With the new People & Culture Lounge (P&C Lounge), SAP is introducing a new consulting format worldwide that enables all employees to have personal one-on-one discussions with HR experts in person. The P&C Lounge complements existing digital HR service channels and will be available to almost 110,000 SAP employees worldwide by the end of 2025.

In times in which artificial intelligence and digital technologies are massively changing the world of work, a crucial question is becoming the focus: How do companies manage not to lose sight of the human aspect despite increasing automation? Personal contact is essential, especially in personnel support. SAP is therefore consciously aiming for a balance: modern technologies and AI ensure efficiency and smart solutions – but personal advice will remain essential in the future in order to offer employees worldwide the best possible support.

“The working world around us is changing at a breathtaking speed,” explains Dr. Christian Schmeichel, Global Head of People & Culture Services at SAP. “We currently have up to four generations in our workforce, and this naturally changes the requirements and expectations of human resources work. The P&C Lounge is intended to address complex questions and topics from employees that can be better solved through a personal conversation than with the help of the HR ticket system.”

Holistic care approach based on a multi-tier model

SAP takes a differentiated approach to employee support, which Christian Schmeichel describes as a “multi-tier model”. SAP One is available as a portal for simple information needs, while standard inquiries – such as vacation requests, pay slips or certificates – are processed efficiently via self services and the shared service center. As a new service channel, the new P&C Lounge now supplements the offering with the option of individual consultations if required. This puts the human factor back in the foreground: “In my opinion, this more personal consulting approach for more complex topics across the board for employees was missing. This is the white spot that we are now strategically filling in our HR service portfolio,” says Christian Schmeichel.

Until now, personal HR advice was mainly available to managers via Business Partners or Advisors. With the P&C Lounge, all employees now also have access to individual advice on more complex issues – from personal problems in the team to more demanding payroll questions and career development.

The process is extremely simple: employees can via a booking tool Arrange appointments and be brought together with the expert that fits your query. The system shows which HR specialist the appointment is taking place with and in which languages ​​they provide advice. “If possible, the conversation takes place in the local language, otherwise in English,” explains Christian Schmeichel. For payroll questions, a payroll expert is automatically assigned, and for career issues, a corresponding specialist is assigned – the intelligent matching is carried out using AI support.

“The HR employees who are available as experts in the P&C Lounge were familiarized with the new approach in detail in advance,” explains Christian Schmeichel. Personal affinity is also important: employees must have an interest in this type of task and are specifically prepared for the expected topics.

Optimization in human resources through artificial intelligence

Only the increasing use of artificial intelligence has surprisingly paved the way for this new consulting format. “This works because we have developed a very smart resource allocation concept, coupled with modern technology, which ensures that the right expert is selected for the respective topic,” explains Christian Schmeichel.

The use of artificial intelligence not only helps to find the right expertise for the respective request. AI is also increasingly supporting routine tasks in the HR area, thereby creating more freedom for personal support and dialogue. The use of Joule, the AI-based assistant from SAP, offers employees a central point of contact and ensures significantly faster and more intuitive navigation through the diverse digital HR services and relieves both employees and the HR teams in day-to-day business.

Precisely because technologies like Joule are solving more and more standard queries efficiently, personal conversations are becoming even more important in complex situations. Christian Schmeichel also underlines this development: “There have already been pilot projects in the past that were intended to make this direct contact with the HR department possible. But only now do we have the technical possibilities for smart resource allocation and the corresponding capacities through the strategic further development of our HR business model.”

A personnel strategy that is oriented towards the individual

The P&C Lounge rollout began at the end of 2024 with pilot projects in Italy and Japan. “We deliberately chose two culturally completely different countries to see how the offer would be adapted in each case,” explains Christian Schmeichel. “While in Italy all appointments were fully booked almost immediately, in Japan the reaction was cautious for the first two weeks,” reports Christian Schmeichel of the first experiences. “But then the offer was well received.”

After recently being rolled out in Germany and the USA, the P&C Lounge is available to all 110,000 SAP employees in over 70 countries. SAP adapts the offering to local conditions: in the USA, for example, there will be a stronger virtual component due to the large geographical distances, while in other regions primarily personal meetings on site will be offered.

With the P&C Lounge, SAP is positioning itself as a pioneer for a human resources strategy that puts people at the center in the age of artificial intelligence. “In the current change in the world of work characterized by transformation and technology, we as SAP can position ourselves as an attractive employer – with the human component that is strengthened in HR,” explains Christian Schmeichel.

There is great interest from customers: “We are currently seeing great interest in customer discussions to find out more about how SAP specifically emphasizes and supports the human factor in times of artificial intelligence.”

The P&C Lounge exemplifies this approach to meaningfully combining technology and human interaction. “Our aim is to use the P&C Lounge to set new standards for what is possible in the area of ​​global HR support,” sums up Christian Schmeichel. “It’s about the optimal combination of people-centricity and modern technology in a new working world.”