What does actually happen ‘behind the scenes’ to ensure that HR processes run smoothly at EnBW?
Dennis: There’s a lot going on behind the scenes! Our platform has grown significantly over the last few years, both in terms of systems and staff. It rarely stops at purely HR processes. It’s also about ensuring the group runs smoothly on a day-to-day basis.
This starts with the annual maintenance of our systems, to ensure everyone’s payslips are correct, and extends to issues relating to currency revaluation data and the digital employee mailbox.
Many people only see the finished system. What challenges or problems do you tackle on a typical working day?
Dennis: It varies completely and you never really know for sure. At the moment, I’m spending a lot of time working on our flagship group project, EnABLE:HR, in which we’re migrating our existing systems to a new system landscape. My tasks range from answering a wide variety of questions, such as: How do we deal with a problem arising from process XYZ? Then we have to check: Can we implement this in the systems as it stands? If not, what compromises are required? Or, in the worst-case scenario, we have to adapt the processes. Sometimes, though much less frequently, I’m also involved in the configuration work myself.
How long have you been with EnBW, and how did your journey with the company begin?
Dennis: I have been with EnBW since 1 October 2010, initially as a trainee. I then worked for EPG until I was offered a permanent position in the summer of 2015.
Du hast dich vom Industriekaufmann zum IT-Architekten entwickelt. Gab es einen Moment, in dem dir klar wurde: Jetzt bin ich wirklich in der IT angekommen?
Dennis: There are actually several, but two stand out in particular:
- Following our reorganisation, when we saw at the kick-off meeting how our roles in IT were changing.
- When some former HR colleagues said during a meeting, “We should speak to IT about that”, and by that they meant our team.
What has been the biggest system or process challenge you’ve tackled at EnBW so far?
Dennis: Two major projects come to my mind.
Firstly, sCore25, the transformation of our financial system. The big question was: what does this have to do with HR? Actually, quite a lot, for example, our salaries are posted to financial accounts. With the new system and the phased rollout, we had to ensure that both the old and the new financial systems were correctly supplied with the postings from HR payroll every month, and that this was done using different data processing logic. This ranged from changing company codes and cost centres to new objects that our system had never encountered before. Those were many long and exhausting days, partly because there was hardly any external experience of this on the market. In the end, we even had to adjust personnel data on the HR side, which made the processes more transparent for many HR colleagues.
The second major project is currently EnABLE:HR. Here, much like with the financial system, we are migrating to a new system landscape, which brings us new opportunities but also challenges. I have been actively involved in several areas and brought issues to the decision-making table. This has also led to my current role as Solution Architect on the project. The main focus is on understanding how our processes work and how we can transfer them effectively into the new system landscape. Sometimes, process steps need to be adapted or completely rethought to achieve this.
Is there a project you’re particularly proud of?
Dennis: I would actually say that’s covered in the main project 😊
In what ways is digitalisation currently having the greatest impact on work within the group?
Dennis: That depends a bit on what you mean by digitalisation. For me, digitalisation begins even before the actual system comes into play. It thrives on simple and efficient processes. Achieving that isn’t at all easy given the sheer diversity we cover at EnBW. In the best-case scenario, digitalisation makes everyone’s work easier. Then everyone can get back to working more quickly on the tasks they were actually hired to do.
When do you really realise that without our work, nothing here would be running smoothly?
Dennis: It varies. Sometimes it’s calls from colleagues who have questions. Sometimes it’s feedback from colleagues.
How do you keep up to date with the latest developments in your field?
Dennis: I’m very grateful that we can attend manufacturers’ trade fairs or, for example, the DSAG. There, you gain a lot of insight into new developments in our core systems and can exchange ideas with other customers. Internal training sessions, such as those on the architecture guild’s work, are also a key component.
Ultimately, however, personal interest also plays a major role: wanting to understand things, thinking outside the box and asking colleagues from other IT departments what’s going on in their areas.
And, of course, trade journals and the internet are also helpful.
Where do you see IT in five years’ time?
Dennis: That’s a very difficult question, because many factors come into play: How are manufacturers evolving? What political issues come into play, for instance with major providers such as Microsoft or Google?
What is certain to remain is the fast-paced nature and interconnectedness of systems. This constantly gives rise to new demands on systems that may not have been originally designed for such purposes. And what is state-of-the-art today may well be ‘yesterday’s news’ by tomorrow, thanks to a technological breakthrough, for example in quantum computing.
What advice would you give to new colleagues starting out in your field?
Dennis: Don’t be afraid to give it a go. Internal systems are just as exciting as big data or cloud computing, and there are plenty of complex and interesting challenges in the HR IT sector too 😊
To finish off, off the cuff: describe your job in three words.
Dennis: Diverse. Chaotic. Forward-thinking.