Humans & Machines, The Dream Team for the Future of Work – Dr. Christian Schmeichel

[00:00:10] Nena Dimovska: Welcome to People Pulse, the podcast that brings the heartbeat of the workplace. I’m Nena Dimovska, your host, and each week we’re bringing bite sized episode packed with practical takeaways, interviews with industry leaders, and a dash of inspiration to fuel your people strategy and make your workplace thrive.

[00:00:28] Nena Dimovska: We’re here to dissect the trends, unravel challenges and explore the triumphs that shape in the modern workplace. In this episode, we’re unpacking the profound impact of the AI revolution on the modern workplace. Gen X, Millennials and Gen Zs all have witnessed transformative periods in history, but none as far reaching as the AI revolution. It emerges as a game changer, fundamentally changing the workplace landscape. We’ll discuss its implications on the Future of Work and how HR can strategically leverage this transformative technology, for the Future of Work. Today, we’re thrilled to have a distinguished guest who’ll guide us through the exploration of the AI revolution in the workplace.

[00:01:16] Nena Dimovska: So, the following is a conversation with Dr Christian Schmeichel, the SVP and Chief Future of Work Officer at SAP. Dr Schmeichel leads the global Future of Work organization, driving innovative people practices and workplace approaches for SAP’s more than 100,000 employees worldwide. In his previous role as head of HR for various broad areas at SAP, Christian crafted business focus strategies for SAP’s transformation, emphasizing talent, leadership, and culture. With a background in HR transformation and a global perspective gained from living and working in Asia, Europe, and the US – Christian is recognized as an expert in the Future of Work and global HR transformation.

[00:02:04] Nena Dimovska: Welcome, Christian. And thank you for joining us.

[00:02:07] Nena Dimovska: Thank you very much, Nena. Thanks for having me.

[00:02:11] Nena Dimovska: So, Christian, in today’s rapidly evolving tech landscape, there’s unease regarding job displacement due to robotics, automation and AI. How would you reassure individuals about these changes, offering some evidence that these tech advancements enhance rather than displace employment? Yeah. Nina, I feel that you are really hitting the nail on its head in terms of that the world around us is changing at a breakneck speed. And I can certainly appreciate that a lot of people in the world and in the labor market, feeling some kind of unease, right, about these changes and also maybe about the risk of potential job losses.

[00:02:51] Christian Schmeichel: I mean, that’s for sure. At the same time, it’s also clear that I think when we take a look at history, there have been always a lot of changes and there has been always, for example, a lot of transformation going on, in particular due to technology changes. And therefore I feel it’s fair to say that while this is a huge, huge topic right now, I think it’s also fair to say that probably what we’re experiencing now and over the next couple of quarters and years is probably a massive disruptive change.

[00:03:18] Christian Schmeichel: I feel that there is a lot of things that will also stay. And this means while machines may took over certain assignments and hopefully they will, there’s also I think a lot of activities that will more or less stay. Also where humans are needed. This is something where I would say, you know what, it’s unlikely that over the short term there is a full replacement of human workers, certainly not.

[00:03:41] Christian Schmeichel: I think it’s about making sure that the human intelligence is certainly adding to the whole equation. There’s always this human in the loop principle, if you take a look at AI, and we should rather see that there is a lot of opportunity in this. I mean, just imagine if you see now a lot of human beings being in the loop and making sure that they have the relevant review activities, making sure that humans stay responsible, and that of course they bring also these more or less natural human elements to the equation, be it creativity, be it empathy.

[00:04:12] Christian Schmeichel: This is something where it can be the best of both worlds. And with that, if one is staying open and curious to learn, and of course, lifelong learning is certainly a big thing, which is relevant for all of us.

[00:04:23] Nena Dimovska: Indeed.

[00:04:24] Christian Schmeichel: Then of course, there can be a huge opportunity in this. And of course, if at the end of the day, if change is seen rather as an opportunity than a threat and taking the best out of it, it can be maybe a win win.

[00:04:37] Christian Schmeichel: Thank you. That was very, very good point there that change should be seen like an opportunity. And I would just like to add that there’s evidence out there showing that all these tech advancements actually enhance employment rather than displace it. Like, you know, we’ve seen the integration of robotics in the factories or chatbots that just lead to, for example, faster response time, more efficiency, and having all these job opportunities for managing all these tools. So, fast forward five years from now. Okay. What would you say, one safe prediction we can make about AI’s impact on strategic HR and one bold prediction?

