteigerung des bestehenden Geschäftsmodells widmen müssen.

Dass zwischen beiden Ansätzen ein Spannungsfeld besteht, ist offensichtlich. Für das erste braucht es eine Kultur mit Kommunikation quer durch die Organisation, in der Mitarbeiter frei von Druck, Ängsten und kurzfristigen Gewinnzielen experimentieren können. Effizienz hingegen fordert maximale Spezialisierung und Reduktion unnötiger Kommunikation.

Lösungsvorschläge an Topmanager für das eine wie das andere gibt es zuhauf. „Agiles Management“ und „Empowerment“ in dezentralisierten Organisationen auf der einen Seite; klassische Hierarchien – also gestaffelte Systeme von Autoritäten – auf der anderen. Und passend dazu die Beispiele von Morning Star, Spotify und The Valve für die erste, Siemens oder GM für die zweite Herangehensweise.

Allerdings lassen sich beide Ansätze vereinen. Nestlé mit Nespresso, der „Guardian“ online oder die i3-Entwicklung bei BMW stehen hier Pate für aus der alten Organisation herausgelöste unternehmerische Subeinheiten, deren formale Struktur die der Restfirma in vielerlei Hinsicht spiegelt, die aber unabhängig an den CEO berichten und eigene Freiheitsgrade nutzen können.

Allein bei dem Transfer der Best Practices hapert es gewaltig. Große Konzerne mit gelebten Hierarchien tun sich schwer mit Freiheit für „Intrapreneurship“ und „Start-up Ecosysteme“ – so schön das auch alles klingt. Und Start-ups schaffen oft nicht den Absprung von der Teamkultur zur skalierbaren Organisation für Expansion.

Selbst wenn morgen alle bei Siemens Sneaker tragen würden und es nur noch Scrum Master statt Chefs gäbe, würde daraus nicht die Transformation des Dinosauriers, geschweige denn die Avantgarde-Unternehmung. Und der Gründer im Anzug versteht noch lange nicht, wie Konzernbürokratien ticken.

Konzernchefs wie Gründer müssen und sollen aber auch nicht nur stumpf wählen zwischen Hierarchie oder Polyarchie. Sie müssen genau überlegen, in welchen der drei Kerndomänen des Managens – Dirigieren, Disputresolution und Design – sie ihre Autorität selbst ausüben und in welchen sie in die Organisation delegieren wollen.

Dirigieren beinhaltet die Festlegung, wer was tun soll; Disputresolution die Frage, wie Konflikte zu lösen sind; und Design die Frage danach, wie Arbeitsteilung in der Organisation aussieht. Werden alle Rechte zentral wahrgenommen, wird Effizienz maximiert und Innovation minimiert. Werden alle Rechte dezentralisiert, ist es umgekehrt. Alle Mischformen sind hier denkbar und können maßgeschneidert entschieden werden.

So wird sich mancher Konzern schwertun, es von heute auf morgen seinen Mitarbeitern zu überlassen, wie Aufgabenstrukturen aussehen sollen. Selbstentscheidung für bestimmte Auf‧gaben hingegen mag das Management zulassen. Genauso wie die Konfliktlösung im Team.

Initiiert und begleitet werden muss dieser Prozess von der Führungsspitze. Je nach Delegationsgrad, den diese wählt, um die Annäherung von Effizienz und Innovation zu managen, ergeben sich für das Topmanagment-Team diametral unterschiedliche Anforderungen. Abflachen von Strukturen erfordert Befähigung sowie Empowerment zur Selbstorganisation. Beim Einführen von Hierarchien in Gründerkulturen muss Mitarbeitern die Angst vor negativer Bewertung und Kontrollverlust genommen werden.

Markus Reitzig ist Professor für strategisches Management an der Universität Wien. Thomas Sattelberger war Personalvorstand der Deutschen Telekom und ist Bundestagsabgeordneter der FDP. (Foto: Universität Wien; Imago)

Selten trifft man auf CEOs wie damals Jürgen Weber in der Sanierungs- und Privatisierungsphase der Lufthansa oder Anant Badatiya von der Stallion Group, die als Führungspersönlichkeiten jeden denkbaren Bilderbuchspagat instinktiv meistern; die in jeder Managementdomäne streng führen und genauso auch delegieren können.

