Chief Human Resources Officer Thomas Wessel (left) and Andreas Seelmann,Head of Corporate Human Resources (2. from right) with Philipp Zimmermann (3. from left) and Cindy Schumacher (right).
Chief Human Resources Officer Thomas Wessel (left) and Andreas Seelmann,Head of Corporate Human Resources (2. from right) with Philipp Zimmermann (3. from left) and Cindy Schumacher (right).
Digitalization

That’s behind #HumanWork

Together into a digital future

"Only with the focus on our employees we will become the best specialty chemicals company in the world," says Evonik Chief Human Resources Officer Thomas Wessel. This also applies to digitization activities: #HumanWork is the motto. We asked the experts at Evonik Digital what's behind it.

Whether digital solutions in production and technology or agile working in flexible teams: The digital transformation offers many opportunities and presents the entire industry with great challenges. "In a digitalized and globalized future, work will take on a new status. Work and leisure flow together. But humans remain crucial, "says Philipp Zimmermann, digitalization expert at Evonik.

As part of a team at Evonik Digital, Zimmermann works for a digital and agile culture at Evonik. The transformation from an industrial to a knowledge society is also changing corporate structures and workspaces: service, information and creative workers are moving into the center of business, blurring the boundaries between work and private life. This offers opportunities, but can also stir up fears in one place or another.

As part of a team at Evonik Digital, Philipp Zimmermann works for a digital and agile culture at Evonik.
As part of a team at Evonik Digital, Philipp Zimmermann works for a digital and agile culture at Evonik.

The Group's digitalization activities therefore always pay close attention to the question of how employees can be integrated. "It's not that only the company benefits from digitalization," says Zimmermann, "also colleagues have for example the opportunity to continue their education and expand their network without great effort." An example of this is the increasingly intensive use of the internal social network. Of course, colleagues also have to be convinced to get involved in a new system that also involves different ways of working.

For Evonik Digital employee Cindy Marie Schumacher, dealing with new things is an integral part of her everyday life: "We do not want to push anyone to participate, but seek employees who want to lead the way and show their colleagues the possibilities of digitalization and new ways of working." Schumacher is one of those who contribute ideas to the company. For example, it carries out design sprints that allow good and measurable results to be achieved in a short time with a well-balanced balance between customer demand, profitability and feasibility.

#HumanWork stands as a leading example for new working methods and active "digital passion". Specifically it means, actively support communication and exchange of knowledge in order to accompany and enable employees, not only to find their way in a digitalized world, but helping to shape it.

"An important prerequisite for this is an open-minded, adaptable corporate culture in which continuous feedback, experiments, flexible working methods and decision-making teams are part of everyday life," explains Schumacher.

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