Allianz, Farfetch, Daimler, EA share their experiences
This year’s Rethink! HR Tech and Tech Rec in Berlin featured some extremely informative and interactive presentations and workshops on HR technology. Most of the 150+ HR pros in attendance thought the two-day event was an intense learning experience. HR & talent acquisition leaders from some of Europe's most innovative companies came together to share their experiences.
Conference topics included HR Tech, agile change management, digital transformation, AI, and metrics & analytics.
Allianz
During an interesting panel discussion called How HR technology is transforming Employee Experience, Mattias Balint of Allianz SE asked the question, "How many of you have read the user manual for your smartphone?" No one in the audience raised their hands. He went on to say, "Why can't HR be the same, so everyone can understand it?" At Allianz, they view their employees as consumers and are trying to simplify their processes, redesigning their HR systems to be more intuitive.
On the same panel, Burak Bakkaloglu from Ericsson began by stating that as consumers we are used to having great user experiences with applications. This, however, is not the case for the employee user experience. To facilitate this says Bakkaloglu, a user experience designer should be a member of every HR team.
Farfetch
The Farfetch case study was about finding and hiring tech talent for a rapidly growing company. Ana Isabel Sousa, Farfetch’s Global People Strategy Director, discussed the exciting changes in Portugal's tech talent scene. She also explained Farfetch's interesting journey and how they've revolutionized the online luxury fashion industry. In addition, she touched on the challenges of being a company that experienced rapid growth, now with over 3000 employees, and listed on the NYSE. She explained that their HR department does not separate HR and TA and spoke about the creation of the company’s core values and their growing pains. If someone on her team says "We've always done it this way," it's the wrong answer.
Daimler
Daimler's Dr. Anna-Maria Karl spoke about how they are attracting top talent using a mixed strategy of social media, their website, and traditional channels. They also conduct virtual job fairs to help attract international talent. Daimler is looking for "future leaders who push boundaries," who are performance driven, have a"pioneering spirit," and a persuasive personality. But to Dr. Karl one of the most important qualifications is to be "open-minded by studies or background." She prefers candidates with a "broad education" and sees creativity as “very important."
EA
At EA they are embracing HR technology to the max. Joe Burridge went through the company’s sourcing process which includes a combination of recruitment technology such as Entello, LinkedIn Enterprise, and their website. For website content, EA sources content from current employees, so photos and tips are coming directly from the local talent. Their process often includes getting the hiring managers involved from the beginning which brings about a huge jump in response rates from candidates - 65% vs 45% when simply using LinkedIn. Once the interview is set, EA has an exciting new tool for candidates in a mobile app that provides all necessary info for the interview process. After hiring, EA also has an onboarding app for new employees.
The English Quiz’s team also walked away from Berlin with innovative ideas and interesting contacts. Looking forward to the next event!