Interview mit Liz Lux

Liz ist VP People bei Bloom Diagnostics

Liz Lux

Unternehmen

Bloom Diagnostics

Unternehmensbranche?

Medizintechnik/Medizinprodukte

MitarbeiterInnenanzahl, davon wieviele in HR

70, im HR Team 3

Deine beruflichen Stationen?

Jobs im Bereich Organisations- und Personalentwicklung in großen multinationalen Unternehmen in verschiedenen Branchen in Australien, Europa und zuletzt in Wien seit Ende der 1990er Jahre. Seit 2014 in der Startup-Welt tätig. Seit 2019 Aufbau von HR (People & Culture) bei Bloom Diagnostics.  #bestteamever 

Deine Aus- und Weiterbildung?

Abschluss in der Erwachsenenbildung der RMIT Universität in Melbourne/Australien. Weiterbildungen wie Certified Scrum Master, Coaching, WIFI-Arbeitsrecht und anderes mehr.

HR bzw. People & Culture in einem wachsenden Startup. Wie sieht die HR-Arbeit in diesen Unternehmen aus?  Wohin geht die Entwicklung? Was sind die Herausforderungen? Wir haben bei Liz Lux, VP People bei Bloom Diagnostics, nachgefragt. 

 

Why are you working in HR?

I love working in the ´People´ function because I like working so closely with such great people, to be able to have an impact on building, nurturing, and evolving a culture that is appreciated by colleagues and the business alike. I also think this field is so exciting at the moment with so many changes happening and younger colleagues entering the market with completely different expectations. To be part of a dynamic, young, growing, and innovative company like Bloom and know that you can make such a positive impact internally and externally brings a smile to my face every day. 😉

What do you like most about your role as VP People?

What I love about my role (which combines the generalist, strategic and recruiting) is the opportunity to work closely with everyone in the business and to experience each and every day the impact one can have on creating and nurturing a great org culture. I also enjoy working with a leadership team that is fully aligned with this vision and do all we can to truly work together as one Bloom team.

What makes a good HR colleague for you?

Extremely good people skills, EQ skills, communication skills. Ability to learn and understand compliance and legal topics, BUT to have the skill to quickly understand internal org. culture and being able to adapt these regulations in a compliant way and a way that aligns with the values and culture of that organization. 

How would you describe the culture of your company?

#bestcultureever! – a culture where the values are lived day to day by everyone, where everyone is equal, everyone is listened to and can provide input into business strategy and goals. Everyone, even interns that start with us, are given projects to own and opportunities to develop very quickly. Transparency – all that can be shared with all colleagues is on a regular basis.

What do you understand by the keyword „New HR“?

Firstly – to move away from the title ´HR´ to ´People´ or ´People & Culture´. To move the focus to creating and nurturing organizational cultures where colleagues (rather than employees) are empowered, have development opportunities, and know they have a safe place to give ideas, challenge constructively and provide feedback etc. Using data and digitalization to work more efficiently and be able to better meet the needs of the business and the colleagues to help all succeed.

Where and how should we become bolder in HR in general?

We need to move HR expertise and value to being a trusted and credible business partner instead of forcing and controlling. For example, at Bloom Diagnostics, it is important that every new colleague that joins is aligned with our values to continue contributing to building the culture as we grow and not just bringing the tech expertise. Here, we, as the People Team (HR Team) manage and facilitate the recruitment process, but we take a very enabling approach and allow the business to effectively interview and make the decisions on who to hire.

2nd example is moving away from the brand Human Resources and changing it to People or People & Culture. Many people have experienced an HR department in the past where it was purely operational and compliance focused. I have experienced by changing the name to People or People & Culture, it creates the aligned mindset of the value we want to bring. In addition to that I have been very lucky to hire People Business Partners that are aligned with exactly the same mindset.

We need to move away from wanting to control and force HR issues and move more towards building trust and providing a credible and value add Business Partner promise.“

Which labour law/legal requirement is the most annoying? What would you like to change?

Some Austrian labour law policies are very outdated and not aligned with the new way of working that young and dynamic companies want to work and what employees are looking for. Also, the work visa process complexities and timing for employing specific skill sets not yet very developed and/or available in Austria. Lastly, some consistent labour law regulations within the EU to also make it easier managing across different countries.

What do you find most exciting about your job?

That every day is different and brings new and exciting challenges and opportunities for learning and growing and knowing that I have many interesting discussions with my Bloom colleagues.

From Australia to Austria – what‘s your story behind that move?

Parents from Austria and migrated to Australia – I was curious about discovering Europe and started my journey in London, planning to stay 2 years and then head back. Using this time to discover European cultures – both geographical and organizational which I was very lucky to experience more than I could have imagined.

After close to 4 years in London, I decided to come ´back to the roots´ for a year or 2 to also work and live and experience my parents homeland. Falling in love with my current partner, the country Austria and the opportunities given to me in the start up world here keeps me here now 🙂

How do you typically start your workday?

After taking a long walk, my People team and I have a 10 min ´stand up´ call / meeting to greet each other and reinforce support for the day ahead.

Which celebrity would you like to have dinner with one night and why?

Jacinta Ardern (PM of New Zealand) because I would be interested to hear about her experience as a successful political (female) leader.

What three things in your job are you most grateful for?

First, the amazing team I get to work with each day. Second, to be part of such a great team working on a very innovative product that has a positive and helpful impact in society.  Third, knowing that I have a full Bloom team that supports me and supports each other in achieving our goals and together overcoming any challenges we meet on the way.

Vielen Dank für deine Zeit und den spannenden Einblick in deinen HR Job!

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