The newcomer at CONVOTIS talks about digitization in the HR sector, automation trends, and the challenge of the skills shortage.

Dear Henri, you recently started at CONVOTIS as Group Executive HR & Finance Industry Practice. At the beginning, we would like to introduce you to our readers.

My name is Henri Schmidt, I am 40 years old, and I live near Hamburg with my wife and two children. After an officer career in the German Air Force, I studied Business Administration with a focus on Human Resource Management. My diploma thesis was on “Business Process Outsourcing using the example of Payroll.” In 2014, ultimately as a result of my thesis, I switched to a large American HR BPO service provider, where I worked in various roles over the last 10 years. Most recently, I served as a member of the management board and authorized signatory, leading the project business on various payroll, time & attendance, and HR platforms.

 

You bring extensive industry experience that is of great value to our future plans. From your perspective, what key trends should we keep an eye on next year, and how could they impact the IT industry in general?

In the short term, the dominant trend is the skills shortage. Like all industries, the HR industry is also suffering from a skills shortage. Payroll, in particular, is heavily affected; there is no structured training for this area, and for many, the job of a “payroll accountant” sounds boring. Therefore, it is essential to simplify and automate consistently. As a service provider, we can help alleviate personnel shortages for our clients in the short term.

The IT industry as a whole will be measured on how much it can contribute to automating business processes in the future. In simple terms, payroll accountants only exist because no one has been able to develop software that fully automates these tasks. I don’t see any change in the short term, but the path should be consistently pursued. Until then, we are happy to relieve our clients by taking over tasks.

 

Given the emerging trends, CONVOTIS faces exciting challenges and opportunities. What specific initiatives or focuses do you plan to set to not only strengthen our competitiveness and innovation but also to create direct value for our customers?

By outsourcing business-critical applications, we help our clients focus on their core business. Tax consultants rely entirely on our support, allowing them not to worry about their IT. We also successfully support tax consultants in overcoming personnel shortages in payroll.

We also relieve HR departments. We take care of the customer’s HR system completely. From hosting to customization to consulting, we are our customers’ partner. Here, too, we can fully take over administrative processes such as payroll accounting. This allows our customers to focus on strategic HR work. In times of a skills shortage, this is a necessary step for companies looking to win the war for talent.

 

CONVOTIS is known for its integrated business model and broad service portfolio. How do you see these characteristics as advantages in the current market landscape, and what opportunities do they offer for the company?

The possibilities are almost limitless. Our customers know that CONVOTIS can deliver a worry-free IT package. This gives our customers the opportunity to implement a genuine one-supplier strategy. Coordination efforts are reduced, problems are solved more quickly, and thus we once again emphasize our commitment to seriously relieve our customers. After just a few weeks, I can say that it feels extremely value-creating to work in a company with short communication paths.

Learn more about our Services & Solutions in the Human Resources and DATEV sectors.