ChapmanCG and Oracle hosted 22 HR leaders in Istanbul to discuss ‘HR Transformation in the Digital Age’ recently. In attendance were HR leaders from a wide range of organisations including, Al Shaya Group, Autoliv, Baxter, Colgate-Palmolive, Hewlett-Packard, Merck Serono, Nestle, Pfizer, Samsung, Sandoz and Vodafone, to name a few.
The Evolution of HR in Oracle
Oracle’s journey toward digitalisation began approximately 15 years ago. The organisation is known for having anaggressive culture of acquiring technology companies across the world, and as a result it has become a master at integration. Ms Ebru Aymen, Regional HR Director, shared how Oracle has progressed from using basic HR reporting tools, to cutting-edge HR technology. She discussed some of the operational benefits. of having access to over 150,000 employees’ personal details across the globe.
During many of Oracle’s key acquisitions, such as Sun Microsystems, Taleo and Peoplesoft, the organisation invested heavily in digital HR tools, to ensure that employees at all levels were engaged throughout the organisation.
Journey into the Digital Age
Reiner Gruening, Regional HR Director for BASF, then presented on his company’s journey into the Digital Age. By introducing a self-service kiosk model, the organisation has empowered managers and employees to update and maintain their own information. BASF has had to overcome a few teething issues before securing buy-in from the business in relation to these initiatives. Although the business has a long way to go before it completely achieves its objectives in this area, Reiner indicated that the organisation now truly understands the value of such an investment.
Looking Ahead
The session was moderated by Andrew Bailey, Managing Partner for ChapmanCG’s sister company, Ethos BeathChapman. Andrew stated, “It’s becoming clear that some organisations are more advanced in the way they use, collect and maintain data. However, most businesses know they need to do something different to ensure they not only acquire the best talent, but also maintain and develop current employees. Sizeable investments have been made in HR technology in Turkey, and it’s great to see how engaged the audience was while discussing the transformations. I can see future sessions around this very relevant topic, as it continues to evolve.”
This was the eighth HR Leadership session that ChapmanCG has hosted in Istanbul. Okan Adahan, HR Director for Ekol Logistics, commented “Every session proves to be very useful for me, as I plan to implement some of these best practices into my organisation.’
Many thanks go to our gracious hosts at Oracle, Ms Ebru Aymen, Regional HR Director and Aylin Koksal, Turkey HR Manager. Our next Istanbul session will likely be scheduled for early September, and we’re looking forward to another invigorating discussion.