Ein Grund dafür liegt darin, dass die Natur uns mit sogenannten Persönlichkeitseigenschaften ausstattet, an denen wir nichts Grundlegendes ändern können. Überoptimismus etwa scheint großteils angeboren, und lässt einen so veranlagten CEO einfacher risikoreiche Innovationsprojekte angehen als andere, mit gutem wie mit schlechtem Ausgang.

Aber auch das gelernte Verhalten spielt eine Rolle, und so ist es wesentlich, dass CEOs in unterschiedlichen Organisationen Erfahrungen gesammelt haben – kleinen und großen, agilen und starren, effizienten und disruptionsgeforderten, bevor sie Spagate im Transformationsprozess erstmalig voll verantworten.

Nach Managern mit solcher Erfahrungsvielfalt und passendem Persönlichkeitsmuster müssen Aufsichtsräte suchen. Nach Kandidaten, die denjenigen Spagat sicher schaffen, den das jeweilige Unternehmen braucht.

Geschrieben von Markus Reitzig, Thomas Sattelberger.

December 9, 2020

600Minutes Human Resources Highlights: How HR Support Leaders Through The Pandemic

Our recent Norway 600Minutes Human Resources virtual event revealed deep insights from top HR executives as they navigate the implications of COVID-19 alongside their C-level counterparts.

During the breakout sessions, CHROs communicated how the HR function “is now more clearly and centrally located in the organization, compared to before the pandemic, and has been essential in supporting leaders during this difficult period.”

THE POWER OF COMMUNICATION

As companies implement working from home to curb the coronavirus infections, leaders are facing communication problems even though there are resources and tools for easier collaboration.

The event participants expressed that there needs to be more active communication in the company.

An HR leader remarked that managers must ensure that information to employees is read, and not just sent out. “Use apps or other platforms instead of just email. Leaders should encourage dialogues with employees continuously, even with laid off employees.”

Other participants also agreed with the statement, with one conveying that leaders and employees should have regular contact with one another, and plan for walks or lunch together.

“Communication is a key factor for success,” stressed a top HR executive, who also mentioned that there should be a close collaboration between the HR and Communications teams to make necessary joint decisions.

Others chimed in, explaining that information packages from the Communications team, such as regulations, restrictions and recommendations, need to be clear, and sent out to employees to help them obtain important information.

One participant voiced out that any and all information must be communicated. “Even if there is nothing new to inform, inform about it.”

LOSING ‘CONTROL’

As companies temporarily close their offices or establish shift groups, some leaders are finding it harder to manage and oversee their teams due to distance working.

“Managers are insecure about their own and the team’s deliveries,” explained a participant. “They feel that they have lost ‘control’ over the team.”

From another point of view, the work-from-home situation empowers employees to be more independent and take accountability for their tasks.

An HR leader revealed that, “The team themselves have more control over their own work today, and manage themselves more.”

The other participants reiterated the sentiment, emphasizing on trust between managers and team members.

“Control-based management works poorly,” expressed a CHRO. “Trust-based management works better.”

“Trust the skills available in the organization,” declared another. “Dare to trust the decisions that are made, and stick to them without hesitation. This contributes to a strong trust foundation in the organization.”

An HR executive advised leaders that, “During times of uncertain future and challenges, the individual must reflect on how we can lead ourselves, not just our employees.”

FORMALIZE THE INFORMAL

A rising concern among those working from home is the increasing number of meetings, which have led to Zoom fatigue. Yet another worrying issue is the rise of informal meetings in non-work settings.

“It’s important to facilitate informal meeting places, not just the formal ones,” expressed a participant. Whether the meeting is held in the office or in a cafe, agreed meetings should be ‘to the point’ and agenda-focused.

A top executive disclosed that, “A method that is useful for many to find an informal meeting place is to establish ‘walk and talk’ as a principle.”

Leaders have to remember that all business-related meetings, regardless of its settings or formality in this new normal world, should still follow the same protocols as an official work discussion.