[00:05:21] Christian Schmeichel: Well, I think first of all, AI is here to stay. I think that’s certainly a fair statement. And I think a safe prediction is certainly that this will change also over the short term, a lot of things. times also the way how we will live and work in general in the workforce, but also in HR and when it comes to the overall workforce, it’s clear that this is rather a job transformation than a job displacement, I think, at least over the short term. It will require kind of a skill enhancement and not a replacement, and there will be a lot of productivity increase.

[00:05:51] Christian Schmeichel: These kind of routine and repetitive tasks, which we are all looking forward, that they will be taken care of to a certain extent, at least by AI. This is something which I feel is a safe prediction. In particular, also for HR professionals, we see that maybe there will be hopefully also some administrative work and burden taken away from us.

[00:06:11] Christian Schmeichel: We can focus a little bit more on maybe value add tasks to the business. That would be great. But building on that safe prediction, yes, let’s take a look maybe at the bold prediction that might be feasible. And here, of course, the sky’s the limit, right? And depending on how long you, more or less see the timeframe, there’s certainly a lot of opportunity, for example, advisory even by kind of AI, right?

[00:06:34] Christian Schmeichel: Just think of, for example, bots and other tasks more less than five years from now, it could be more or less naturally integrated in our kind of work day. And work life, of course, and this of course could lead to a lot of better data analysis, making sure that you can do much better prediction work, that you can help organizations to stay informed about talent management.

[00:06:55] Christian Schmeichel: And of course, making sure that you’re unleashing a completely different level of productivity and thereby also maybe help people to stay, more or less healthy and over time also making sure that there is a certain work life balance ensured because there is maybe this support coming from the machine side of the house.

[00:07:13] Christian Schmeichel: At least this would be my hope. And even though it might sound bold today, I feel that while this is over the short term, maybe even sometimes overhyped when we talk about AI. I think over the midterm, it’s still underestimated.

[00:07:27] Christian Schmeichel: Yeah. Appreciate your insights and, you know… the bold prediction certainly sparks excitement about all the possibilities I had. And I look forward to seeing how it unfolds. Now can you please tell me what’s at the center of the Future of Work department? How does it remediate, let’s say the three key verticals that we have looking from a business logistics, technology, and human experience perspective.

[00:07:55] Christian Schmeichel: Yes. I feel what is very interesting to see is that in general this kind of roles at this point emerge. So, if I had somebody introducing him or herself 10 years ago as a Chief Future of Work Officer, to me, I would have been scratching my head and would have said, what is this all about? Now, today, as we speak, these kind of roles are emerging in many large organizations.

[00:08:17] Christian Schmeichel: And people are understanding and organizations are appreciating that whole notion of the Future of Work as a strategic imperative or strategic opportunity. So, it’s important to have not just a project which is taking care of, I don’t know… the Future of Work scenario for your organization because the project would come to an end in a couple of months. It’s rather to come up with kind of an established and institutionalized organizational setup, where you have kind of a constant and regular and continuous focus on these kind of notions that will more or less shape the future of your company. And as we speak, it’s all about making sure that organizations get future ready and that workforces get future ready.

[00:08:56] Christian Schmeichel: And therefore at SAP, we have come up with this kind of overall understanding that yes, we need to have a dedicated team. And I’m having the privilege of leading this Future of Work organization, which was set up at the beginning of the pandemic. Along the lines also of getting flex work, right. But, the Future of Work is much broader and much, yeah, I think more distinct and more strategic than flex work.

[00:09:19] Christian Schmeichel: And therefore, as we speak, we are more or less looking at three dimensions. The first one is, when we take a look at the Future of Work, it’s about getting the future of workforce right. So if I’m closing my eyes and I’m thinking five or ten years down the road, it’s all about how will the future of the workforce look for our organization, but maybe also for many other organizations.

[00:09:40] Christian Schmeichel: You need to have that target picture. How many permanent employees will you have? How many gig workers? How much AI will you have on the team? How many robots will be part of your organization? What kind of skills will be needed? Which kind of locations will you have? This is kind of strategic workforce planning, but on a completely different maturity level.

[00:09:59] Christian Schmeichel: Now, with a lot of data with scenario planning. And that’s exciting because this is probably one of the first times where I can really do this on a very professional level. And this, of course, backed up by technology and backed up by accurate data gives you that target picture, which you need, to come up with the other dimensions of the Future of Work.

[00:10:17] Christian Schmeichel: And the other dimensions are, number two, getting your future of people practices right. So this means your bread and butter business of HR will need to evolve. How do we recruit, reward, incentivize, and maybe also train our folks. And then of course, at the end of the day, it’s also about the future of the HR organization itself.

