Attracting top early talent is a key priority at SAP to accelerate innovation and maintain our competitive edge. One innovative approach to attracting and growing early talents is the recently launched Global HR Early Talent Program, which is a 2-year rotational program that seeks to develop highly qualified HR employees with well-rounded experience and comprehensive knowledge of our HR organization and SAP.
So, who and where are these HR early talents and what do they do at SAP? We kick off our Early Talent Spotlight series with Rayel Quiring, an Early Talent with the Talent, Leadership & Organizational Design (TLOD) team in Canada. Read on to find out more about her role as well as her accomplishments and experience in the program so far.
Q: Tell us more about yourself!
My name is Rayel Quiring and I graduated in May 2012 from the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, BC, Canada. I completed my Bachelor’s Degree in Commerce with a major in Human Resources, but if you ask anyone, they will tell you that I majored in Volleyball! I played 5 years of Varsity Volleyball in University, winning 5 Canadian National Championships.
Following university, I spent some time playing volleyball in Europe before returning home and joining SAP. I tell everyone that I live by life by the 4 F’s: Faith, Family, Friends and Food. I love to cook, bake and travel all over the world. My favorite place to go is El Salvador as I now sponsor a child named Andy there, and I like to visit regularly.
Q: Where are you now? Where were you originally from?
I grew up in a very small town in central Saskatchewan and moved to Vancouver when I was 10. I am a country girl, in big city clothes!
Q: What inspired you to go into HR? What excites you the most?
I got involved in HR because I love working with people and doing whatever I can to make their work lives better. We often spend more than 1/3 of our lives at work, and I want to make it the best possible experience for others if I can. I get excited when I can see the impact I am making in people’s lives.
Q: How and when did you start with SAP?
Tracey Arnish, Senior VP of Human Resources, was my mentor for one year through the Leaders of Tomorrow program with the Vancouver Board of Trade, and through her I became connected with SAP. When I returned home from Europe in the fall, we reconnected; and when an opportunity opened up in January 2013, I seized it!
Q: Why did you decide to participate in the Early Talent Program?
The Early Talent Program seemed like a great way to get exposure into many areas of HR. It would allow me to experience a part of what HR has to offer, as well as an opportunity to travel in one of the rotations while doing what I love to do.
Q: How has your experience been so far?
Amazing! I’ve met so many incredible people with different life experiences and I’m learning something from each and every one of them.
Q: What are some of the projects you are currently working on?
I am currently working within the Career Development team. I am focusing on the Career Development aspect of this team – if anything has the words “Career” or “Development” in it, I have probably worked on it! I am also creating Development Workshops to be hosted globally, and am heavily involved in spotlighting Career Development within SAP’s People Week this June.
Q: What were some of the challenges you encountered and how were they resolved?
One of the biggest challenges that I have encountered was working in a global team. My team is primarily based out of Germany, and managing the different time zones and meeting requests was an initial challenge. We came up with team expectations – I don’t expect my team to work late into the evening and they don’t expect me to be up at 2AM – and that has helped. I also provide much lead time if need responses. For example, I know that if I need a response, it may take an extra day, simply because of the time difference and I build that into my deadlines. I’ve also become much more of a morning person than I was – and the baristas at Starbucks now know my daily order without me having to say anything!
Q: How do you think your work is contributing to the overall success of SAP?
I truly believe that the work I am doing in Career Development is helping not only HR, but SAP as a whole. We are actively listening to our employees, taking their feedback and creating real, tangible solutions that work with our company’s scale and culture. I see Career Development, and the solutions that come from our team, as evidence that we are valuing each person’s unique contribution to SAP – we are valuing the individual strengths of each of our employees. Personally, I do believe that everyone is a talent! If we can bring out the best in everyone, now and in the future, we will see SAP move forward in our industry, and in our world. This all starts with each of us, believing that we are valuable and that our development is important – not only for us, but for SAP. If we all begin to believe this, that’s when SAP will move forward. That’s when we will run at our best.
Stay tuned for another Early Talent Spotlight interview soon!
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