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The Future of Work – What’s Next?

A ChapmanCG Global HR Leaders Forum in Frankfurt

Hosted by: SAP

We were delighted to host a ChapmanCG Global HR Leaders Roundtable in Frankfurt in partnership with SAP, an excellent opportunity for a diverse group of international HR leaders to learn from peers and share their experiences on “The Future of Work: What’s Next?”.

SAP’s Chief Future of Work Officer Dr. Christian Schmeichel kicked off the session by sharing the company’s holistic future of work agenda with its Pledge-to-flex approach for hybrid work in the post-pandemic era. He highlighted that in light of skills shortages and intense competition in the labour market, it is imperative for many organisations to get the next world of work “right” while acknowledging that the future of work goes far beyond flex work. In the end, it all comes down to creating a next-generation people function that can make the company “future-ready” – including talent and skills, but also new organisation models, culture and diversity – aiming at world-class business performance.

Kerstin Eiternick, HR Director at PepsiCo, shared her experiences and the programs in place at PepsiCo. While working remotely provides flexibility, the risk of isolation increases. To help mitigate the risks, PepsiCo entices team interactions by encouraging its employees to come together to create, collaborate, connect and celebrate. Employees are also encouraged to structure their days spent in the office to ensure colleagues meet up.

The discussions showed that the issues and ideas for solutions apply uniformly across companies, from small start-ups to big corporations and across industries. Some topics included the legal implications of flexible and remote work, such as the tax and insurance coverage when working from “anywhere”. The participants felt yesterday’s laws are not addressing today’s situation. They discussed ways to address the manifold issues to provide attractive and engaging solutions to the employees.

Flexibility to employees who don’t benefit from the usual “flex benefits”, particularly blue-collar employees, e.g. in trade, transport and production, was also a topic of discussion. Some suggestions included flexible shifts, resting/sleeping pods and wellness facilities for manufacturing site workers.

We were pleased to see the intense engagement from all HR leaders present; the exchange of visions and ideas was incredibly inspiring. We look forward to hosting more opportunities for thought leadership and best practice sharing for our HR community in Germany and Europe in the coming months.

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Key Contributors:

Orelia Chan
Orelia Chan

Director

Consulting Team
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Orelia Chan
Consulting Team

Orelia Chan

Director

Orelia Chan is a Director at ChapmanCG based in Düsseldorf, Germany.

She is part of our EMEA team to deliver regional and global searches for ChapmanCG’s clients across a range of industries and HR specialisations.

With more than 12 years’ experience in the recruitment industry, she was previously a Financial Services specialist with Profile Search & Search in Singapore, and Pure Search and Robert Walters in Singapore and Hong Kong. Prior to her recruitment career, Orelia worked at Bloomberg LP in Hong Kong as a Client Services and Analytics Representative.

Orelia is originally from Hong Kong and has had an international career based in USA, Singapore, and Germany. Outside of work Orelia enjoys spending time with her family, cooking, watching football, exercising, and travelling.

Rene Rosso
René Rosso

Managing Director

Consulting Team
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Rene Rosso
Consulting Team

René Rosso

Managing Director

René Rosso is a Managing Director at ChapmanCG based in Germany, leading the ChapmanCG consulting team and offering in the region. His focus is on senior and executive search mandates while partnering with local and global clients across DACH, EMEA and globally.

René has more than 15 years experience and knowledge in the recruitment industry, having spent the last 10 years focusing on HR positions across sectors. Prior to joining ChapmanCG René helped set up and launch three recruitment agencies in Germany, including Robert Walters and Frazer Jones where he also led the German business as Managing Director and Partner.

René studied political sciences, Anglo-American history and English and holds a diploma in Information Economics from the University of Applied Sciences in Cologne. Before moving into the recruitment business in 2006, René worked in the media sector as an information specialist, including RTL, one of Europe’s biggest broadcasting companies.

René, who supports Borussia Mönchengladbach, enjoys quality time with family and friends, going to concerts and loves being outside going on hikes or competing in his local triathlon club.

Frieder Rummel
Frieder Rummel

Executive Advisor

Executive Advisor
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Frieder Rummel
Executive Advisor

Frieder Rummel

Executive Advisor

Frieder Rummel is an Executive Advisor for EMEA with ChapmanCG based in Vienna, Austria. He supports the EMEA team to build relationships with CHROs and global HR leaders in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, with a primary focus on Germany, Austria and Switzerland.

Frieder also works as a leadership consultant and coach, and he leads assessment and talent projects for ChapmanCG. His experience involves decades of intense corporate work, including 18 years with Procter & Gamble, 12 years with Allianz and three years with Hershey’s.

Frieder has worked in Germany and Austria and, most recently, spent eight years in Asia. The focus of his work has been on Human Resources, but he has also spent time as a Managing Director and Head of IT, as well as acting as a company spokesperson. His last corporate role before joining ChapmanCG was as Senior Director, Human Resources, Asia, Europe, Middle East and Africa for the Hershey Company.

Frieder is originally from Germany and holds a Master’s degree in Mathematics from Philipps University Marburg and a Doctorate in Mathematics from Technical University Darmstadt. He speaks both German and English fluently. In his spare time, Frieder enjoys nature and culture and has completed more than a dozen full marathons, with half a dozen in tropical climates.