[00:10:37] Christian Schmeichel: Because if you would like to get the future of workforce right, and if you would like to get the future of people practices right, there needs to be an HR organization or people function, whatever you want to call it, that will be able to take care of all of these things. And that’s exciting. And I feel this is also something where a lot of organizations these days are looking at and exciting times to be in HR, I would say.

[00:10:59] Nena Dimovska: Yeah, very, very, very good point. Thank you for that. So if we can summarize, we can say that the Future of Work would serve like a hub for integrating this future proof, next level business logistics, cutting edge technology and human experience, taking it on a whole new maturity level, right? And by optimizing the people functions, adopting this innovating technologies and prioritizing right employee well being, it definitely plays a pivotal role in shaping, you know, thriving, productive workplace environment.

[00:11:34] Christian Schmeichel: Great. And I think, Nena that’s exactly spot on when you think about this, how to manage this, that you need to have kind of a holistic Future of Work organization, but also a future work agenda that is then leveraging these things, right. Coming up with great employee experiences to make sure that you are staying and becoming attractive employer.

[00:11:52] Nena Dimovska: Exactly. So you mentioned the transformation of the HR, or the people function in the companies. Can you perhaps dig into how can organizations plan future of work initiatives? So, where do they usually fail perhaps? And what are your suggestions for overcoming these challenges?

[00:12:11] Christian Schmeichel: Well, first of all, it’s fair to say that this topic is not an easy one, right? If you want to work on this on a strategic level, even for larger or mid sized organizations, there’s a lot of focus, a lot of resources required, and also a lot of more or less proximity to the business. So one needs to understand the business evolution, one needs to understand where the whole business is going so that one can support and partner with the business as an HR function accordingly.

[00:12:37] Christian Schmeichel: And this of course means this, you need to come up with a dedicated Future of Work agenda for these initiatives. And you need to come up with also then of course, the right set of priorities. There’s so much stuff you can do. You can’t tackle, you need to prioritize. You can’t do it all at the same time. So this prioritization for me, I feel is key.

[00:12:55] Christian Schmeichel: And then of course, at the end of the day, it comes down to a future ready workforce based on skills. Based on the right culture and making sure that also the infrastructure is there also from a technology standpoint. So one needs to holistically plan the whole thing, come up with kind of a proper setup, not just a project that will end in three months.

[00:13:13] Christian Schmeichel: It’s about having a long term strategy for these things. And then you need to plan and like for every other good and successful program, you probably need to make sure that you have the right top management mandate for these things. It’s about coming up with a great connection to the business strategy.

[00:13:32] Christian Schmeichel: It’s about coming up with a proper change or transformation plan, right? And this these things do not happen by coincidence. And then, of course, yeah, change management in these times is different. This is about more or less rallying everyone around the North Star in kind of a future forward looking way.

[00:13:51] Christian Schmeichel: Which is not just for example, looking at the next year, this is much more midterm or long term. And then of course, it’s about embracing the whole thing as an opportunity and it’s not about, I’m creating fear, right? This is about creating, I think excitement about the future and making sure people aren’t jumping on that train into the future.

[00:14:12] Christian Schmeichel: And more or less carrying then also here the torch forward, not just with one leader. This is not just the one person or I know a small organization or team that is carrying these things. This needs to be the entire organization plus maybe even the ecosystem. And I think this is a different way of thinking.

[00:14:29] Christian Schmeichel: Making sure one thinks much more bolder and much more holistic at the same time, leverage what is always required to drive strategic progress. Coming up with the right people, coming up with the right capabilities and making sure that also technology is leveraged as much as possible, because this is how one can scale.

[00:14:48] Nena Dimovska: True. So we can say, you know, fostering proximity with the business, prioritizing, holistic planning, right? Adaptability, providing growth opportunities, having the right people to drive this big change and enabling, let’s say, ambassadors across the organization that can actually drive this big significant change.

[00:15:11] Nena Dimovska: Perfect. That sounds like very, very good advice. And can you say, how does the Future of Work address the challenge of maintaining connectivity in large global workforces? How does it cater to the diverse cultural needs that large organizations have?

[00:15:28] Christian Schmeichel: Personally, I feel that as we speak, and while the world around us is transforming at this and changing at this breakneck speed, it’s so important also to stay connected as an organization and the larger an organization is, the more challenging this can be, that’s for sure. So, I personally feel that it’s of course, important on one hand to come up with the right vision and the right culture, and also drive a cultural evolution powered by AI.

