Digital HR Transformation in Practice: Exclusive Insights from HR Insiders

HR is at a turning point. The digital shift is inevitable—a challenge that must be tackled together, with innovative ideas and strategies. At the HR Frontrunners Flagship Event in Munich, we brought together people who are rising to this challenge using very different approaches.

Digitalization is reshaping the foundation of HR

Digitalization no longer affects just processes—it’s changing entire structures, roles, and the influence of HR. But what does this change look like in real terms? Let’s take a closer look at three core topics that were the focus of the event and explore what they mean for the future of HR:

• Digital transformation in practice
• Collaboration between HR & IT
• Best practices: HR Analytics 

How to successfully drive digital HR transformation

Stefanie Krenauer, Senior Manager HRIT Europe at Daiichi Sankyo, gave a practical insight into today’s challenges during her keynote. Her message was clear: there is a lack of unified solutions across countries. This leads to inefficient processes, many manual steps, and unstructured document management.

However, companies can address these issues—with 6 steps for greater efficiency, transparency, and employee satisfaction:

1. Technological infrastructure: Globally deployable and scalable tools are key to turning great ideas into functioning solutions. They connect locations, automate processes, and open space for real HR innovation.
   
   
2. Data protection and security: Sensitive HR data must be protected—globally. Clear access rights are essential to build trust and meet regulatory requirements.
   
   
3. Data management: Structured and consistent data is the foundation of successful digitalization. It enables precise analytics, informed decisions, and seamless integration into downstream systems.
   
   
4. Process automation: Standardizing and automating recurring tasks reduces HR workload. This makes processes faster, more error-free, and finally opens space for strategic tasks.
   
   
5. User-friendliness: Intuitive self-service tools allow employees and managers to access processes without needing HR support—speeding things up and reducing manual effort.
   
   
6. Change management: It’s critical that employees embrace digital change. Targeted communication and support make it easier for the workforce to adapt to digital ways of working.

HR & IT – Creating value through digital transformation 

The panel discussion with Jürgen Mechler (Program Lead HR Transformation Technology, GRENKE) and Patrick Martin (Head of IT Applications, Wörwag Pharma) showed how crucial shared understanding and aligned processes are: successful HR digitalization requires close collaboration between HR and IT—on equal footing, with a shared vision.

Technology is not meant to replace humans—it creates more space for human interaction and strengthens the human role. But HR roles and skillsets are evolving: data literacy, process know-how, and communication skills are the key competencies of the future. Often, complex workflows result from deviations from standard processes.

Automation and AI: How smart processes are moving HR forward

A highlight of the event was the breakout sessions, offering participants a valuable space for professional exchange. In one session, 30 HR professionals assessed the digitalization level of HR processes in their companies.

A highlight of the event was the breakout sessions, offering participants a valuable space for professional exchange. In one session, 30 HR professionals assessed the digitalization level of HR processes in their companies.

The results:

• Payroll-related processes are largely digitalized.
• Performance reviews are also advanced in digitalization.
• However, many other processes still involve heavy manual effort, such as employment confirmations, offboarding, working hours adjustments, document submission, and compliance checks.

This shows strong potential for further automation and digitalization. (The degree of automation per HR process is shown in the accompanying chart.)

Data-driven decisions bring clarity

Automation is only one part of digital HR transformation. Strategic data usage is also becoming increasingly important. HR manages vast data—on recruiting, turnover, training, and more. But data only helps when it’s meaningfully analyzed to support strategic decisions.

This is where KPIs and dashboards come in.

“KPIs are more than just numbers—they prove HR drives business success and improves organizational processes,” says aconso CEO Ulrich Jaenicke.

This makes HR not only measurable but a strategic player at the management level. It’s not just about the data—it’s about the right context to make sound decisions.

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