(Photo: Vector Informatik Martin Dietenmeier)
Cologne To more professional training in a hurry – the sensor manufacturer Sick AG takes this quite literally. Because although the new training center in Waldkirch, Baden-Württemberg, is only a short walk away from the company headquarters, Sick provides a shuttle service. The range of courses, including the chauffeur option, is well used. 3000 further training courses have been completed since December 2021, the almost 30 training rooms are fully booked for twelve months.
Sick not only upgrades the workplaces with the state-of-the-art academy. Six months ago, production moved from the Reute location to a larger hall in Freiburg-Hochdorf. And for this month, the groundbreaking ceremony for a new office building in Waldkirch is on the agenda.
“The rooms can be adapted to the needs of our employees and teams,” says Nicole Kurek, Board Member for People & Culture at Sick. “Retreats and space to think are planned as well as open, designable areas.” Her basic idea in all of this: “A good employer creates a harmony between people, corporate culture and the place of work.”
This obviously goes down well with the team. At this year’s “Great Place to Work” competition, Sick took third place in the category for companies with more than 5,000 employees. Only Adesso and Allianz did better.
The fact that Kurek took over the position as top HR manager with the “Culture” grade in July 2022 also indicates the fundamental change in human resources. Because the field of specialists for human resources (HR) is growing beyond the former main tasks of recruiting and personnel planning. In times of a shortage of skilled workers, HR work is becoming increasingly important.
“The central task is to listen to what employees need for successful and healthy work and to agree on what can be implemented,” says Frank Hauser, Managing Director at “Great Place to Work”. Developing the corporate culture further, introducing new forms of work – that’s also on Nicole Kurek’s to-do list.
The HR specialists at the Munich IT service provider Metafinanz Informationssysteme also recognize a changed role model. “Much more than before, it’s about putting yourself in the situation of the employees and developing new working models for them,” says HR manager Ruth Nuber. “It is important for employees: How do I experience working together, how do I experience the organization?” Metafinanz managed to win the competition among companies with up to 2000 employees.
Health is a priority
The pandemic has sharpened HR managers’ awareness of sensitivities. 72 percent of them pay more attention to the “employee experience” than before Corona. This was the result of a study by the market research platform Qualtrics.
Ruth Nuber at Metafinanz has observed that candidates are currently frequently asking about offers for employee health. The company responds to this and in the summer trained 15 employees in twelve hours each to become contact persons for employees with mental problems – a kind of mental health first aider.
>> Read here: Several EU countries are testing the four-day week
The well-being of one’s own strengths is also the focus of the HR measures of the Stuttgart-based software provider Vector. Amenities include, for example, a shower for bike commuters, ergonomics advice and a canteen managed by the Baiersbronn luxury hotel Traube Tonbach, which has two Michelin-star restaurants.
However, HR manager Marcell Amann emphasizes that such benefits are only the second step in successful HR work. “We need the best of the best in software development here,” he says. But you don’t lure the candidates with benefits alone. “More important is a lived culture of togetherness in an agile, low-hierarchy structure.” That’s why the management invites you to an informal drink every Friday. Doors are also open to everyone on the executive floor, says Amann. Duen is mandatory in the entire company.
Amann started at Vector as a recruiter in 2001. Today he is supported by four colleagues who dedicate themselves exclusively to this task. Because so many IT workers are missing in Germany, his job has also changed. “It has become more important for us to make our own company known,” says Amann.
IT professionals top the list of the most sought-after target groups for recruiters. In a study by the German Association for Personnel Management, 69 percent of the HR managers surveyed see IT experts at the top. 46 percent pay special attention to financial experts and controllers, 38 percent to engineers.
In this competition in the region, Vector is in direct competition with traditional brands such as Porsche, Mercedes and Bosch. Nevertheless, his company can assert itself when it comes to recruiting the experts. “Specialists like to come to us because we work on exciting, future-oriented topics and respond to the needs of the candidates,” says Amann. The image of candidates who can be happy to have landed a job no longer exists. “HR and candidates are on an equal footing. Arrogance would be toxic,” says Amann.
More: How realistic is the abolition of the 40-hour week?