As a global leader in creating smart indoor climate solutions based on sustainable sources, Netherlands-headquartered BDR Thermea aims to help households across the world participate in the shift towards clean energy usage.
According to Anton Ketelaars, global HR leader, Processes & Solutions at BDR Thermea, the continued success of the company’s mission depends fundamentally on the quality of the employees it attracts, develops and retains. “Under our ‘People for Energy’ strategy, we need teams that can work with new technology and innovative solutions and that can sell advanced propositions to our customers,” says Anton Ketelaars, global HR leader, Processes & Solutions.
Empowering organisational transformation
Ketelaars explains that the company’s adoption of Workday lies at the heart of BDR Thermea’s efforts to create the community and culture needed to support its ambitious goals.
“Transformation is key to what our company needs to do right now, and Workday is, from an HR perspective, the major driver of this change,” Ketelaars says. “Workday is core to all our key targets: managing the HR organisation itself, enhancing service delivery and developing a total-reward approach to compensation and talent management.”
Transformation is key to what our company needs to do right now, and Workday is, from an HR perspective, the major driver of this change.
Anton Ketelaars, Global HR Leader, Processes & Solutions
Modernising HR to drive positive change
Ketelaars believes that the constant market changes continue to significantly impact how people approach employment and career-related issues. “It’s made having the right technology in place more important than ever as a means of attracting and retaining the right people,” Ketelaars says. “People are in charge of their careers, so you need a solution that enables you to respond quicker and get the right candidates in faster.”
Workday is playing an essential role as the tool that enables BDR Thermea to maintain its competitive edge in the market. “Just as important, Workday is enabling us to keep track of market developments and then to adjust processes that need to change in response,” Ketelaars says.
Ketelaars is particularly pleased with the usage stats being recorded across the business. “About 95% of our workforce is now online, comprising some 6,500 employees and a good number of contractors, too,” Ketelaars says. “Of these, around 85% have accessed the system – and that’s especially impressive, as many of our people work in our factories and don’t have easy access to the system.
“That’s a fantastic result, confirming for me that Workday is an excellent vehicle for driving positive change in an organisation, enabling powerful new ways of modernising our HR approach,” Ketelaars adds.
“A whole new world” of speed and insight
Workday Peakon Employee Voice is another solution making a positive impact in engaging employees in what Ketelaars calls “a more challenging business environment at the moment.” Ketelaars adds, “It’s more important than ever to stay very close to our people. Workday Peakon Employee Voice allows us very rapidly to get information from them about the areas where they feel we can improve, so our leaders can act quickly on what they hear.
“Previously, you’d do a survey and only get the results two months later, when things might have already moved on,” Ketelaars says. “With Workday Peakon Employee Voice, we’re actively listening, and we are now able to gain deep insights into the inner workings of our team and organisation, providing a whole new level of understanding of our global workforce.”
With Workday Peakon Employee Voice, we’re actively listening, and we are now able to gain deep insights into the inner workings of our team and organisation, providing a whole new level of understanding of our global workforce.
Anton Ketelaars, Global HR Leader, Processes & Solutions
A pivotal role in AI development
Looking ahead, Ketelaars anticipates the relationship with transformation partner SuccessDay becoming ever closer, particularly as BDR Thermea continues to roll out Workday in other countries and add modules such as Workday Learning and expense claims to the solution next year.
“In March we went live in Romania and Ukraine, adding to the countries where Workday was already operational,” Ketelaars says. “And recently we added Poland and Czechia as well. We are also very excited to roll out Workday in China – which will take place in September 2024.”
All of these new markets and opportunities also lead to exciting prospects for the future application of AI solutions across the business, and BDR Thermea sees Workday as having a pivotal role to play in its development and use. “AI is here to stay, and it will disrupt the market heavily,” Ketelaars says. “Positions will change, jobs will change and people will need to embrace new skills to learn to work with it.
“It’s essential that companies have people with the skills to ensure that the AI functionality that will be available cannot be misused and does not contravene GDPR or country-specific regulations,” Ketelaars continues. “I’m confident that Workday will have a role to play in ensuring it is always compliant and very much aligned to global-leading best practices of responsible AI.”