Tandemploy means “think big” – and this also applies to our definition of skills:
”Skill is the infinite potential of people in an organization. It is everything people bring with them and want to contribute.”
(The sky’s the limit and so on.)
When is a skill a skill
If you want to work with skills, the definition should be a bit more specific. Because not only the HR department has clear criteria and classifications, our skill matching software also follows a system that identifies and classifies skills. And: If we want to discuss skills that companies urgently need now and in the future, we need to be clear about what we are talking about. Read more
https://www.tandemploy.com/en/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2020/05/IMG_2841-scaled.jpg14402560redaktionhttps://www.tandemploy.com/en/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2020/03/Logo-Tandemploy-Distance-Corona-300x65.pngredaktion2020-05-28 07:30:342020-05-28 07:30:34Knowledge, competence, talent - what counts in the end: liquid skills!
In our series “Employee Experience” we will highlight all critical touchpoints of the “Employee Journey”. Today: Professional and personal development
“Why Men Don’t Listen and Women Can’t Read Maps”, was the title of a successful guidebook published in the year 1998. And even today, people from the entertainment industry fill huge venues with their stories about shoe-buying women and taciturn men. How simple would the world be if we could just label and categorize everyone. But let’s be honest: it would also be a pretty boring world.
Hence: Cheers to diversity! – Many companies would even sign on to that now – at least if a press representative is nearby. The topic of “diversity” clearly shows the difference between employer branding – meaning how companies would like it to be – and the employee experience – meaning how employees actually experience their work environment. Designing a good employee experience (unlike branding) requires that companies, and especially the people in talent management, really know and understand the individual skills, wishes and needs of their colleagues. Making new experiences and encounters possible, when they are needed and desired, replaces classic career development based on the “Design & Deliver” principle.Read more
https://www.tandemploy.com/en/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2020/05/3CFCECFB-13F8-4AAC-B43A-40FA093D5CA8-scaled-e1588597753330.jpeg451800redaktionhttps://www.tandemploy.com/en/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2020/03/Logo-Tandemploy-Distance-Corona-300x65.pngredaktion2020-05-08 09:00:352020-05-12 22:06:34X or exit: Three radical theses on the employee experience - and how it can be done differently and better
Social Distancing has been around longer than Corona. In many companies “keeping a distance” is part of the company culture. What social isolation does to people is now increasingly being highlighted by Covid-19 and it’s consequences. Finally, you might want to say! Because being cut off from other people can be just as harmful for the individual as for the organization as a whole. If you don’t feel a connection to your colleagues or to the company, you may be able to “check off” your to-do list reasonably well, but feel little motivation to contribute ideas and get creative in finding the best solutions that will benefit the organization. A Gallup study has shown, that employees who have a friend or close connection to other coworkers in the company, are 7 times more likely to be invested in the company, than people who feel lonely on the job.
But what does “lonely” mean in the work context? Is everyone that is assigned to a small, closed-off department and sits in an individual office processing excel spreadsheets automatically lonely? Of course not. Loneliness is a feeling that manifests itself very differently and under very different circumstances for many different people. In the work context it is often the result of a lack of permissions, possibilities, and channels for contact with others. And consequently a result of structures, that – consciously or not – lead to social isolation. One could say, that rigid hierarchies and department boundaries have, in many instances, lead to a company culture of social distancing.Read more
https://www.tandemploy.com/en/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2020/05/IMG_2686-scaled-e1588593500744.jpg450800redaktionhttps://www.tandemploy.com/en/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2020/03/Logo-Tandemploy-Distance-Corona-300x65.pngredaktion2020-05-04 14:06:032020-05-12 22:06:47Social Distancing as company culture? - Move closer together, now more than ever!
In our series “Employee Experience” we will highlight all critical touchpoints of the “Employee Journey”. Today: Onboarding.
It’s 2008, on a plane to London. On board: an aspiring intern with butterflies in her stomach. Huge anticipation, because getting the position was not easy. She’s really looking forward to giving it her all. The sky’s the limit and so on.
