Karen Cordle
Head of People
foodspring
Ahead of the HR Vision Amsterdam Summit taking place 6-7 June 2018, we speak to Karen Cordle to get an overview of what we can expect from her session on ‘Social Media Recruitment’
In just a few words give us a little overview of foodspring.
Every time we eat, we have the chance to make a change. A chance that goes beyond filling the stomach only. It encompasses opportunities to make a lasting impact in all areas. Therefore, we at foodspring offer a full range of products and ideas that deliver true benefits for your body, your mind and your soul. As fitness food pioneers, our mission starts afresh with each new product. This approach requires great ideas. Pure passion. The best minds in their respective fields. Together with our partners Goodminton AG and investor Fonterra as the global market leader in dairy products 4 years down the road, we at foodspring in Berlin now total more than 130 staff members from over 20 countries and are still growing strong.
We are pioneers in making functional food accessible to everyone. By putting the customer at the heart of our efforts, we continuously challenge our work and keep innovating in every area. We develop functional food that strengthens the body, sharpens one’s mind and balances the soul. Our products match high-quality ingredients, great taste and convenience. We offer support, share our knowledge and are the helping hand when the extra push doesn’t come easy. We are committed to making the world a happier and healthier place and assisting our customers in attaining their health and wellness goals in every way possible.
Tell us a little about yourself and your journey to becoming the Head of People for foodspring.
My journey to foodspring started actually at university in Marburg, Germany where I majored in an interdisciplinary advanced studies program in the areas education, psychology, sports and medicine. I am personally an avid sports enthusiast, passionate about health and mindfulness and equally interested in bringing those ideas into the workplace to promote a happy, healthy, thriving work environment. After gathering extensive experience in entrepreneurship, people training and development, tech recruiting and general management in a wide variety of industries from medical devices, steel, utilities, banking and finance as well as fashion and fintech, I was offered the opportunity to collaborate with foodspring in this function as head of people and organisation to translate foodspring’s product innovations, tech platform and brand focus into a vibrant and engaging culture and
bring the organisation up to the next level in all areas of talent, development and personal growth. I choose foodspring for the products, performance and people, first and foremost our dedicated staff.
What are the key qualities you look for in acquiring talent that match the qualities of foodspring?
Pro-activity, entrepreneurship, creativity, passion
Your topic for session which will be taking place on day 2 in titled ‘Social media recruitment: Millennials and beyond’. What made you come up with such an interesting title?
We are in a digital age and target also a digital audience, however the digital generation are not only millennials but every age group without exception. Where would we like to engage them in an ongoing dialogue on health and fitness? On the channels that support active engagement in social media be it Instagram, Twitter or Facebook. Each customer could be a future talent in our organisation regardless of the generation they belong to and that is why we want to put our finger on the pulse and engage where the dialogue is happening, namely in social media. Encouraging everyone to think about all kinds of opportunities, incl. joining our organisation and making valuable contributions to the industry.
Why is online branding so important for a company?
Visibility and being seen and heard on a broad scale and to a large audience. Reach and brand recognition.
Would you consider certain traditional HR methods to be less effective with the rise in digital influences? If so which ones in particular?
Job postings in particular, career pages, standard interview and hiring procedures that don’t highlight or showcase also the individuals and their personalities on the whole.
foodspring is a wellness brand that promotes a healthy lifestyle, what are the benefits of incorporating a healthy work life in the office?
People are engaged, more focused and balanced on the whole and this increases productivity and leads to a positive work climate.
What are some of the current challenges or opportunities that you have identified as Head of People at foodspring, that could potentially affect overall employee performance?
As in all growing organisations, communication and development in a fast-paced environment are always a challenge. The tools and methods of great use yesterday may not serve the needs of today and that is why it is necessary to develop a collaborative, agile work environment and continuous feedback to promote learning and improve performance. Collaborative leadership is the single biggest challenge in a high growth environment as there are little examples to go by and each organisation has to come up with his/her own definition of what that is and how the organisational set-up should be tailored accordingly.
Lastly, we’d like to know which speaker, you’d be excited to hear from at HR Vision Amsterdam?
Stefanie Fastre from Google and Ehab Hafez from Pepsico