Discover more insights by joining our HR events in Denmark, Sweden, Germany, Switzerland, The Netherlands, Finland, and Norway.

MENTAL HEALTH

From feelings of anxiety to increased workload and higher pressure, the pandemic has brought many mental health impacts on workers and employees across the industries.

Among the topics discussed in the breakout sessions, mental health was one of the topmost concerns among the CHROs.

The event attendees believed that organizations should provide materials on how to work with mental health, and to accommodate individual needs.

For instance, an executive suggested that organizations “create a culture with openness about workload and pressure. This is so we can make adjustments when there’s a need, and when it’s difficult for the leader to have an overview of the situation.”

“But what are the boundaries of corporate responsibility for mental health?” one participant questioned.

While some companies have mental health as part of their corporate social responsibility, it’s still a difficult topic to bring up due to stereotypes of the illness.

One participant advised that, “Although it’s more efficient to work from home, you need to book some ‘free time’ as well.”

Thus, a number of the HR executives recommended a few steps for leaders to help reduce their team’s mental stress:

Make themselves available and set aside time for talks;
Create support communities and groups so that the team members don’t feel that they are alone;
Recommend apps with meditation or that helps with stress relief; and
Celebrate occasions and events together, such as birthdays.

To elaborate on the last recommended step, the HR leader explained that there should be “various virtual gatherings, such as virtual expert breakfasts, coffee breaks or lunches.”

Additionally, the leader commented that the gatherings should be held continuously, both unconditional and voluntary, but that mandatory sessions with a learning purpose, like workshops on various thematic areas, should also be arranged.

WORKING RESILIENTLY

The HR function is the backbone in every business concern, and with the outbreak not fading away any time soon, CHROs are standing together with their fellow C-suites to lead the organization with equal value for all employees.

Depending on the country the organization is located, HR executives have different rules and things of importance to keep in mind. But as mentioned by the HR participants, they are trying to keep track of everything and ensuring what’s best for the employees.

“As there are many uncertainties,” expressed a CHRO, “we need to continue to work with resilience.”

December 3, 2020

From B2B Networking To Partnerships: Benify’s Success With Management Events

Transitioning a prospective customer into a purchasing client is the most difficult yet rewarding part of a sales process, and Jenny Swartling Pizarro, the Head of Sales Large Enterprises Sweden at Benify, knows that the first step to building a strong business relationship starts with that all-important initial contact with a prospect.

Through the unique networking opportunities of Management Events’ 600Minutes HR events, Jenny can directly connect with top-level HR executives and other business leaders.

One such decision-maker whom Jenny engaged with is the HR Director of Lidl Sweden, a company that has since signed a deal with Benify to implement their solution in Sweden and the Netherlands.

Benify – A Global Benefits and Total Rewards Platform

Benify is an HR tech company that offers a global platform for benefits, total rewards, and employee communications with more than 1,500 customers and over 2 million users around the world.

Their solution helps employers create an exceptional benefits and rewards experience while reducing benefits administration, automating processes, radically improving the communication of their employee value proposition, and ensuring better data governance and management of benefit and reward costs.

Benify’s platform and employee app have reinvented the way modern employers engage with their employees, winning multiple awards such as the GOLD Stevie® Award for Global HR Solution Provider of the Year 2020 and the Bronze Stevie® Award for Achievement in HR Technology 2020.

The Initial Meet-Up

Jenny has represented Benify at the yearly 600Minutes HR events for approximately 6 years.

“At 600Minutes Leadership and HR in 2018,” Jenny recounts, “I had my first personal meeting with the HR Director of Lidl Sweden.”

Lidl Sweden is a food wholesaler, offering a range of Swedish and organic products with foreign delicacies and a varied range of goods for the whole home.

“It turned out that the director had read a report of ours on the benefits awareness gap,” Jenny continues, “so [the event] was a great place to start the conversation.”

“Lidl wanted to digitize their processes regarding employee benefits,” Jenny explains, “to make their benefits more transparent and accessible, as well as create opportunities to offer more benefits than they already did.”

She further elaborates that, “Their investment in a Benify platform was also part of a larger effort to make Lidl the best employer in their industry.”