When she finally pushes through the narrow glass door to the offices in the City of London, huge backpack on her back – sweaty but happy – ready for more warmth, a bit of glitter and confetti….nothing happens. Instead of a warm welcome, as the previous email correspondence had led her to expect, her contact person doesn’t even get up from his chair. He is kind of in the middle of something.
She is left standing there and doesn’t know what to do with herself. There is no desk for her. The rom-com she had envisioned in her head of the intern from Berlin that turns the London PR world upside-down is showing first signs of turning into a tragedy.
Will it really turn out to be this terrible?Read more
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Employee Experience begins with empathy. If a company’s talent managers really want to understand what experiences people make in the course of their professional life, they have to try putting themselves in their position as best as possible. To feel what they feel. To understand their needs. Only then can they design products that create positive experiences in connection with working in the company.
Wait a second, “Products”?? But employees aren’t customers! Or are they? Read more
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I am in my mid 30s and therefore do not, by definition, belong to the so-called Digital Natives. But even though, digital tools are a natural part of my day. Half of my life is on Trello, I write about topics revolving around the digital transformation and I work remotely with different constellations of people and with a wide variety of sharing tools. I consider myself to be one of the “young and wild”, the digital heads and the like – and then I sit on the metro amongst a group of 12-year-olds and think to myself: I don’t have a clue what they are talking about. ‘Have you seen Lisa’s meme on TikTok – so f*#$% LIT!’ While I inconspicuously search for “Tick Tock” on Ecosia, I catch myself thinking ‘When I was your age, I was playing football outside with my friends, instead of wasting so much time on a smartphone.’
I had always sworn to myself never to say things like “When I was your age…”. Suddenly I feel very old. Not even 20 years separate me from these youngsters. Fifty years separate them from my parents, of which one is still working. I ask myself: How can people, that have been socialized in two completely different worlds, work together? In one company? Towards a common goal?Read more
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Remember May 2018? That was the month the expansion of the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) was enacted. Months in advance people were up in arms about what this new regulation would mean for software vendors and email marketing (newsletters). Well, and then May came and went and, surprisingly, life continued in a normal and unexcited manner. Wouldn’t it be great if we could maintain that level of normalcy and calm, while engaging in an even more extensive discussion about data that has the potential to radically change the way we work and live? Let’s dive right in. Read more
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2020 could be the year in which we consistently start using good data to facilitate good work flows. Good, in the sense of “good for everyone” – for companies and their goals, for employees and for society as a whole. But also for the sake of planetary resources. Because a resource-conserving lifestyle is closely related to a working world that allows for the freedom to engage in a responsible and conscience lifestyle outside of work.
How can this be successful?
The simple answer might be: through digitalization. If machines took over more jobs and human work could be automated, then everyone would have more time, right?
Unfortunately, it isn’t quite as simple as that. Read more
https://www.tandemploy.com/en/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2019/12/201912tp-bigideas2020-quer-e1576762249850.png450800redaktionhttps://www.tandemploy.com/en/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2020/03/Logo-Tandemploy-Distance-Corona-300x65.pngredaktion2019-12-19 15:09:062020-05-15 12:28:42#BigIdeas2020: Forget the hype around "Big Data" - from now on let's build a hype around "Good Data"!
In the summer of 2019, we asked 100 people with and without management responsibility to answer the following questions: How well does knowledge transfer work in your company? What sources do you and your employees use to inform you? How well do you know your colleagues? And would you like to learn more from them? We were particularly interested in whether there were differences between employees with and without management responsibility.
https://www.tandemploy.com/en/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2019/11/tp-wissenstransfer-en.png9001600redaktionhttps://www.tandemploy.com/en/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2020/03/Logo-Tandemploy-Distance-Corona-300x65.pngredaktion2019-11-01 12:04:052020-01-10 15:13:55Study on knowlegde transfer in companies: Employees want to - but are prevented from doing so by structures
(Employee Communities – Part 2. Get prepared by reading Part 1 here.)