[00:15:55] Christian Schmeichel: In terms of, that everyone understands this as kind of a strategic opportunity that you can also connect the organization on a very high level, right, to this common goal and to this objective. And of course when we do this, there’s of course, also the option and the necessity to bring things together and to bring people together.

[00:16:14] Christian Schmeichel: We have all experienced then, during the pandemic when a lot of organizations asked the people to work from home that this was of course helping to keep people safe. But right now after the pandemic, we also see that the social capital that people had maybe built before the pandemic is so crucial.

[00:16:32] Christian Schmeichel: There’s so much value in also coming together as a team on a regular basis. Maybe not every day, and therefore that’s also the point why a lot of organizations are looking for the best hybrid work model set up, having the best balance. So that’s important. So when one is spending time together, also in the office or wherever at the customer side, there needs to be also I think a lot of conscious focus on what to do together as a team, right?

[00:16:57] Christian Schmeichel: Maybe to leverage the time that one is spending together in a much more effective and efficient way. I think you can also work in a focused fashion at home or remotely. That’s not a problem. But when you’re together there are these moments together on site which needs to be nurtured and this can be for example a team gathering.

[00:17:15] Christian Schmeichel: This can be also kind of a face to face collaboration. This can be a joint problem solving. All of these things are fun and excitement. Or think of community groups, like network groups and all of that. And I think this is something which is fun, which excites people. And this needs to be certainly nurtured.

[00:17:32] Christian Schmeichel: And last but by no means least, technology can help certainly. Looking at, for example, organizational boundaries, geographical distances, and all these things where people work and live, maybe in different time zones even, where technology can help big time also to even stay connected. We are corporation platforms, but also maybe here now with new technology, which would certainly evolve that you have, for example, these video elements and then also virtual corporation elements, which would become better quarter by quarter.

[00:18:02] Christian Schmeichel: And I think there’s huge opportunity in this as well.

[00:18:04] Nena Dimovska: Great. I couldn’t agree more that leveraging technology to facilitate this seamless communication, collaboration across diverse cultural backgrounds it’s critical, but I also appreciate that you mentioned, on site connection and nurturing those moments that matter and how to make the most of them.

[00:18:25] Nena Dimovska: So how to make the most, the most of the time that people spend together, to plan it better and to, you know take the most out of those moments that matter. Now, SAP’s big star of the year was Joule, the generative AI virtual assistant. Can you tell us what’s the role of the Future of Work team when it comes to the introduction and adoption of such AI solutions into existing company practices?

[00:18:53] Christian Schmeichel: Absolutely. I mean, when you think about now here also, a company like SAP, it’s great to see that we are having now this huge technological evolution also in terms of, yeah, our business AI focus and Joule, which we are all very excited about, certainly here coming up now on the horizon.

[00:19:12] Christian Schmeichel: So, I think for us as a Future of Work organization, we are quite proud to partner with our here, SuccessFactors team, but also of course, with our IT team to see how we can help from HR practitioner standpoint, also help drive these things. So, acting as a showcase and certainly also, acting as kind of a formula one test driver. Like you do for anything else where we are trying to provide feedback, test this also, I think we also customer of our own solutions, SAP runs SAP, and therefore it’s great that we can kind of grow, co-drive, this evolution and just reflect, right.

[00:19:46] Christian Schmeichel: What’s currently happening in the market. This is such a huge game changer for each and every HR function. It’s simply great to see. So, I think identifying the opportunities that are there on a day to day basis and making sure that the use of AI and the products, right, I think is relevant and reliable and responsible.

[00:20:05] Christian Schmeichel: This is something where I think we’re quite proud to see what’s happening here on the product side, and we are very happy to support and co-drive there. As needed. And of course, when you are running these things yourself, right, as kind of a customer, if you have your own software, of course, it’s about the smooth integration.

[00:20:23] Christian Schmeichel: It’s about ensuring the readiness. It’s about upskilling also internally. And it’s about helping co-drive this. So, therefore very excited about this.

[00:20:31] Nena Dimovska: Great. Great. I look forward to see what it brings to the, daily flow of work of the people and learning more. Thank you, Christian, for sharing your insights on the Future of Work. We have just unlocked another workplace heartbeat together. Remember to use this practical takeaways, stay inspired and keep your workplace heartbeat strong. Don’t miss out on future insights, subscribe and get ready to power up your HR strategy. Thank you!