Building The Relationship

The communication between Jenny and Lidl Sweden’s HR Director didn’t end at the event but continued to develop into a lasting business relationship.

“At 600Minutes Leadership and HR, we decided to book another meeting after the event,” Jenny relates, “which led to a pre-study and eventually a signed deal to implement our platform for Lidl’s more than 4,200 employees in Sweden.”

“After having happily used the Benify platform in Sweden for about a year, Lidl decided to also implement our solution for their 15,000 employees in the Netherlands.”

Relations between the two companies are going strong, and Jenny expresses that, “If [the Netherlands’ solution implementation] turns out as successful as the Swedish example, we are looking at a potential cooperation with Lidl across the entire Europe and the US.”

Business Growth With ME

As a 6-year-and-counting representative of Benify at the 600Minutes HR networking events held yearly by Management Events (ME), Jenny points out many benefits of the unique event concept.

“[The events] have given me opportunities to engage personally with HR directors and other relevant stakeholders from large enterprises that are otherwise difficult to get in touch with,” Jenny confides.

“The 15-minute meetings are very effective,” she declares. “Each representative specifies their interest areas beforehand, e.g. recruiting, employee benefits, or digitization, so you can prepare and focus on what you want to get across. It’s almost like B2B speed dating.”

Moving With The (Hard) Times

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Jenny says that an increasing number of employers are seeing the value of Benify’s product in these challenging times, and are ready to invest again.

“With many physical events canceled, we were happy to partake in the digital version of 600Minutes,” she conveys.

“The atmosphere in the meetings was relaxed as most people were participating from their own homes. You held the full attention of each representative and were able to share your screen. It was easy to establish personal contact and get a good conversation going. All in all, a very positive experience.”

An Arena Of Opportunities

Overall, Jenny believes that Management Events offers a great arena for solution providers to meet with relevant stakeholders.

“In several cases, the initial contact at 600Minutes has led to further meetings, where we have been able to present our solutions more in-depth, and then perform customized pre-studies that in turn have resulted in signed deals.”

November 13, 2020

New Times, New Journeys for Talent & HR Leadership

Empower_Growth_Through_Data-Driven_Customer_Experience

Innovation in HR has always been the key focus for organizations in discovering and adopting new solutions, improving workflow and productivity, and to innovate and excel. In today’s COVID-19 world, Maistering BV’s Chief Sales Officer (CSO) Venkat Iyer (Markets, Sectors & Domains) understands that innovation in the HR industry is needed now more than ever to remain efficient in these new times.

The Focus Of Innovation In New Times

The role of HR leaders has always been to be at the forefront of innovation. From innovating workflow processes to adopting intelligent solutions and creating a better employee experience, HR leaders are pivotal when it comes to innovation and business improvement.

However, the current crisis has pivoted the outlook for HR leaders, pushing them to adopt new approaches for workflow efficiencies in the shortest timeframes. Especially in today’s remote working conditions, businesses need to remain efficient and prioritize quality over quantity.

For Iyer, the key points of focus that HR leaders need to be aware of can be summed in three major points:

1. Promoting digitalization and increasing productivity by understanding how technology can improve the workflow of people in the organization.

2. Shifting from complicated processes to simple ideas. Simplicity in HR can also mean leveraging distributed intelligence from the employees and efficient use of AI solutions.

3. Engaging the external workforce in an agile and unprecedented way. As remote working becomes the norm, skills become readily available in the digital marketplace, and HR needs to adapt to tap this availability for business needs.

The shift towards new technology and digital platforms is a necessary shift for HR leaders. Despite traditionally focusing on innovating processes, employee experience, and talent identification, Iyer says that the “current situation has encouraged us to look at digital connections among employees, simplify processes, and leverage skills in a digital marketplace.”

Adapting To Change And Innovating In HR

In the ‘new normal’, HR leaders cannot rely on the traditional ways of managing organizations. While Iyer points out that HR leaders have been quick to “introduce and manage change consistently over the past years”, the current situation demands an environment that is more driven by technology.

“Adopt AI services and solutions, embrace the cloud, and live in the virtual employee realities by introducing digital methods,” notes Iyer.

As these are business priorities for organizations anyway, Iyer believes that leaders can adopt these new methods and ride the wave while still keeping past priorities in check.

