On November 23, 2022, AmCham Germany's Regional Chapter Berlin-Brandenburg hosted a webinar on the topic of “The Future of Work,” with insights from Dr. Christian Schmeichel, SVP & Chief Future of Work Officer at SAP SE. Prof. Dr. Torsten Oltmanns, AmCham Germany Regional Chapter Chair Berlin-Brandenburg, opened the conversation with introductory remarks and the discussion was then moderated by Aylin Tüzel, mRNA Commercial Lead, International Developed Markets, VP, at Pfizer Pharma GmbH, and newly appointed AmCham Germany Regional Chapter Chair Berlin-Brandenburg.
Accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic, employers have started to rethink their approach to employee experience, namely in the future of work and how that may look in the future to come. This includes, but is not limited to, remote work or hybrid work, digitalization, expectations of new generations joining the workforce, and demographic changes along with globalization. Dr. Schmeichel analyzed these trends and more in the webinar, referring to the pandemic as a wake-up call to reevaluate the future of work. For each employer themselves, it is up to them to decide what works best for their company and strike the right balance between working remotely and in the office. SAP’s Pledge to Flex, or commitment to reimagining work in a post-pandemic world, is centered around empowering its workforce and pledges to provide a setup that fits every role and workstyle, while keeping customer requirements front and center. This post-pandemic readiness is multi-tiered and includes action items such as considering local policies over different countries, conducting check-in surveys with employees, and encouraging the return to the office while also fostering a digital workspace. Moreover, companies must make the “future of work” a reality and Dr. Schmeichel stressed at the end of his presentation that this is not only a human resources topic, but a business topic in general. The discussion then moved into a Q&A portion, where topics such as intergenerational work and quantifying success were some of the final discussion points raised.
Thank you to our speaker, Dr. Christian Schmeichel, and to all of our participants in our lively discussion.