Innovation comes from the community – this was the experience of the Danish company Lego in the late 1990s. Today, 20 years later, we are all naturally active in communities – in social networks, for example. In coworking spaces, good community management has long been regarded as one of the strongest quality criteria. People with digital mindsets are community minded; they think openly and networked oriented.
And what about companies?
If they want to win these people over, they should do the same and rely on networking! By allowing, enabling and – even better – actively promoting the development of employee communities, they open up completely new opportunities for internal interaction, knowledge transfer, and recruiting. Read more
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Denmark, 1998. Lego Mindstorms, a series of customizable and hardware-controllable robots, hits the market. It doesn’t take long for the first adult Lego fans to hack the software and start customizing the robots to their liking. The results are presented on users’ own websites and forums. Lego has two options:
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Learning Out Loud: “If you want to learn something, start teaching it!” – Interview with Ellen Herschel of the Edutrainment Company
Ellen Herschel is a Key Account Manager and Learning Experience Designer at Edutrainment Company GmbH. Together with her colleagues, she designs learning solutions for companies. The aim: to enable employees to implement what they have learned from their everyday work and to keep their desire to learn high. In an interview, she explains how this is achieved, how employees learn in a networked way, and how managers create a good learning environment. Read more
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There are two groups that companies probably know pretty well:
their customers
their competition.
Because they pay a lot of attention to both right from the start: target group analysis, sales pitches, customer journey, competitor analysis, tracking, clustering… and so on. The idea behind it: the product must fit 100%! Then we’ll be successful – and better than the competition.
This thinking certainly has its justification. In 1980. Today, it’s outdated. Read more
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The Blackbird Collective from Berlin helps startups and medium-sized companies hire the right people. Blackbird was founded in 2015 by Artur Kos. Since then, the Blackbird Collective has grown to 9 employees, who all work 4 days (or fewer) a week, regardless of location and with fixed contracts. We talked with Artur about this special arrangement, new life and work models, and Blackbird’s vision.
https://www.tandemploy.com/en/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2019/07/201905Artur-Kos.jpg449800Alicia Metzhttps://www.tandemploy.com/en/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2020/03/Logo-Tandemploy-Distance-Corona-300x65.pngAlicia Metz2019-07-22 21:30:332019-07-22 21:30:33„You don't need to make work your life to do a great job.“ - Interview with Artur Kos from the Blackbird Collective
People network all the time: getting advice in online forums, communicating with friends in chats, and sharing information that they find relevant on social networks. At the same time, companies still find networking a hard nut to crack. It’s a shame, because everything they need on the path to become networked organizations is clearly already there: people who know how to network (even if they would not call it that in a private context) and who like to do it – but only if doing so makes sense to them. So, what can companies do to initiate the internal exchange urgently needed to produce innovative solutions? Read more
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A recent study by management researchers Julian Kawohl and Jonas Wieland from the University of Applied Sciences (HTW) Berlin concludes that 64 of the 80 largest medium-sized companies lack digital experience among top management. The scientists examined the lives of almost all managers of the 80 largest German medium-sized companies, including companies such as Rewe, Bosch, Heraeus and Boehringer Ingelheim.
The study thus provides a starting point for active knowledge transfer in a company in two ways: Read more
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Sebastian Kolberg is the Change Manager for Digital Transformation at Bayer AG. In this role he supports people and teams to journey together and shape digital transformation. As a #ChangeAgent, he is particularly interested in promoting collaborations, establishing trusting networks and jointly challenging the status quo with a view toward the customer. Good reasons to introduce him here.
https://www.tandemploy.com/en/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2019/06/201904Sebastian-Kolberg1-1.jpg450800Alicia Metzhttps://www.tandemploy.com/en/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2020/03/Logo-Tandemploy-Distance-Corona-300x65.pngAlicia Metz2019-04-24 06:52:232019-06-07 16:41:09#ChangeAgent Sebastian Kolberg – Change through collaboration and trust
Agility, knowledge exchange, silo teardown, cultural change, networking: these are some of the major topics in these times of digital change. So it seems natural that we’d find the movement around Working Out Loud (named after the eponymous book by John Stepper) very exciting. But what is this “loud work” anyway? And what exactly does the method have to do with flexibilization, digitization and the dismantling of silos? How can Working Out Loud be implemented? And what does it do in organizations?