Of course, leadership will play a key role in fostering innovation, and Iyer highlights how most HR leaders are addressing the challenges through a familiar process of “defining the problem, addressing the variables that make it complicated and agreeing on the best way forward.”

However, in these ‘never normal’ times, Iyer believes that HR leaders need to adjust and develop a new core capability: a simplicity mindset.

With HR now working around the clock, to be truly effective, Iyer mentions the need for leaders to embrace the mindset of collaboration and simplicity, foregoing the traditional linear thinking and embracing a collective intelligence where the organization is the team.

Prioritizing The Digital Transformation In HR

With the new challenges faced by HR leaders today, the journey towards organizational improvement has shifted towards digital transformation and solutions.

Iyer points out that for HR leaders to be at the top of their game in these new times, they need to embrace digital transformation and start new journeys in utilizing effective but simple tools to tackle complex and complicated problems.

The three key technologies that Iyer believes HR leaders should prioritize are:

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (AI)

Chatbots have been part of HR systems for quite some time, helping to answer employee queries. But it’s time to step up the game via managing change, tracking employee emotions to help with health, seamless collaboration and open information exchange, aligning to business goals and tracking KPIs, and creating an impact – AI can help vastly in all of these.

With services available today in many areas that embrace the digital workplace and workforce, HR leaders should step up on AI adoption.

CLOUD

Only a few years ago, companies were discussing the benefits of systems such as the cloud. Today, they have embraced it.

Cloud-based systems are being used more and more for a variety of reasons, and the same is true for HR platforms and solutions as well. The possibility of being able to manage and complete work through a digital platform has allowed employees not only to do the job much faster, but most importantly, it has allowed for significantly increased earnings.

The use of cloud-based platforms also brings about numerous benefits such as reduced costs, greater and easier access, predictability and availability, and better reach.

COMPLEMENTARY PLATFORMS

In addition to core HR platforms that companies have adopted, the need for additional services that complement these massive platforms, and how it can be quickly integrated and used become increasingly important.

Solutions that improve collaboration and ideations, connect to external workforces, match talent with availability, organize and orchestrate HR journeys, measure impact, and are more predictable are vital to companies.

Establishing A Culture of Innovation

Iyer emphasizes that HR leaders today need to adapt and learn new methods in cooperation with employees, business partners, and stakeholders to foster a modernized culture of innovation.

“How can you create and maintain a culture of innovation when almost all of your workforce is working from home?”

Facing these challenges should be at the center stage for HR leaders. For Iyer, it’s important to adapt to the digital workplace while still ensuring that innovation contributes to both the employee experience and business needs of the organization.

To do so, Iyer believes that the following 3 methods should be considered by HR leaders to cultivate the innovation mindset in today’s digital workplace:

Create new behaviors that reflect not just your company values, but also the current digital workplace style
Spawn global and virtual digital ideation sessions
Capture and share learnings and ideas openly

All of these can be achieved by having a digital platform that complements the existing HR solutions in the organization. New times call for new journeys for sure, but technology today can help to make those journeys magical.

Maistering BV understood this and created the unique platform Master Collections. It addresses this topic by providing leaders the ability to run magical business journeys with essence, beauty, and impact in a way that classical HRM systems simply cannot.

Innovating Towards The Future Game Changers

The changing workplace requirements have caused a major shift in all industries, and for Iyer, there are several game-changers that HR leaders need to prioritize to maintain innovation.

In essence, the three major game-changers that HR should focus on are:

Prioritizing Re-Learning and Re-Skilling: HR leaders should now focus on re-skilling their potential employees to make them efficient and equipped with the skill of multitasking. Learning & Development would take place in a new digital collaborative platform.

Quality over Quantity: Taskforce optimization, performance management, and talent identification will all focus on top talent and work, which also mean that hiring and role filling will be different.

External Workforce Management: The pandemic has also exposed a wide variety of available talent, which few have looked at – temporary workers, contractors, project-based hires, and deliverables-based work packages. This also necessitates the need to have systems that can adapt and accommodate externals quite easily and consolidate content and let them collaborate seamlessly with existing employees.

