A company is only as good as its people – and its success depends on them. Meet Monica Tapper, the Chief People Officer at Elos Medtech, who is leading the company’s global HR organization, and strongly believes HR plays a key role in achieving business goals.

Hi, Monica! You are the Global Director of Human Resources at Elos Medtech. Tell us about your role?

My role as Chief People Officer is a new role at Elos Medtech. Previously, each production site had its own HR manager, but there wasn’t a global HR director.

My job is to create and implement a global People Strategy and globalize our people processes. One of Elos Medtech’s goals is to operate as “one company” based on a shared set of values across all our production sites. Our HR organization plays a key role in achieving this goal. Globalization is a matter of people and ensuring that we think and act the same way regardless of where we are. Of course, you have to take country culture and local agreements into consideration. But we should have cohesive processes and a strategy in place for how we support, connect, and engage all our employees.

It sounds like the People Strategy is important in many ways?

Yes, our People Strategy is a guide to ensuring we always bring out the best in our people. It is based on our strong core values that guide us in our day-to-day business and create unity across our global sites. This is our foundation, and everything we do should be built upon that.

On top of that, we are in the process of building a common HR system that will support us in our globalization journey. It will facilitate information handling, provide easy access to common work methods, and build commitment and involvement among our employees. In addition, we are looking into leadership development to ensure all our employees align with our core values and are working toward the same goals.

Right now, Elos Medtech is on a very exciting growth journey. Our HR organization has a great responsibility to facilitate this growth by supporting our managers and ensuring we attract, develop, and retain employees.

Based on your vast experience, why are human recourses so important for a company’s success?

When it comes to business, you don’t have anything if you don’t focus on your people. Because, at the end of the day, a company will not achieve their business goals if they don’t put their people first. Here, the HR organization has a hugely important role, supporting as well as challenging both management and employees to be the best they can be.

Companies that only focus on sales, numbers, and money have a long way to go. Companies that put their people first, on the other hand, in combination with keeping the business perspective, have a good chance of success. This is why human recourses are not only important but key.

That makes a lot of sense. Where do you hope to see Elos Medtech a few years from now?

In a couple of years, I know that Elos Medtech will have a strong and proficient HR organization. We will have a system in place for all our people processes. Our HR team will work globally but support locally. We have already come a long way in a short time, gathering our HR team and setting the framework for building our strategy and processes, strengthening our corporate culture, and moving toward our goals.

I have been working with HR for many years, in both large and small companies, but always in global companies. I know what it is like to work in a global company where you share resources, and I hope and believe I can contribute with my experience and the things I have learned – what works and what doesn’t – over the years. This is exactly the journey Elos Medtech is facing, and I am very excited for the future.

You have been with Elos Medtech for a few months now. Why did you decide to take on this role in the first place?

First of all, Elos Medtech design, develop, and manufacture amazing products. This is very important to me, working at a company whose products are important. In this case, they make a huge difference for millions of people worldwide. They are products that all of us, at some point in our lives, will be able to relate to in one way or another.

Secondly, Elos Medtech is an organization with 100% fantastic people. They are friendly and competent people who are passionate and really good at what they do. I really appreciate that and look forward to seeing what we can create together.

And last but not least, I was intrigued by the globalization journey the company is facing. It is a difficult but extremely fun challenge to take on. There is huge growth potential, and I believe we have what it takes to efficiently build on our strengths and achieve our goals.

I am also a person who loves to build things – and the job offer included building an entire global HR organization. I am also very business oriented and interested in creating something that truly supports the business journey. To sum it up, it was a unique offer that I simply couldn’t resist.

You do sound like the right person for the job! When not leading Elos Medtech’s HR organization, what do you do?

When I am not working, I spend a lot of time with my faithful companions – my dogs – whom I absolutely adore. I also love to travel, hang out with family and friends, and play backgammon, which I am actually pretty good at. I am also a very curious person, and I love to dive into different subjects and learn new things. That is just who I am.

Thank you, Monica, for a lovely chat. We are thrilled to have you.

To learn more about what it is like to work at Elos Medtech, visit our website.