SKF Group

Ann Sofie Zaks

Human Capital Pathfinder

Ann Sofie Zaks is the senior vice president for people experience and communication at SKF Group. With 24 years at SKF, she has led global HR and communication efforts, supporting 40 000 employees in 130 countries. Her role focuses on aligning people strategies with business needs and fostering growth and development within the organisation.

Recognising Ann Sofie Zaks’ leadership in driving HR excellence, this exclusive interview explores her insights on the challenges and strategies involved in aligning HR with business needs, insights into leadership philosophy, recent endeavours such as the implementation of a purpose-driven approach and lessons learned from navigating real-life challenges in a corporate setting.

AT A GLANCE

● Our focus is on leveraging data analytics for workforce planning, aligning the people agenda with strategic goals and fostering collaboration with business partners stakeholders.

● Our lean group effectively fosters collaboration, talent management and diversity, driving high engagement and strong support.

Reflecting on Past Roles: How They Shaped Her Current Leadership Position

I'm the senior vice president for people experience and communication at SKF Group. SKF, headquartered in Sweden, specialises in bearings and supports over 40 industries worldwide. We operate in 130 countries with around 40000 employees, including 2,500 in Sweden and have 80 factories globally. I’ve been with SKF for 24 years, starting in various people functions and supporting different business areas such as manufacturing, R&D and sales. My current role, which I've held for three years, involves leading the people experience and communication functions, ensuring close alignment with business needs.

I have worked with HR in nearly all functions at SKF, mainly supporting various business areas.  communication is a newer responsibility for me, having led it for two years, but my extensive experience in people functions made it a natural fit for my current role.

Current Challenges Facing the Senate: An Insider's Perspective

Three years ago, I became head of HR, now called people experience (PX), and initiated a significant transformation. Recognising the need to focus on people and growth rather than just managing resources, we rebranded HR to people experience. We aimed to foster a culture where employees can grow and develop, moving beyond just annual processes. We engaged our 500 global PX employees to be closer to the business, understanding both internal challenges and external trends. We reshaped PX roles, emphasising digitalisation to offload transactional tasks. We are more and more utilising self-service and digital tools to make managing easier. This to free up our PX business enablers to focus on strategic agendas and align people initiatives with business challenges.

“We jointly set and share the responsibility of implementing our people agenda, aligning it with our strategy and business, fostering an environment of growth essential for today's focus on change and transformation.”

An essential aspect of our transformation has been leveraging data through people analytics for effective workforce planning, enabling both PX and managers to make informed decisions aligned with strategic goals. This transformation has helped us create a unified people agenda that integrates closely with our company strategy. By consolidating efforts, we work closely with business stakeholders, ensuring our people agenda translates into actionable plans across regions and business areas. This collaborative approach has fostered high engagement within our PX community, positioning us as key partners in driving business success.

We jointly set and share the responsibility of implementing our people agenda, which aligns with our strategy and closely connects us to the business. 

This approach fosters an environment for growth and development, crucial in today's focus on change and transformation. My colleagues in group management frequently acknowledge our function's significant value, which makes me proud. We've also reviewed our processes and activities to ensure seamless support for business delivery, reinforcing our integrated and value-added role.

Defining Leadership: Insights into My Approach and Philosophy

Having spent most of my time in the business, it's crucial for me and my team to stay very close to it. I aim to be a natural advisor, fully integrated and supportive. I am a people person who values empowering others while ensuring we move in the same direction. Clarity in our goals and collaboration is key, emphasising contributions over hierarchy. Speaking the language of the business is also essential.

We maintain a close global community, setting direction and implementing it through frequent town halls where we share best practices and progress. I travel extensively to stay connected with everyone, follow up on local plants and recognise great work. Our lean group relies on extended teams, fostering communities for talent management, diversity, and other areas. This structure ensures we learn from good examples and effectively push out directions, resulting in high engagement and strong support.

Recent Endeavours: Highlighting a Key Project and Its Impact

Two years ago, we began significant changes with a new CEO, strategy and decentralised model, forming a new management team and focus. This shift included developing our people agenda to align with the new strategy. A year ago, we embarked on becoming a purpose-driven company, a journey I led. We launched our purpose last April after nine months of collaboration, involving 10,000 colleagues to ensure it was grounded in our strengths.

We collaborated globally, including factory staff, unions, senior leaders and our board, to develop our purpose: "Together, we reimagine rotation for a better tomorrow." To ensure this purpose is ingrained in our DNA, we've implemented it extensively and focused on company culture. We've upgraded our values and employee value proposition and driven cultural activities. Additionally, we've launched a major branding effort and initiated strategic projects in sustainability and innovation. We established a purpose award to recognise behaviours that reflect our purpose and set up a three-year plan to ensure full implementation, led by a dedicated team member.

Navigating Challenges: Insights from Real-life Situations

In my 24-year tenure in HR, I initially focused on processes but soon realised the importance of adapting language to the business context. Transitioning to business-facing roles taught me stakeholder and change management, crucial for driving transformation. Building trust and aligning stakeholders are foundational to my approach, facilitating effective change management.