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The world is becoming more complex every day, and organizations are facing the challenge of responding smartly. In particular, the banking industry is strongly affected by change and urgently needs to reorient and innovate. While many banks in Germany appear uncertain and are on the decline, Hamburger Sparkasse relies on good networking and is thus definitely one of the pioneers in the banking industry. With the introduction of the internal Tandemploy software as an internal networking platform (christened “FlexWorkz”), they show how flexibilization and networking can look in a modern working environment. They use Tandemploy software to better network all employees and pave the way for new modes of working. Within HASPA, employees can now easily find job sharing, knowledge sharing (expert knowledge and career tips), reverse mentoring and lunch dating. We talked with Dr. Elisabeth Keßeböhmer (Head of Human Resources) and Nicole Vogler (HR Manager & Project Manager for Tandemploy SaaS at HASPA) about the great importance of networking in the context of digital transformation, their tool “FlexWorkz,” and their first success stories.
https://www.tandemploy.com/en/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2019/06/201904Nicole_Elisabeth_HASPA.jpg450800Alicia Metzhttps://www.tandemploy.com/en/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2020/03/Logo-Tandemploy-Distance-Corona-300x65.pngAlicia Metz2019-04-15 16:34:312019-06-07 16:37:16“Silo-free work at eye level” – HASPA relies on networking
Ninia “LaGrande” Binias (* 1983) lives and works in Hannover. She writes for various media, hosts events and acts as a slam poet. She moderates her own TV and podcast formats and is a regular guest at cabaret and comedy shows. She also writes columns and articles for various newspapers, magazines and online portals, including RND (RedaktionsNetzwerk Deutschland), Missy Magazine, and leidmedien.de. Additionally, Ninia moderates congresses, events, festivals and numerous other formats live or in front of the camera. She is the managing director of the Büro für Popkultur GmbH (Department for Pop Culture), which was honored in 2017 as the “Creative Pilot of Germany.” She volunteers as the chair of the the Advisory Board on how to promote Hannover to become Capital of Culture 2025. Ninia is also an active feminist and has been working for inclusion for many years. All good reasons to talk with Ninia about diversity in the world of work. Read more
https://www.tandemploy.com/en/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2019/06/201904NiniaLaGrande_03-2019-002-1.jpg450800Alicia Metzhttps://www.tandemploy.com/en/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2020/03/Logo-Tandemploy-Distance-Corona-300x65.pngAlicia Metz2019-04-09 06:28:242019-06-07 16:41:29#diversitymatters – “Much more has to happen here.” Interview with Ninia LaGrande
We live in a networked world in which everything is interconnected. We have unlimited opportunities to connect with people around the globe, to find like-minded people and an expert for everything. Professional cross-company networks such as Linkedin allow us to make contacts around the world, around the clock. Why are we still so badly networked within companies? And how can internal organizational silos be reduced? Here’s why networking is the key to almost all processes of digital transformation, and what we should all do more of to improve our careers:
https://www.tandemploy.com/en/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2019/06/201904Matching.jpg450800Alicia Metzhttps://www.tandemploy.com/en/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2020/03/Logo-Tandemploy-Distance-Corona-300x65.pngAlicia Metz2019-04-08 16:49:242019-06-07 16:56:53It’s a Match – Why We Need More “Tinder” at Work
New Work is definitely a buzzword of our time. It shows up in very different contexts. Sometimes it’s about technology, sometimes about the free choice of workplace and time, and almost always about digital transformation. But how does this change our world of work? And what can New Work do for companies? We clear up the myths and provide short and concrete answers to the question: What does New Work mean exactly? Read more
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Job sharing is a flexible work-time model in which two or more employees share at least one full-time position. They work very closely together as a team and together determine their working hours and tasks for themselves. But how exactly is this different from part time? What variations are available and for which industries is the model suitable? We have summarized the key job sharing facts, how you can apply as a tandem, and which first steps are important. Read more
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Today, all organizations are intensely occupied with digital transformation occupying to at least some degree, and one may assume that it has thus already reached all company areas. However, this is not the case: the debate about digital transformation and New Work is almost exclusively conducted from the perspective of white-collar employees. But what about production areas? Where does this leave blue-collar employees? Are they not also affected by the change – maybe even more than desk and knowledge workers? And doesn’t digital transformation offer the chance to completely redesign and shape the world of work and jobs (new collar!)?
