People in tech: Susanna Salwén, Columbus

If Susanna Salwén could run a new project without restrictions, she would create an AI-powered career coach for all employees. In our People in tech series, she talks about her role as People Director at consulting firm Columbus in Sweden.

- I have been working as People Director for nine months. Before that, I worked at IBM and Kyndryl for many years in different roles. At Columbus, I lead the People team in Sweden, which consists of six people, a mix of People Partners, HR strategists and Talent Acquisition. We work closely with our colleagues in the other countries and run improvement projects and initiatives together.

How do you attract the right skills?

- We work actively to be visible in social media where our employees are the messengers. We have attracted many new employees that way, and also at fairs and other events we organize. The challenge is to see what skills we will need two or three years from now in order to offer "upskilling" to those whose skills are not as sought after, and to be able to recruit those who can both fill an immediate need and will be able to develop with us. Quite often we manage to bring back former employees, so-called "boomerangs", by keeping in touch with those who leave. 

How would you describe Columbus' corporate culture?

- Unlike my previous employers, Columbus is not American but Danish and our Nordic culture is evident, with openness, collaboration and a flat organization. Columbus has a strong customer focus, we work globally in many of our assignments, combined with Nordic openness. We invest a lot in social activities, organizing many internal gatherings that bring us closer together. We are guided by our core values Stay Curious, Build Trust, Collaborate, Deliver Customer Success - which focus on innovation, collaboration and customer benefit.

What HR trends do you think will have the biggest impact on the industry in the coming years?

- I see three strong trends. One is AI and automation - HR will become more data-driven, with AI supporting recruitment, skills mapping and predictive analytics. We are already seeing this in the form of support for recruiters, for example. The second is personalization of the employee experience - just as customer experiences are being tailored, we will create individual development plans and become more flexible in terms of where and how work is done. The third trend is sustainability and social responsibility - employer branding will be as much about values and social responsibility as it is about pay and benefits.

How do you use data and digital tools to improve HR processes?

- At Columbus, we work with analyzing different types of data, including engagement data to understand trends and act proactively, we automate administrative processes so that HR can focus on strategic issues and we strengthen the AI competence in the team. Together, we're testing and building different agents that help us with recruitment and support managers on all kinds of issues.

If you could run a brand new initiative without constraints, what would it be?

- I would create an AI-powered career coach for all employees. It would map skills and interests, suggest development paths and training, and provide real-time feedback on how to achieve goals. It would make career development more transparent and engaging.

What are the benefits of being a member of TechSverige?

- There are many benefits. Firstly, the support we are offered in the form of advice, templates, networks and more, but also as a messenger of our opinions and wishes. We can make our voice heard through TechSverige and make it stronger together with others in the industry. An additional advantage is to get closer to other companies and "disarmed" be able to talk about things that we all see as challenges.