Employee Relations Manager – Germany based
Strategic role within a multinational organisation, requiring deep expertise in German labor law, extensive experience working with Works Councils and other jurisdictional unions, and fluency in both German and English. Business critical role requiring partnership with senior leadership and HR, providing subject matter expertise to drive compliant, proactive, and business-aligned employee relations strategies.
Remit challenges – This global biotech company was seeking an experienced ER professional with a proven track record of supporting both blue- and white-collar workforces. Following a period of rapid growth and multiple acquisitions, the organisation was facing a new wave of complex ER challenges. While previous efforts had been made to reduce liabilities and strengthen compliance, the company now required a true ER strategist, someone capable not only of managing disputes, but of proactively identifying, preventing, and mitigating systemic risks.
Hiring Challenges – Securing ER subject matter experts with deep labor law expertise and fluency in both German and English is consistently challenging in Germany’s competitive talent market. The required work location further limited the already narrow talent pool, as few local candidates met the qualifications, and there was significant reluctance among others to travel or relocate. Additionally, a constrained budget for salary and benefits added another layer of complexity to the search.
Solution – Required extensive consideration of our network already within Germany. We implemented a targeted outreach and employer branding campaign, effectively highlighting the genuine career growth opportunities offered by the organisation. As a result of our approach, we recommended 3 qualified professionals and given the competitive nature of this specialist talent market, the company made offers to 2 of those people. Both offers were quickly accepted without hassle thanks to our extensive pre-offer preparation and clear communication of expectations to all parties.
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