Ostschweizer Personaltag 2018: "Human First" as a proven leadership credo

Abdullah Redzepi, member of the patronage committee of the East Switzerland HR Day and lecturer at the University of Applied Sciences St.Gallen, made it clear right at the beginning what many in the room were probably thinking: "Flexible" in connection with work has become a "killer term" today. Much of what needs to become more "flexible" is already a reality today: people work on a mobile basis, they can sometimes arrive at work an hour later and continue working after the office closes. What is needed, however, are new forms of collaboration. This is a challenge for management, and many of the new challenges - artificial intelligence, automation, etc. - can also trigger fear.

Human First

So what is needed above all are changes in behavior. Behavioral economist Andreas Staub explored these in his presentation. Based on short surveys in the audience, he showed "classic" behaviors in everyday situations. Many people behave impulsively, and impulsive decisions are not always the right ones. This realization plays a role in change processes and must be taken into account accordingly. An important character of human behavior is also the willingness to give something. This must also be used in change processes. According to Andreas Staub, this leads to the principle of "human first" as the basis for functioning corporate cultures. If the culture is right, it is easier to implement any strategy, says Staub.

Management 4.0

Barbara Schaerer, the federal government's top human resources manager, has plenty to say about how difficult it can sometimes be to implement strategies. In her presentation, she explained what "Administration 4.0" could look like and the stumbling blocks that have to be overcome. In particular, the three-tier nature of our administration - federal, cantonal, municipal - proves to be a challenge time and again. The fact that the departments are politically managed also means that the sometimes desired flexibility - for example in personnel decisions - cannot be fully exploited everywhere. Nevertheless, Barbara Schaerer was able to show why the federal administration is an attractive employer in many respects, as many demands for modern forms of work can already be met.

Work is an activity, not a place

Barbara Josef, a former Microsoft manager and now a blogger and independent consultant, brought the euphoria surrounding co-working and other so-called "new forms of work" back down to earth. On the one hand, of course, she does not deny that co-working has many advantages, for freelancers, for example, but also for larger companies, in order to grant their employees more flexibility in the choice of work locations in the sense of a culture of trust. On the other hand, coworking can also have a negative impact, for example by creating a dispersed workload and increasing coordination efforts. However: Work is first and foremost an activity, not a place. Against this backdrop, "boundary management," i.e., the conscious mixing of work and leisure, is becoming increasingly important. This calls for a willingness to experiment: Barbara Josef called substitution, augmentation, modification and redefinition the "magic words" in the interaction of work scenarios.

Amazing and heroic

Mental trainer Tobias Heinemann used amazing experiments to show how the human psyche works, for example when telling untruths. There are no clear signs of whether someone is lying, but changes in body language can give more or less clear indications. Finally, Nicole Brandes, entrepreneur and management coach, picked up the audience on the human ability to be a hero. "Robots can't be heroes," the speaker said. She appealed to be guided by four roles: Thinker, Fighter, Lover and Dreamer. To think the unthinkable, to look fear in the eye and still dare to take the step, to see feelings as a connection to life as well as to find the actual meaning in the fulfillment of dreams were some of Nicole Brandes' central messages. Here again: Human First.

As in the previous year, Matthias Wipf led through the very well attended event - the organizers spoke of a "record crowd". He was able to draw the speakers out of their shells with challenging questions. The president of the Free ERFA Group Personnel Eastern Switzerland, Karin Egle, concluded the afternoon with a reference to the next Eastern Switzerland Personnel Day, which will take place again in St.Gallen on June 6, 2019.

Information: www.personaltag.ch