The path towards innovation has changed tremendously due to the pandemic. Businesses and organizations need to undertake new journeys for talent & HR leadership to achieve a culture of innovation. With their platform, Master Collections, Maistering hopes to navigate leaders and businesses into the new times with the right tools.

September 9, 2020

Organizational Crisis Management: 7 Surprising Ways HR Leads Through a Crisis

Organizational trends point to an increase in the “invisible structure”; culture networks, employee learning abilities, core values, and projected identity that aids in solving previously unforeseen problems. Human resources are the arm of the organization that builds this invisible structure.

HR typically functions as a bridge between management and other employees. Yet, this influential department is not often regarded as a business partner, playing a vital role in the organization’s day-to-day running, particularly during a crisis. HR’s responsibility is more than just managing administration and service contracts. The article below expounds that in times of crisis, HR can play a decisive role in safeguarding the company’s success, and as such, it is about time for the rest of C-Suite to bring HR to the decision-making table.

1. People First

Being the people-focused arm of an organization, CHROs must place the safety, culture, protection, and mental health of the employees at the forefront. According to a KPMG International survey, HR executives prioritize employee experience (EX) as their focal point. Pathfinding HR¹ organizations were almost three times more likely to “strongly agree” that employee experience is a strategic priority for the entire organization. Furthermore, when asked about organizational strategies in place as regards EX, 75% of Pathfinding HR organizations had a system in place to design an EX that reflects and supports the customer experience.

¹KPMG defines “Pathfinding HR” as a confident group of HR executives, simultaneously focused on four discrete capabilities to chart their course to the future in a disrupted world: shaping the workforce of the future, nurturing a purpose driven culture, and designing a “consumer grade” employee experience, all through the use of evidence-based insights.

– KPMG International

COVID-19 struck impromptu, hitting hard and affecting all levels of businesses. Suddenly, CHROs must focus on employees’ health and well-being over the potential for denial of access or financial loss. Executing workforce adjustments will prevent high attrition levels.

Crunched numbers determine the most optimum methods to prevent the company from being overwhelmed. Deciding employee teams, non-intermittent or rotational work and shifts in location (home or office), number of employees that can work together, those who cannot, and prolonged absences. C-Suite and upper management must prioritize additional insurance coverage specifically designed to protect and support their people, intellectual property, and premises in the event of a crisis.

2. Talent Management and Engagement

The past few years have taught us that business agility is vital to the future of work. With increasing digitalization, globalization, and the newer generation entering the labor force, the faster a company can evolve alongside shifting consumer and employee engagement trends, the better equipped they are to survive in the long run.

Chances are everyone who works for you is aware of at least one website or has an app that gently nudges them to change employers. And if you are like most business leaders, you work hard to give them reasons to stay with your company every single day willingly. In the latest PwC’s Human Resources Technology Survey, technology investments and their effectiveness were explored, with the views of 600 HR and HR information technology (IT) leaders on six continents collected.

58% of these HR professionals informed that they had issues utilizing technology to find, attract, and retain talent. Companies spend $310 per employee per year on HR tech, yet 74% of companies surveyed still plan to boost spending on HR tech in 2020 to focus on pressing talent needs.

During a pandemic, HR plays another significant role that most do not get to think about, one of which is ensuring that employee emergency contacts are up to date. CHROs also take the lead by providing all employees with appropriate outlets for emotional or financial support. Supplementary training offered to develop and retain the best talents.

3. Leading with Candor (Communication & Support)

The golden hours of a crisis are the period in which decision making is at the most critical. During this period, CHROs are looked upon to trigger resources to communicate and respond efficiently across the company, responding to employees’ questions and concerns. Other employees typically place high expectations on C-level executives such as yourself for strength, reassurance, and leadership in turbulent times. It is essential to keep your people sufficiently informed.

One of the most critical tools for any successful crisis management approach is implementing a practical communications framework and access to dedicated numbers to help businesses respond to new information as they are available. Examples are special groups and channels via Facebook, WhatsApp, Telegram, or similar messaging platforms.

