It was a special moment when Caroline Hanke began her new role as global head of Organizational Growth and Health at SAP in early October 2024—though in an unexpected way. At the same time, Florida, where her and her family had moved into a new home three months earlier, was struck by Hurricane Helene, followed by Hurricane Milton two weeks later.

“We were evacuated and, fortunately, came out unscathed,” Hanke recalls. “But I had to hold the first all-employee meeting with the knowledge that we’d have to rebuild a flooded house, all while staying in a hotel with an unstable power supply.”

In her role, Hanke oversees strategic workforce planning, health, safety, and well-being, as well as the HR Trends and Innovation, People Insights, Organizational Design, and New Work departments.

Hanke also leads a new area of great importance for SAP’s future: the skills-led organization. But what exactly is a skills-led organization, and why is it important to focus on the capabilities of employees?

“A skills-led organization means moving away from rigidly defined job roles with a limited set of key qualifications and instead focusing more on the individual with their specific skills,” Hanke says. “The personal skill sets of employees will shape internal mobility, professional development, and our hiring strategies as a company.”

The skills-based approach recognizes that current job profile structures often fail to fully reflect employees’ competencies.

Hanke herself is a prime example of a personal skill set that extends beyond what a job description suggests. While she spent the past five years in the People & Culture Board area, her professional roots lie elsewhere.

Born in Germany, at the age of four Hanke moved to the U.S. with her parents for her father to work as a professor in computer science and software engineering at the University of Maryland. The planned one-year stay turned into nearly 10.

“I believe those formative childhood years in the U.S. not only gave me native-level English skills but also a deeper understanding of how culture shapes people’s thinking—and the importance of wanting to understand those differences,” she says.

While studying business information management in Mannheim, Germany, she joined SAP as a working student and gained experience in development. She later supported Daimler-Chrysler, initially as a technical quality manager and later as an engagement architect, where she served as a key SAP contact.

She then developed and led a customer management program for the private cloud, which at that point was still in its infancy. In that role, she reported weekly to the Executive Board of SAP SE and then-CEO Bill McDermott, which eventually led to discussions about her becoming his chief of staff.

“When I got the call, I thought there must be a misunderstanding because I hadn’t applied,” Hanke remembers. “The colleague on the other end laughed and said, ‘It seems someone recommended you.’”

This role took Hanke and her husband, along with their son born in Heidelberg, Germany, back to the U.S., where she had grown up. “I’ve never regretted it,” she says. “All in all, I’ve spent almost half my life in the U.S. and feel very at home here. I’d describe myself as half American, half German.”

After McDermott left SAP, Hanke worked in several roles for the new CEO, Christian Klein, before becoming COO in the then-new People & Operations Board area. Though she initially had little contact with HR, she quickly found the topics as engaging as they were challenging, especially given their impact on people and the organization.

“I think my own career path shows how much more experience and skills each of us brings beyond the role officially assigned to us,” she says. “The skills-based approach allows both the company and its employees to make better decisions. Employees want to stay relevant, and as an employer SAP aims to minimize disruptions for its people during changes.”

Skills Development with SAP SuccessFactors HCM

Two key areas impacted by the skills-based approach are training and hiring. Skills-based hiring means that while degrees won’t become irrelevant, the search for candidates will increasingly focus on individual skills and prior experiences.

But how can a company gain a clear picture of each employee’s range of skills?

This is where the growth portfolio, part of SAP SuccessFactors HCM, comes into play. All employees can conduct a skills inventory and add additional skills unrelated to their current role. These skills, often gained outside their formal roles, can now be documented.

Since it’s part of SAP SuccessFactors HCM, the growth portfolio can integrate seamlessly with functionalities like hiring, learning, career development, and talent management—areas that benefit the most from maintaining up-to-date skill data. Based on this information, the system can offer employees personalized, AI-driven recommendations for training and development, paving the way for their next career step.

The skills-based approach also brings significant advantages for workforce planning.

As Hanke explains: “For example, we want to avoid looking externally for skills that already exist within the company but haven’t been utilized or are in the wrong areas. That’s why transparency is so crucial.”

The more accurately workforce planning reflects the skills within the company, the better decisions can be made.

“Business and HR Need to Work More Closely Together”

“HR is one of those areas where everyone thinks they can weigh in,” Hanke says. “Looking back, I must admit I initially approached it with a typical business mindset: HR—how hard can it be? But I quickly learned otherwise. The topics are incredibly complex because there’s no right or wrong answer—solutions must be tailored to individuals. My respect for the HR organization has only grown since then.”

Hanke made a deliberate decision to stay in the People & Culture Board area. For her, HR is more than just a reporting or operational function; it must be deeply integrated into business decisions.

“I believe that people transformation can be a significant competitive advantage in today’s dynamic world,” she says. “And with my mix of business and HR knowledge, I can add value here because these two areas can no longer be separated.”

Hanke also emphasizes the strategic importance of health, safety, and well-being. “Employee well-being is one of the fundamental requirements for a functioning organization.”

SAP’s award-winning health management program, Run Healthy, is set to expand globally to additional countries in 2025. Mental health, especially in the context of COVID-19 and global political developments, remains a critical focus.

“I’m continually impressed by how advanced and diverse SAP’s offerings are,” Hanke says, who has personally benefited from some of them. As a leader, she feels particularly responsible for addressing health-related topics appropriately.

“It’s important to us to see employees as whole individuals and support their holistic development,” she emphasizes. “The skills-based approach, which enables employees to fully leverage their potential, offers exciting new possibilities. We’re embarking on this journey together—and I’m looking forward to it.”