https://www.tandemploy.com/en/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2019/06/201903NewCollar.jpg450800Alicia Metzhttps://www.tandemploy.com/en/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2020/03/Logo-Tandemploy-Distance-Corona-300x65.pngAlicia Metz2019-03-12 17:01:522019-06-07 17:07:57New Collar – Working together with all employees to shape digital transformation
In this time of social media platforms, a new term comes up every now and then: flash organizations. Very briefly, flash organizations are temporary companies that can be used to quickly and effectively implement complex projects. To do this, optimal teams with the right skills are put together within a very short time. Sounds exciting. It’s reason enough to take a closer look at the “flash organization” model.
Knowledge, competence, talent – what counts in the end: liquid skills!
So what are skills?
Tandemploy means “think big” – and this also applies to our definition of skills:
(The sky’s the limit and so on.)
When is a skill a skill
If you want to work with skills, the definition should be a bit more specific. Because not only the HR department has clear criteria and classifications, our skill matching software also follows a system that identifies and classifies skills. And: If we want to discuss skills that companies urgently need now and in the future, we need to be clear about what we are talking about. Read more
X or exit: Three radical theses on the employee experience – and how it can be done differently and better
In our series “Employee Experience” we will highlight all critical touchpoints of the “Employee Journey”. Today: Professional and personal development
“Why Men Don’t Listen and Women Can’t Read Maps”, was the title of a successful guidebook published in the year 1998. And even today, people from the entertainment industry fill huge venues with their stories about shoe-buying women and taciturn men. How simple would the world be if we could just label and categorize everyone. But let’s be honest: it would also be a pretty boring world.
Hence: Cheers to diversity! – Many companies would even sign on to that now – at least if a press representative is nearby. The topic of “diversity” clearly shows the difference between employer branding – meaning how companies would like it to be – and the employee experience – meaning how employees actually experience their work environment. Designing a good employee experience (unlike branding) requires that companies, and especially the people in talent management, really know and understand the individual skills, wishes and needs of their colleagues. Making new experiences and encounters possible, when they are needed and desired, replaces classic career development based on the “Design & Deliver” principle. Read more
Social Distancing as company culture? – Move closer together, now more than ever!
Social Distancing has been around longer than Corona. In many companies “keeping a distance” is part of the company culture. What social isolation does to people is now increasingly being highlighted by Covid-19 and it’s consequences. Finally, you might want to say! Because being cut off from other people can be just as harmful for the individual as for the organization as a whole. If you don’t feel a connection to your colleagues or to the company, you may be able to “check off” your to-do list reasonably well, but feel little motivation to contribute ideas and get creative in finding the best solutions that will benefit the organization. A Gallup study has shown, that employees who have a friend or close connection to other coworkers in the company, are 7 times more likely to be invested in the company, than people who feel lonely on the job.
But what does “lonely” mean in the work context? Is everyone that is assigned to a small, closed-off department and sits in an individual office processing excel spreadsheets automatically lonely? Of course not. Loneliness is a feeling that manifests itself very differently and under very different circumstances for many different people. In the work context it is often the result of a lack of permissions, possibilities, and channels for contact with others. And consequently a result of structures, that – consciously or not – lead to social isolation. One could say, that rigid hierarchies and department boundaries have, in many instances, lead to a company culture of social distancing. Read more
There is no second chance for a good onboarding! – Bring new colleagues on board with these tools
Employee Experience – Touchpoint 1:
In our series “Employee Experience” we will highlight all critical touchpoints of the “Employee Journey”. Today: Onboarding.
