Hugo Braun - 16 years at HR Campus

Dear Hugo, how did you actually come to HR Campus?

I was a Customer of Hendrik, one of the three founders of HR Campus, and of course I also got to know Marek. At a meeting, I expressed my thoughts to Hendrik about starting my own business. We arranged to have lunch together with Marek and talked about it. In the end, we agreed with a handshake, without any formal application or application documents, that I would come to HR Campus. The funny thing was, when we digitised our personnel dossiers years ago, our HR called me and asked for my CV. They didn't have any of my documents - how could they?

What was your greatest success at HR Campus?

There were many remarkable moments. We've come a long way - from zero to 50,000 payrolls a month for our customers. That makes me very proud! I'm also delighted that our first customer, a company with eight employees, is still one of our customers. Another milestone was the move to the modern offices at in the Memphis building . This reminded us all once again of the size we have now reached. I am also very proud of how the end-of-year event has developed. At the first event, we were in a classroom in Regensdorf with maybe 20 customers. At the last event in November, there were almost 400 participants - that's amazing.

Are there any experiences that you would categorise as failures?

There have definitely been setbacks. One year, we didn't sell any Business Services for months. That was a difficult time, especially for the Team. Everyone was unhappy because we didn't have enough work. Fortunately, we didn't have to take any further measures, but it took us a few months to make up for it. One very sad experience was the death of an employee. It was an extremely difficult and sad time for the entire Team. It made us all realise that nothing can be taken for granted.

The holidays are just around the corner and it's always a time for reflection. You've experienced and achieved a lot. What do you do for your work-life balance? Do you have any advice you can give us along the way?

You should think about what is important to you personally and go your own way. We have an incredible amount of freedom that we should utilise - that would certainly be my advice.

Of course, it's not always easy to take time out, especially in hectic times when there's a lot to do and you have a certain amount of responsibility. I like to go running, swimming or hiking in the forest. Simply going out, giving yourself time, clearing your head - that helps.

What I like about HR Campus is the opportunity to help shape things. We are also looking for people like that - people who want to think outside the box and actively participate. The photo from our team day a few years ago is a symbol of this. We celebrate successes. We work a lot, but we are also there for each other and live the campus values - I really appreciate that. I'm very grateful for that, and also for my team, whom I trust and who sometimes tell me honestly and openly: "Hugo, forget it, it's not working."