SEAT GATHERS 250 EUROPEAN EXECUTIVES TO ADDRESS THE FUTURE CHALLENGES FACING HUMAN RESOURCES

• European HRC Meeting 2018 'Meet the Future' event organised by HRC
• International Group and held on the weekend of the 9th June in Sitge
• SEAT President Luca de Meo pointed out the need to promote the internal talent of companies and provide them with new digital tools
• SEAT Vice-president for Human Resources Xavier Ros discussed the challenges of the digital revolution

The European HRC Meeting brought together more than 250 executives in Sitges (Barcelona) to discuss the challenges in the human resources sector. Under the slogan ‘Meet the future’, the conference, which was organised by HRC International Group with SEAT as the main partner, served as the annual meeting point to talk about current trends, pool the best practices and reflect on the future of human resources.

SEAT President Luca de Meo opened the conference with a keynote speech on the necessity of giving special consideration to employment in the current context, where the impact of technology is gaining in importance. De Meo emphasised that “human resources could play a key role: helping leaders and organisations adapt to technology, helping people to adapt to new models of work and careers paths, and encourage changes in society, regulation and public policy”.

De Meo underlined that the ongoing challenge facing human resources professionals is to the ability to detect change and rely on internal talent in order to achieve social and economic success. The President of SEAT pointed out that “humans are adaptable, and given the need to address the emerging challenges of the digitalisation that is transforming society and business, it is crucial that we provide continuous training in order for individuals to learn marketable new skills. With this solution we can transform people from the inside, and leadership will have to transform from an organisation ‘doing’ digital things to one that is ‘becoming’ digital.

Digital transformation and human resources
Following the speech by the President of SEAT, a round table was held to discuss digital transformation, its impact on human resources and the challenges that arise for the managers of these departments. Participants at the debate included SEAT Vice-president for Human Resources Xavier Ros and executives from EF Education First, Seeliger & Conde, Amrop, Meliá Hotels International, ManpowerGroup and Universum Global.

Xavier Ros discussed the importance of digital transformation in every company, and especially in the automotive industry, “as it simultaneously includes three focus areas: technology, business model and the way of relating with customers.” During his address, the Vice-president of SEAT expressed the main challenges to attract digital talent to the automotive industry and analysed some of the strategies when it comes to recruitment and retention of digital talent. Ros also emphasised some of the projects that SEAT has implemented in order to tackle these challenges, such as “DisrUp, a meeting where young talents that develop knowledge about the future of mobility and propose solutions designed by and for the user.”