It’s 2008, on a plane to London. On board: an aspiring intern with butterflies in her stomach. Huge anticipation, because getting the position was not easy. She’s really looking forward to giving it her all. The sky’s the limit and so on.
When she finally pushes through the narrow glass door to the offices in the City of London, huge backpack on her back – sweaty but happy – ready for more warmth, a bit of glitter and confetti….nothing happens. Instead of a warm welcome, as the previous email correspondence had led her to expect, her contact person doesn’t even get up from his chair. He is kind of in the middle of something.
She is left standing there and doesn’t know what to do with herself. There is no desk for her. The rom-com she had envisioned in her head of the intern from Berlin that turns the London PR world upside-down is showing first signs of turning into a tragedy.
Will it really turn out to be this terrible? Read more
Don’t mess with your X: Anyone can manage HR! But what about designing HX?
Employee Experience begins with empathy. If a company’s talent managers really want to understand what experiences people make in the course of their professional life, they have to try putting themselves in their position as best as possible. To feel what they feel. To understand their needs. Only then can they design products that create positive experiences in connection with working in the company.
Wait a second, “Products”?? But employees aren’t customers! Or are they? Read more
Talkin’ ’bout my…um, your generation: this is how the young and the old work really well together
I am in my mid 30s and therefore do not, by definition, belong to the so-called Digital Natives. But even though, digital tools are a natural part of my day. Half of my life is on Trello, I write about topics revolving around the digital transformation and I work remotely with different constellations of people and with a wide variety of sharing tools. I consider myself to be one of the “young and wild”, the digital heads and the like – and then I sit on the metro amongst a group of 12-year-olds and think to myself: I don’t have a clue what they are talking about. ‘Have you seen Lisa’s meme on TikTok – so f*#$% LIT!’ While I inconspicuously search for “Tick Tock” on Ecosia, I catch myself thinking ‘When I was your age, I was playing football outside with my friends, instead of wasting so much time on a smartphone.’
I had always sworn to myself never to say things like “When I was your age…”. Suddenly I feel very old. Not even 20 years separate me from these youngsters. Fifty years separate them from my parents, of which one is still working. I ask myself: How can people, that have been socialized in two completely different worlds, work together? In one company? Towards a common goal? Read more
Dance to the Algorithm: The Tandemploy Data Check – imitation encouraged
Remember May 2018? That was the month the expansion of the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) was enacted. Months in advance people were up in arms about what this new regulation would mean for software vendors and email marketing (newsletters). Well, and then May came and went and, surprisingly, life continued in a normal and unexcited manner. Wouldn’t it be great if we could maintain that level of normalcy and calm, while engaging in an even more extensive discussion about data that has the potential to radically change the way we work and live? Let’s dive right in. Read more
#BigIdeas2020: Forget the hype around “Big Data” – from now on let’s build a hype around “Good Data”!
2020 could be the year in which we consistently start using good data to facilitate good work flows. Good, in the sense of “good for everyone” – for companies and their goals, for employees and for society as a whole. But also for the sake of planetary resources. Because a resource-conserving lifestyle is closely related to a working world that allows for the freedom to engage in a responsible and conscience lifestyle outside of work.
How can this be successful?
The simple answer might be: through digitalization. If machines took over more jobs and human work could be automated, then everyone would have more time, right?
Unfortunately, it isn’t quite as simple as that. Read more
Study on knowlegde transfer in companies: Employees want to – but are prevented from doing so by structures
In the summer of 2019, we asked 100 people with and without management responsibility to answer the following questions: How well does knowledge transfer work in your company? What sources do you and your employees use to inform you? How well do you know your colleagues? And would you like to learn more from them? We were particularly interested in whether there were differences between employees with and without management responsibility.
HR means community building! – How to build and maintain an internal community – or two, or 20.
(Employee Communities – Part 2. Get prepared by reading Part 1 here.)
