As an HR manager, can you tell us what your daily routine looks like?

At BDO, the HR department consists of 12 people. Every morning, I take a moment to catch-up with my colleagues and get a sense of the atmosphere. I dedicate about half an hour to these exchanges, which can be about personal or professional topics. These conversations allow me to really connect with the team, stay informed about everyone's activities, understand the challenges of the day and be aware of upcoming deadlines. In just a few minutes, I can anticipate needs and adjust my priorities before moving on to meetings and projects.

This is why I generally prefer to be in the office: it helps me be connected with the teams. That half-hour in the morning gives me an overview of the situation.

What are the three main challenges HR managers face today?

The adoption of artificial intelligence is one of the biggest challenges. The evolution of technology is forcing us to constantly adapt and raises new questions every day about the possibilities it offers. We have already started training our teams on AI and in parallel evaluating the risks related to these new models. In the future, our ambition is also to develop our own intelligent assistants.

The Learning & Development team has been working on implementing training programs tailored to different profiles. It's a major project, and we still need to put in a lot of effort to get everyone moving in the right direction. In the HR field, I firmly believe that we cannot afford to remain passive in the face of these changes. It’s essential to be actively involved and participate in shaping the future rather than wait for it to unfold.

Beyond this first challenge, what are the other major issues?

Another major challenge lies in our ability to retain our employees. It’s the number one priority of our HR strategy. In the past, our efforts mainly focused on recruitment. At BDO, we have shifted our approach to place more emphasis on the drivers that help retain our talent. We are convinced that this aspect is even more strategic than recruitment.

We are fortunate to have loyal employees. This year, some of our staff celebrated 35 years with the company. Last year, one of our employees retired after a 40-year career with us.

In line with this challenge, it is also essential to support employees in their career development, considering their personal aspirations. We invest in training and offer personalized development plans, while avoiding the automatic career paths often seen elsewhere.

Of course, we want to offer our employees the opportunity to strengthen their skills and, if they wish, take on more responsibilities. But we also know that not everyone has the same ambitions. Some are perfectly happy in their current roles and simply want to continue supporting our clients by leveraging their expertise. It’s essential to respect these choices by providing them with the means to excel in their work.

What advice would you give to a candidate to maximize their chances of getting a job?

I would recommend that they prepare well by researching the company, its activities, and its values. The reflects our corporate culture well and is a great resource. Candidates can also find genuine testimonials from our employees on . If a candidate sees themselves in these stories, there’s a good chance they’ll thrive in our teams.

Authenticity is a key element for us. I advise candidates to be themselves during the interview, to embrace both their strengths and areas for improvement, while showing their willingness to learn and grow within the company. Above all, we want to meet people who share our mindset.

There’s a lot of talk about the talent shortage and Luxembourg’s decreasing attractiveness. What are the main recruitment challenges you face?

I wouldn’t say that Luxembourg lacks talent – in fact I strongly disagree with that. The talent is definitely there - the challenge lies in knowing how to attract it and finding the right places to look. We need to make ourselves heard with a message that stands out. As I mentioned, we have to be authentic but also creative and that's exactly what we're striving to do.

At the same time, it's also important to meet our needs by valuing the skills we have internally while identifying potential. We must also broaden our search field, beyond European borders, and explore innovative solutions. This is why we established a center of excellence in Morocco already 3 years ago, where we have been gradually building teams by recruiting talent that doesn’t necessarily want to relocate to Luxembourg.

Watch video interviews with the teams (including Matina Korma) and discover job opportunities at BDO on .