

The People Factor
Thomas Kohler, pplwise
Welcome to "The People Factor," where we explore the role of the people function in driving business success.
We dive into the strategies, tactics, learnings & failures from top organizations to drive strategic objectives impacted by the people function.
Weekly, Thomas chats with industry experts and thought leaders about news, the latest trends and best practices related to develop an organization.
Tune in to "The People Factor" to learn how to unlock the full potential of your team and organization.
We dive into the strategies, tactics, learnings & failures from top organizations to drive strategic objectives impacted by the people function.
Weekly, Thomas chats with industry experts and thought leaders about news, the latest trends and best practices related to develop an organization.
Tune in to "The People Factor" to learn how to unlock the full potential of your team and organization.
Episodes
Mentioned books

May 27, 2023 • 1h 25min
#19 - Thomas, Amiel & Stratos | All about total Rewards
SummaryIn this podcast episode with Amiel and Stratos, the hosts discuss various topics related to rewards and incentivization. We explore the EU 2023 Directive, the gender gap, and pay transparency. Then, we delve into a conversation about best-in-class grading, job titles, and the effectiveness of rewards schemes. They also address listener questions on topics such as sign-on bonuses, the impact of rewards on profitable growth, and tips for young rewards professionals.Shownotes00:02:54 - Intro00:05:54 - EU 2023 Directive, Gender gap, pay tranparency00:20:14 - Best in class grading discussion00:32:54 - Job titles00:38:19 - Incentives, Future vs past incentivisation, LTI vs STI00:48:10 - Sign-on bonuses00:53:54 - Effectiveness of rewards and incentivisation schemes, profitable growth01:00:54 - Listener questions, Does vsop make sense? Tricky stakeholders, remote work and compensation, tips for young rewards professionalsLinksStratos: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stratos-neromyliotis-12a2259/ Amiel: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amiel-barrimond/ Thomas Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomas-kohler-pplwise/ Thomas e-mail: thomas@pplwise.com pplwise: https://pplwise.com/

May 24, 2023 • 1h 4min
#18 - Jakob Gillmann | Co-Founder HiPeople | Ex-VP Growth & Sales @ adjust.com | Angel Investor
About the guest
Jakob Gillmann, the Founder of HiPeople, is an innovative entrepreneur with a passion for revolutionizing the way companies approach talent management. With a keen understanding of the modern workforce, Jakob has leveraged his expertise in HR technology to create HiPeople, a cutting-edge platform that empowers organizations to make data-driven and people-centric decisions. His entrepreneurial spirit and strategic vision have driven the success of HiPeople, like his deep industry knowledge, leadership skills, and commitment to disrupting the HR landscape. With a track record of driving innovation and delivering results, Jakob Gillmann is a recognized thought leader in the field of talent management.
Shownotes
00:02:15 - Intro
00:12:15 - Sales organizations
00:19:15 - Value-based pricing
00:22:15 - Quality of hire, hiring efficiency
00:46:15 - Management, AI
00:55:15 - Peakcon
01:00:15 - Next steps, Recommendations
Links
Jakob Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jakobgillmann/
Thomas Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomas-kohler-pplwise/
Thomas e-mail: thomas@pplwise.com
pplwise: https://pplwise.com/

May 17, 2023 • 59min
#17 Johannes Schmidt | Chief Business Builder @ Exxeta AG
About the guest
As the Chief Business Builder at Exxeta, Hannes Schmidt is a dynamic leader who empowers teams to independently arrive at optimal conclusions through his unique leadership style of freedom and responsibility. With a proven track record in driving strategic accounts, Hannes is skilled at developing and executing innovative strategies to achieve business objectives. Passionate about addressing climate change, he envisions a future with car-free cities. Hannes fosters a culture of accountability, creativity, and collaboration, empowering his teams to take ownership of their work and drive meaningful results.
Shownotes
00:03:50 - Intro, Purpose
00:10:50 - Culture
00:14:50 - Engineering
00:26:50 - Climate change, cities and mobility
00:30:50 - Sports
00:43:00 - AI
Links
Hannes Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/johannes-schmidt-5b6269b0/
Thomas Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomas-kohler-pplwise/
Thomas e-mail: thomas@pplwise.com
pplwise: https://pplwise.com/