Innovation comes from the community – this was the experience of the Danish company Lego in the late 1990s. Today, 20 years later, we are all naturally active in communities – in social networks, for example. In coworking spaces, good community management has long been regarded as one of the strongest quality criteria. People with digital mindsets are community minded; they think openly and networked oriented.
And what about companies?
If they want to win these people over, they should do the same and rely on networking! By allowing, enabling and – even better – actively promoting the development of employee communities, they open up completely new opportunities for internal interaction, knowledge transfer, and recruiting. Read more
Employee Communities – Part 1: How professionals with a digital mindset work
Denmark, 1998. Lego Mindstorms, a series of customizable and hardware-controllable robots, hits the market. It doesn’t take long for the first adult Lego fans to hack the software and start customizing the robots to their liking. The results are presented on users’ own websites and forums. Lego has two options:
Lego opts for the latter – and thus, unplanned, initiates a customer community.
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Learning Out Loud: “If you want to learn something, start teaching it!” – Interview with Ellen Herschel of the Edutrainment Company
Learning Out Loud: “If you want to learn something, start teaching it!” – Interview with Ellen Herschel of the Edutrainment Company
Ellen Herschel is a Key Account Manager and Learning Experience Designer at Edutrainment Company GmbH. Together with her colleagues, she designs learning solutions for companies. The aim: to enable employees to implement what they have learned from their everyday work and to keep their desire to learn high. In an interview, she explains how this is achieved, how employees learn in a networked way, and how managers create a good learning environment. Read more
People Analytics: Know your team just as well as your customers!
There are two groups that companies probably know pretty well:
Because they pay a lot of attention to both right from the start: target group analysis, sales pitches, customer journey, competitor analysis, tracking, clustering… and so on. The idea behind it: the product must fit 100%! Then we’ll be successful – and better than the competition.
This thinking certainly has its justification. In 1980. Today, it’s outdated. Read more
„You don’t need to make work your life to do a great job.“ – Interview with Artur Kos from the Blackbird Collective
The Blackbird Collective from Berlin helps startups and medium-sized companies hire the right people. Blackbird was founded in 2015 by Artur Kos. Since then, the Blackbird Collective has grown to 9 employees, who all work 4 days (or fewer) a week, regardless of location and with fixed contracts. We talked with Artur about this special arrangement, new life and work models, and Blackbird’s vision.
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Putting the Lid on its Pot: How to Start Active Networking in Your Business
People network all the time: getting advice in online forums, communicating with friends in chats, and sharing information that they find relevant on social networks. At the same time, companies still find networking a hard nut to crack. It’s a shame, because everything they need on the path to become networked organizations is clearly already there: people who know how to network (even if they would not call it that in a private context) and who like to do it – but only if doing so makes sense to them. So, what can companies do to initiate the internal exchange urgently needed to produce innovative solutions? Read more
Sharing is caring: This is how knowledge transfer in the company succeeds
A recent study by management researchers Julian Kawohl and Jonas Wieland from the University of Applied Sciences (HTW) Berlin concludes that 64 of the 80 largest medium-sized companies lack digital experience among top management. The scientists examined the lives of almost all managers of the 80 largest German medium-sized companies, including companies such as Rewe, Bosch, Heraeus and Boehringer Ingelheim.
The study thus provides a starting point for active knowledge transfer in a company in two ways: Read more
#ChangeAgent Sebastian Kolberg – Change through collaboration and trust
Sebastian Kolberg is the Change Manager for Digital Transformation at Bayer AG. In this role he supports people and teams to journey together and shape digital transformation. As a #ChangeAgent, he is particularly interested in promoting collaborations, establishing trusting networks and jointly challenging the status quo with a view toward the customer. Good reasons to introduce him here.
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Make your work visible! – How Working Out Loud works
Agility, knowledge exchange, silo teardown, cultural change, networking: these are some of the major topics in these times of digital change. So it seems natural that we’d find the movement around Working Out Loud (named after the eponymous book by John Stepper) very exciting. But what is this “loud work” anyway? And what exactly does the method have to do with flexibilization, digitization and the dismantling of silos? How can Working Out Loud be implemented? And what does it do in organizations?