Contrary to generally accepted organization data privacy and security laws, a key factor is to ensure the chosen platform is externally controlled, especially in the event of a cyber-attack that forces a section or company-wide network shutdown. This preset mode of communication might very well be the only way to communicate with teams safely.

While only a small number of companies use incentives (30%) and gamification (20%) to lift adoption rates, these two practices were rated the most successful methods to combat low adoption. The two most common strategies—training and leadership communication—while important, should be delivered alongside these other tactics that make using digital technologies more enjoyable, even fun.

4. Establish a Crisis Management Team

Despite a business’s best efforts, encountering a crisis may be inevitable for many. During the formative stage, CHROs as strategic planners can bring people together to form a crisis management team to formulate policies and guidelines. The team will propose potential outcomes and crises that might arise and develop multiple contingency plans based on such situations.

Such as communicating efficiently and effectively with customers, employees, the media, and all other stakeholders. It is critical for businesses with a strong social media presence; you cannot afford to stay silent during this period. Meticulously crafted, frank communications will be essential to maintaining your company’s reputation. The style of communication, honesty, and, when suitable, messaging on how your company is aiding an affected community and employees is vital. Lastly, develop a Business Continuity Plan, where the CMT is in charge of outlining strategies to overcome business disruption.

5. Encourage training and new skills acquisition

During a crisis, leaders often refer to past experiences and or a guidebook of sorts to aid their decision-making. However, there is no single playbook during this pandemic that managers can reference for accurate advice and responses on how to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic and its multiple disruptions across all business sectors. Since many HR leaders are accountable for guiding the overall workforce response to COVID-19, they must model a learning mentality and influence others to stay interested and open to learning.

In recent years, technology has dramatically automated the typical functions carried out by the HR department. Summarily, it became possible to activate online payroll transmission, record keeping, training, skill management, employment interviews, hiring, and compensations. HR professionals and employees alike must also flow with the current digitization trend, focusing on skill development.

HR takes the lead to develop and model an experimental culture and encourage other employees to “fail forward” to learn from tough choices quickly. This crisis can also be a chance for HR leaders who have labored in the past to create learning cultures in their organizations, as there may be less opposition to trial and error from performance-focused leaders.

6. Providing Data-Driven Views

There are no clear-cut answers or precedents in this pandemic. C-suite leaders expect CHROs to resolve problems such as rotating the workforce to work productively from home, keeping essential frontline workers safe, and managing large-scale virtual downsizing furloughs. All these while trying to protect health benefits.

To achieve this, CHROs, HR teams, managers, and business owners rely on various software, including an information system to assist, manage, and automate many of the administrative tasks to improve HR activities’ workflow.

According to the PwC’s Human Resources Technology Survey, HR leaders report robust business benefits from cloud-based HR systems that shape their technology portfolio’s core. 72% report having core HR applications in the cloud or are in the process of moving them. 56% from the KPMG International survey agree that preparing the workforce for Artificial Intelligence (AI) and related technologies is challenging. A further 66% (2 in 3 HR executives) believe that one of the ways CHROs can manage the impact of AI (and related technologies) on the workforce is to prioritize workforce upskilling. Particularly during a crisis when scale-downs or ramp-ups might be in order. HR can and should be providing a data-driven opinion to any actions.

7. Hastening the Future of Work

It is imperative to be aware that the crisis’s effects remain long after it has ended for employees, their families, organizations, and communities during recovery. At this stage, HR must have the necessary tools to educate employees and business leaders on identifying stress impacts and recommending they get help. Achievable by sending out memos or paving the way for intranet pages containing the necessary information about employee benefits and other employee-related policies and programs. Programs such as the Employee Assistance Program (EAP).

Remembering to look towards the future is a common challenge for CHRO leaders. Companies will benefit significantly from endorsing human-capital decisions that respond to the current crisis and future proof tomorrow.

The previous months of lockdown have seen most of the world’s workforce telecommuting from home. Consequently, revealing many cracks and opportunities in the current workforce policies. Fortunately, something good can come out of it. It is an excellent time to rethink the processes and accelerate the future of work — the flexible workplace, wider talent pool, training for remote work, concentrating on employee well-being, and redefining events for societal connections.