May 10, 2023 • 1h 7min
#16 Andreas Schmitz | Chief People Officer NanoTemper Technologies Ex-Roche| Ex-SAP
About the guest
Andreas is a dedicated family man, experienced senior leader, and passionate advocate of human-centric leadership. With a background in basketball, he brings a unique perspective to his leadership approach. Andreas has a proven track record of driving positive change in people and culture, having led HR functions at reputable organizations such as SAP and Roche. Currently, he is spearheading the growth transformation at NanoTemper Technologies, a biotech startup. Andreas runs his own podcast - With People. For People.
Shownotes
00:00:00 - Intro
00:02:46 - Andreas, Nanotemper Technologies
00:11:40 - Principles vs processes
00:19:20 - Basketball teams
00:24:30 - Failures, compensation and bonuses
00:36:28 - Strategy, commercially successful organizations
00:51:17 - Executive management scope, focus and leading +300 people
0056:45 - Stack ranking, prioritization & portfolio management
01:03:52 - Recommendations
Links
Andreas Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andreas-schmitz-withpeople-forpeople/
Andreas Podcast: https://www.withpeople-forpeople.com/
Thomas Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomas-kohler-pplwise/
Thomas e-mail: thomas@pplwise.com
pplwise: https://pplwise.com/

May 3, 2023 • 1h 17min
#15 - Alexander Insam | Partner at GÖRG, Lawyer, Employment Law Expert
About the guest
Dr. Alexander Insam is a seasoned expert in remuneration and labor law and sustainable decision-making, with over 12 years of experience advising banks on compliance with laws, regulations, and guidelines for compensation systems. He helps banks balance compliance and competitiveness, drawing on his extensive experience with over 30 major institutions. Alexander also has a passion for craftsmanship and mechanical watches, which inspire his innovative approach to finding practical and sustainable solutions for his clients. He occasionally works as a mediator, particularly in the aviation industry, and shares his knowledge through LinkedIn to help navigate the regulatory complexities of BaFin, EBA, and the EU.
Shownotes
00:03:03 - Intro & mechanical watches
00:22:33 - SE transformation & workers' councils
00:26:03 - Remuneration, incentivization, VSOP vs stock option vs shares
00:48:03 - ESG, climate change & gender promotion gap
01:12:48 - Recommendations
Links
Dr. Alexander Insam Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexanderinsam/
Thomas Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomas-kohler-pplwise/
Thomas e-mail: thomas@pplwise.com
pplwise: https://pplwise.com/
Book recommendations
Man's Search for Meaning https://www.amazon.de/Mans-Search-Meaning-classic-Holocaust/dp/1846041244/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=

Apr 26, 2023 • 1h 14min
#14 Carrie Krehlik | CHRO & Executive Advisor Biopharma Executive
About the guest
She is known for advising and influencing in complex organizations, and has a reputation as a systems thinker and well-rounded leader. Her passion lies in executive leadership, mergers & acquisitions, leadership development, and organizational effectiveness, among other areas of expertise.
Shownotes
00:00:00 - Intro
00:02:20 - Bay Area
00:12:04 - Germany, SAP mid 90s, pre-cloud
00:18:15 - Management practice, Salesforce, Oracle
00:31:24 - Competition & organisational agility
00:43:48 - AI, management & relationships
00:52:13 - M&A, Integrations
01:06:53 - Recommendations
Links
Carrie Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/carriekrehlik/
Thomas Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomas-kohler-pplwise/
Thomas e-mail: thomas@pplwise.com
pplwise: https://pplwise.com/