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“Silo-free work at eye level” – HASPA relies on networking
Dr. Elisabeth Keßeböhmer & Nicole Vogler
The world is becoming more complex every day, and organizations are facing the challenge of responding smartly. In particular, the banking industry is strongly affected by change and urgently needs to reorient and innovate. While many banks in Germany appear uncertain and are on the decline, Hamburger Sparkasse relies on good networking and is thus definitely one of the pioneers in the banking industry. With the introduction of the internal Tandemploy software as an internal networking platform (christened “FlexWorkz”), they show how flexibilization and networking can look in a modern working environment. They use Tandemploy software to better network all employees and pave the way for new modes of working. Within HASPA, employees can now easily find job sharing, knowledge sharing (expert knowledge and career tips), reverse mentoring and lunch dating. We talked with Dr. Elisabeth Keßeböhmer (Head of Human Resources) and Nicole Vogler (HR Manager & Project Manager for Tandemploy SaaS at HASPA) about the great importance of networking in the context of digital transformation, their tool “FlexWorkz,” and their first success stories.
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#diversitymatters – “Much more has to happen here.” Interview with Ninia LaGrande
© Simona Bednarek
Ninia “LaGrande” Binias (* 1983) lives and works in Hannover. She writes for various media, hosts events and acts as a slam poet. She moderates her own TV and podcast formats and is a regular guest at cabaret and comedy shows. She also writes columns and articles for various newspapers, magazines and online portals, including RND (RedaktionsNetzwerk Deutschland), Missy Magazine, and leidmedien.de. Additionally, Ninia moderates congresses, events, festivals and numerous other formats live or in front of the camera. She is the managing director of the Büro für Popkultur GmbH (Department for Pop Culture), which was honored in 2017 as the “Creative Pilot of Germany.” She volunteers as the chair of the the Advisory Board on how to promote Hannover to become Capital of Culture 2025. Ninia is also an active feminist and has been working for inclusion for many years. All good reasons to talk with Ninia about diversity in the world of work. Read more
It’s a Match – Why We Need More “Tinder” at Work
We live in a networked world in which everything is interconnected. We have unlimited opportunities to connect with people around the globe, to find like-minded people and an expert for everything. Professional cross-company networks such as Linkedin allow us to make contacts around the world, around the clock. Why are we still so badly networked within companies? And how can internal organizational silos be reduced? Here’s why networking is the key to almost all processes of digital transformation, and what we should all do more of to improve our careers:
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What is New Work? Buzzword or Opportunity?
New Work is definitely a buzzword of our time. It shows up in very different contexts. Sometimes it’s about technology, sometimes about the free choice of workplace and time, and almost always about digital transformation. But how does this change our world of work? And what can New Work do for companies? We clear up the myths and provide short and concrete answers to the question: What does New Work mean exactly?
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What is job sharing? The most important facts.
Job sharing is a flexible work-time model in which two or more employees share at least one full-time position. They work very closely together as a team and together determine their working hours and tasks for themselves. But how exactly is this different from part time? What variations are available and for which industries is the model suitable? We have summarized the key job sharing facts, how you can apply as a tandem, and which first steps are important.
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New Collar – Working together with all employees to shape digital transformation
Today, all organizations are intensely occupied with digital transformation occupying to at least some degree, and one may assume that it has thus already reached all company areas. However, this is not the case: the debate about digital transformation and New Work is almost exclusively conducted from the perspective of white-collar employees. But what about production areas? Where does this leave blue-collar employees? Are they not also affected by the change – maybe even more than desk and knowledge workers? And doesn’t digital transformation offer the chance to completely redesign and shape the world of work and jobs (new collar!)?
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Flash organizations: matching optimal teams
In this time of social media platforms, a new term comes up every now and then: flash organizations. Very briefly, flash organizations are temporary companies that can be used to quickly and effectively implement complex projects. To do this, optimal teams with the right skills are put together within a very short time. Sounds exciting. It’s reason enough to take a closer look at the “flash organization” model.
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