Amid job cuts and transformation, VW has not had a human resources director for around a year. However, that could soon change. According to research by Correctiv.org, Erika Rasch is probably the most promising candidate for the position. Rasch currently works as Head of Corporate People & Culture at Bosch and reports to the head of human resources, Stefan Grosch. If she actually gets the position at Volkswagen, this would be her first board mandate.
However, this has not yet been decided. Correctiv learned from “three people familiar with the events” that Rasch’s appointment was supposed to be decided at a supervisory board meeting about the VW savings package last week. In the short term, however, the personnel matter was taken off the agenda because the mood was upset because of the austerity package. VW and Bosch have not (so far) commented on the personnel.
Who is Erika Rasch? Career of the VW HR candidate
Erika Rasch is a Bosch homegrown product. She began her professional career there in controlling and purchasing and then switched to human resources. She then held numerous HR management positions within the group – including being head of human resources in Shanghai (China). She also had to deal with topics that are relevant to her role as HR director at VW.
In an interview with the online format Evermood, Rasch spoke about how it feels to close plants and departments and to manage the transition from combustion to electric mobility. You always have to find the balancing act between ensuring the company’s competitiveness and sustainably engaging employees. In the interview, she also addressed the topic of employees’ emotional reactions to restructuring. It has already happened once that the car is scratched and the tires are slashed after company meetings.
What HR priorities is Erika Rasch currently pursuing at Bosch?
A look at Erika Rasch’s Linkedin timeline shows where her current focus areas are: AI, global collaboration, skill management and innovation promotion. The posts also clearly focus on how important her personal and professional network of relationships seems to be to her. This also came to light in the interview with Evermood. There, Rasch said that the collective approach in Chinese culture had influenced her during her time as human resources manager at Bosch in Shanghai. In western countries, people act much more individually in the world of work. Perhaps that also explains why Rasch seems to be well connected in the CHRO scene, takes part in event panels and is part of the jury for the HR Start-up Awards. Rasch said about herself that she is often described by others as humane, warm, clear and focused.
In her conversation with Evermood it also becomes clear: Rasch is committed to mental health and self-leadership – and tries to set an example of both herself. Her morning ritual includes drinking green tea and meditating, said the Allgäu native, who grew up on a small farm and was the first in her family to graduate from high school and study.
Who else was on the list of candidates for VW’s human resources director?
And she may now make it to the top of the board. According to media reports, there had already been other candidates for the position of VW Human Resources Director before her. Former Federal Minister Hubertus Heil, BA boss Angela Nahles, TKMS board member Oliver Burkhard and Skoda human resources manager Maren Gräf were in conversation. Insiders revealed that the Porsche and Piëch ownership families are pushing for a woman to fill the position. The statutory quota for women should be adhered to if the only woman currently on the board – IT director Hauke Stars – leaves the car manufacturer.
The company says that they are looking for a suitable person “without hassle”. But the HR tasks that the group is currently dealing with would be extremely challenging, even with a human resources director. Management is currently planning to cut around 100,000 jobs worldwide. In Germany, it is being discussed whether four plants – in Hanover, Zwickau, Emden and Neckarsulm – should be closed in order to save personnel costs and reduce excess capacity in production.
Since Gunnar Kilian resigned from his position due to “different ideas regarding the management of investment companies” – as the company puts it – VW brand boss Thomas Schäfer, with the support of Arne Meiswinkel, HR director at Volkswagen Passenger Cars, has taken on interim responsibility for HR issues in the group.
What qualifications does the new VW HR director need?
Filling the position seems difficult. Is this because there are no suitable candidates or due to disagreements between the parties involved in the selection process? According to Benjamin Renk, partner at executive search consultancy Mercuri Urval, the latter is particularly the case. The position of HR director at VW is much more than the management of a classic HR department. Rather, you are at the interface between the board of directors, employee representatives and owner families, each of whom has their own interests. Added to this are the interests of politics.
“And as long as your conflicts within the group are not resolved – for example regarding job cuts, costs, co-determination and the future composition of the board – filling this position will quickly become part of a power game,” Renk told our editorial team. “We are not just looking for a technically convincing personality, but also someone who can be supported by all camps.”
Currently, however, the “tensions in governance” seem to be paralyzing key personnel decisions such as those of the HR Director. Nevertheless, it cannot be denied that the future HR director will have to have a number of skills in order to fulfill the role in the crisis-plagued company. According to Renk, these are the following:
- Experience with profound restructuring
- Credibility in dealing with employee representatives
- the ability to closely link human resources issues with corporate restructuring and economic pressure
- a strong sense of governance issues
Lena Onderka is editorially responsible for the Employee Experience & Retention area – which also includes, for example, the topics of BGM and employee surveys. She also looks after the topic of diversity. She is also the editorial contact for the German Human Resources Summit and the HR Forum Banking.
