Written by Marte Semb Aasmundsen
Stein Riibe is Chief of Staff at Elkjøp Nordic. With over 20 years of experience in various positions related to HR, he shares his experiences with Leadership Monthly.
What is your top priority for HR going forward and how will you tackle this?
Digitalization is the key word here. In general, we're working hard to use technology to streamline and improve the quality of processes and other HR deliveries. Covid-19 also means that we have to rethink all the courses and gatherings that were planned with physical attendance. The pace of innovation and development in our industry is high, with a clear trend towards increasingly project- and network-based work across functions. This places new demands on the organization and is an important component of our leadership and skills development activities.
What are your main ambitions for development at your company?
In general, our goal is to deliver high-quality, up-to-date HR in all core areas. We have come a long way in recruitment and training, while in areas such as HR Analytics and Reward we have untapped potential and important goals for the coming year.
What have you done to further develop your own skills?
It's easy to become too internally focused in a hectic workday, so I'm generally conscious of regularly nurturing my external network. This includes both subject matter experts and other practicing HR managers. Beyond that, I read articles and I try to attend an international HR conference once a year. The HR agenda has to be tailored to the company's strategy and you rarely get straightforward answers externally. In my role, it's still a necessary investment of time, not least to catch trends and concrete experiences from other companies.
What is the most important experience you have gained in the past year?
It's hard to escape the Covid-19 crisis, where one experience is that there is a lot of untapped potential in the organization. When I look back at the major changes we managed to implement in a short time, collectively across four countries, you get a new picture of the potential that lies in good teamwork.
Who impresses you and why?
The everyday heroes in my own organization who have been in the firing line since society shut down this spring impress me. In football parlance, we talk about "bleeding for the shirt", and I am moved to think of the effort and professionalism that many thousands of colleagues have put in to protect our workplace.
What question have we not asked you that you would have preferred to be asked in this context?
I can strike a blow for the industry. In retail, we live in close symbiosis with the general development of society, and digitalization is driving a high rate of innovation that creates good working conditions for strategic HR. For those who want a career in HR, I would definitely recommend considering Retail.