Conclusion

The pandemic has devastated businesses and workers alike, obliging CHROs at the epicenter to make tough choices regarding safety, downsizing, compensation, engagement, benefits, and business permanence. Most CHROs have switched to working from home full time for the first time. What with schools and daycare/kindergartens closed. Many employees with young children and dual-career families struggle with work-life integration.

HR’s responsibility is more than just managing administration and service contracts. In times of crisis, HR can play a decisive role in safeguarding a company’s success. They have to be bold and defensive in building effective, cohesive cultures of collaboration, insisting that employees prepare to deal with the unexpected and the challenges ahead, rather than merely refining skills from the past. It is not in the moment of crisis that HR should shine; it is before and afterward. Achievable by insisting the organization do the right things before the crisis hits.

March 14, 2020

Kan technologie HR menselijker maken?

In een tijdperk waarin technologie in alle aspecten van ons leven is doorgedrongen blijkt het binnen HR toch nog moeilijk om de volledige potentie van technologie te benutten. Vanuit de core HR systemen worden er steeds meer processen geautomatiseerd en soms zijn er zelfs hele moderne toepassingen, maar het blijft toch wat behelpen.

Het lijkt dat HR last blijft houden van een erfenis vanuit de tijd dat HR personeelszaken heette en vooral gericht was op de administratieve functies met betrekking tot het personeel.

Hoe kunnen we voorbij procesautomatisering denken? En is het mogelijk de medewerker centraal te stellen in de toepassing van technologie binnen het HR domein?

De effectiviteit van technologie wordt voor een groot deel bepaald door de intelligentie (kunstmatig of niet), gebruikte data en de gebruikerservaring of userexperience van de toepassing. Wanneer we de juiste mix vinden van die drie elementen kunnen we de beschikbare technologie echt gaan benutten.

Het voordeel is dat we binnen HR beschikken over veel data, misschien niet in elk bedrijf even veel en vaak minder dan we zouden willen. Maar toch, veel data. We weten heel veel van de medewerker en van zijn of haar tijd binnen onze organisatie. Als we dit combineren met een slimme manier om met die data om te gaan, kunnen we inschatten wat er bij de medewerker speelt. Zijn we vervolgens ook nog in staat om de medewerker te vragen wat zijn probleem of vraag is op een manier die aansluit bij hoe we inmiddels gewend zijn te communiceren dan begint het ergens op te lijken.

Vaak ligt achter een specifieke vraag van een medewerker een aantal procedures verscholen. In plaats van de medewerker te wijzen op de te volgen procedures, of nog erger, de medewerker zelf te laten bedenken welke procedures er van toepassing zijn kunnen we de medewerker helpen het probleem op te lossen.

Stel, een medewerker wil parttime werken. We weten dat de medewerker een leaseauto heeft, een opleiding volgt etc. Op de vraag ‘wat betekent het als ik parttime ga werken.’ Kan vervolgens vrij makkelijk op basis van data, arbeidsvoorwaardelijke en andere regelingen bepaald worden wat de effecten zijn voor de medewerker. Bijvoorbeeld een hogere eigen bijdrage voor de auto, het effect op bedrijfstijd die aan de studie besteed mag worden en de effecten op de verschillende arbeidsvoorwaarden. En dit alles zonder dat er verschillende gesprekken gevoerd moeten worden met verschillende HR medewerkers die voor deze onderdelen verantwoordelijk zijn. Op basis van deze kennis kan HR in gesprek gaan met de medewerker om te kijken naar zijn of haar wensen en meedenken over alternatieven. Misschien ligt achter de vraag om parttime werken wel een ander vraag, misschien is het maar tijdelijk en misschien kan het worden opgelost door verlof bij te kopen.

Zo kunnen we verschillende events in de employee journey bedenken die we kunnen herkennen en ondersteunen door middel van technologie en vervolgens in een volwassen en gelijkwaardig gesprek kunnen afhandelen. Dit geeft niet alleen een geweldige employee experience voor de medewerker, maar ook voor de HR medewerker die tenslotte ook liever problemen oplost dan procedures uitvoert. Door op deze manier te denken vanuit de medewerker, zijn we echt in staat om HR menselijker te maken door gebruik te maken van technologie.