2010 – 2013
Our story begins in 2010, when André, with the will to think HR in a new and different way, founds the company “HR Competence GmbH”. At the same time, he set up the company “Scrumjobs” together with Boris Gloger. At this point, Scrumjobs is a platform for searching and placing job profiles such as Scrum Master and Product Owner. In 2012, André’s vision of the transformation of HR led to the development of our brand “HR Pioneers” with the claim “agile. people. With six employees, we threw ourselves wholeheartedly into the realisation of our vision: to implement innovative solutions in HR management for dynamic companies. And in doing so, we want to help companies adapt to new market situations faster, more successfully and yet sustainably – as agility in its purest form.
We are driven by the desire to connect people and companies so that they can learn from each other. So we are starting 2012 with a new kind of networking format, the Agile HR Conference. What starts out as a very small event with 20 participants over the course of the last few years has become the largest conference in the agile management scene.
2014 – 2018
There is great interest in our insights and thoughts on Agile HR and Leadership, and so we will start to give certified open trainings in 2014. The longer we accompany transformations and set impulses, the more we feel that playful instruments are helpful. In 2015, we launched the first prototype of the Pioneer Cards, a set of cards for staff development. In 2017 and 2018, other game-based card sets follow: Agile Challenge and Pioneers Navigator. Like many of our other ideas, we always develop the games together with our partners and clients – and get feedback from them.
The variety of topics and projects is increasing more and more, so that we have gained many new employees since 2017 and in 2018 there are already more than 20 pioneers. On the one hand, this is great for the diversity of our skills, but on the other hand it brings challenges for our communication structures, our organisation and our culture. We see this as an opportunity to learn about ourselves. We are experimenting with formats such as the “Pioneers Lab”, fluid teams and teams in network structures.
In one of the labs, we take time to discuss and develop our corporate values. In other words, the values that define us as pioneers and that we want to represent:
- Sense-making
- Passion
- Collaboration (team spirit & cooperation)
- Integrity (trustworthiness, sincerity, commitment)
- Development
- Pioneering spirit
Our values drive us and hold us together. But that doesn’t mean we don’t have friction and grow on many issues – just like any other organisation. What sustains us (nevertheless)? Fun, passion, freedom to try things out and authenticity in our daily work together, as well as the conviction that as a pioneering team we can achieve more for our clients!
from 2019
As several new pioneers have come on board over the years, we are taking a closer look at our values. What exactly do they mean to us? We will find out together:
Collaboration means to us,
living our vision of a human working world ourselves: with clients, business partners and colleagues as sparring partners at eye level.
Integrity means for us
uprightly and sincerely following our ethical orientation and taking responsibility – even if this is often uncomfortable.
For us, passion means
working on our projects with head, heart and hand – combining depth with lightness.
For us, pioneering spirit means
thinking and acting with an eye to the future and people beyond the world of work – in deep trust in change and always inspired anew by our environment.
For us, development means
curiously trying out new paths and roles again and again in order to grow as a company as well as personally – while welcoming the fact that there will be no arrival.
For us, creating meaning means,
aligning ourselves with our values in our daily work and making a positive impact in the community – for us, our clients and our society.
In 2019, we will work on our vision together in one of our labs and finally formulate it like this:
Imagine it’s all about people …
The HR Pioneers have a dream: we want to fundamentally change the way we live together in our society. And we start where we know our way around and where we all spend so much of our lives: in the world of work. Our aim is to make organisations fit for the future and to enable people to work and live in a meaningful way – both professionally and voluntarily.
We say we want a revolution!
For a humane togetherness in organisations and ultimately in society, we, as pioneers, face the daily challenge of really (pre)living our values ourselves. And because we are not the only dreamers, we have made it our mission to empower and connect our clients on their own journey. To revolutionise the world of work together. Because then our dream will come true:
… and the world will live and work as one.