Apr 19, 2023 • 1h 6min
#13 - Marie Toby | Director of Community Enablement | Oyster
About the guest
Marie is a strategic and creative thinker who excels in leadership, coaching, and advisory roles. She is known for being generous and hands-on when it comes to managing people. Marie is passionate about shaping the future of work and making a positive impact on people's lives and her expertise and dedication make her a highly valuable leader in driving positive change and shaping the future of work.
Shownotes
00:00 - Intro
01:43 - US Trip, Oyster & Emotions
13:49 - Shoutouts
16:32 - Growth phases from 120 - 650 people org
20:00 - Performance management
30:25 - Career, product launch learnings & remote vs hybrid
55:00 - Building remote culture & recommendations
Links
Marie Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marie-bosseur/
Thomas Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomas-kohler-pplwise/
Thomas e-mail: thomas@pplwise.com
pplwise: https://pplwise.com/

Apr 12, 2023 • 1h 9min
#12 - Catharina Riedl | COO & Head of Cloud Transformation SAP Germany
About the guest
Catharina Riedl, the COO of SAP Germany, is in charge of the sales and service organization that includes ~2500 people. Catharina is a humble and creative individual who loves exploring new ideas and approaches and values transparency, honesty, and being a dependable team player. Catharina encourages having fun and embracing everyone around her to create a positive change within the organization and her passion is designing, creating, and building things.
Shownotes
00:00 - Intro
03:17 - Venice Beach, conflict management & product engineering
17:51 - Management, SAP & mentoring
30:00 - Career disappointments, management track & feedback
43:00 - Youngest COO, General Manager, managing 7 - 2.500 people
50:18 - Sales & Service organization
59:50 - Hiring, Growth Mindset & Recommentations
Links
Catharina Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/catharinariedl/
Thomas Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomas-kohler-pplwise/
Thomas e-mail: thomas@pplwise.com
pplwise: https://pplwise.com/

Apr 5, 2023 • 54min
#11 - Aki Friedrich | Director Learning Experience Superside
About the guest
Aki is a talent development expert who is passionate about creating learning cultures within modern, busy work environments. He believes in confronting hard truths such as disengagement and overconfidence while embracing the potential of workplace learning to develop and retain talent. Aki strives to drive initiatives prioritizing impact over glamour and creating a culture of psychological safety combined with high ambitions.
Shownotes
00:00 - Intro
00:55 - Aki, music & Apple
13:10 - Meditation, impulsive control, first-time manager
22:45 - Maintaining culture during growth stages, career development
35:05 - Individual & group learning, learning ROI, measuring success
41:22 - Effectiveness of leaders
47:40 - Remote-only learning & development, Superside
Book recommendation:
https://www.amazon.com/Bird-Some-Instructions-Writing-Life/dp/0385480016
Profiles:
Thomas: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomas-kohler-pplwise/
pplwise: https://pplwise.com/
Aki: https://www.linkedin.com/in/akifriedrich/

Mar 29, 2023 • 1h 14min
#10 - Amiel Barrimond | Director Rewards | People Analytics | Payroll | Tech | Autodoc
Amiel Barrimond is a Total Rewards professional who is passionate about creating solutions and problem-solving within the Rewards arena. With hands-on experience in all aspects of reward design and management, Amiel believes that the reward function should be robust and agile, yet flexible enough to move with changes in the business and regulatory environment.
Amiel's expertise includes executive and general compensation, incentive design, policy, structure and governance, benefits, performance management, job evaluation, career frameworks, and pay range design.
Shownotes
00:00:00 - Intro & Summary
00:02:00 - Early career, banking & Amiel
00:15:20 - Industry, affordability & measuring compensation
00:20:10 - 4 P’s of compensation
00:29:00 - Incentive & compensation
00:41:03 - Market benchmarking, reward function
00:56:00 - Compensation philosophies
01:06:10 - Next steps
Amiel: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amiel-barrimond/
pplwise website: https://pplwise.com/
Thomas: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomas-kohler-pplwise/


