Caroline Tervoort-Visser is the CHRO at KPMG Netherlands, bringing extensive experience across sectors such as professional services, FMCG, entertainment, and regulated industries.

Caroline discusses the evolving role of HR in response to technological and social shifts, and shares a detailed insight into KPMG’s award-winning onboarding programme. She also reflects on the career risks she has taken and the significance of believing in yourself and your abilities.

I’d be interested to hear about your approach to integrating HR technology - specifically AI - in recruitment. How is KPMG utilizing it to address unconscious bias in the selection process?

Three to four years ago, we introduced AI-inspired technology for initial candidate selection, aiming for a completely unbiased process. By removing names and visuals from applications, we’ve achieved near gender parity at the entry level - a very positive and stable result.

We’re now looking at adopting new technology, set to go live in October, to take a closer look into new talent pools. This will help enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of our selection process, which has been quite traditional.

AI brings lots of opportunities, but it also raises ethical questions. We are a people business, so we need to take a closer look before pressing play. The earlier stages of AI assessments led to big biases, due to the language model receiving biased inputs - that's what you want to avoid.

We need to ensure we understand how AI can really work for us and open up talent pools, instead of narrowing them down. That's currently in the piloting phase, as we are exploring options, the quality of assessment, and how they compare to our classic recruitment process. When implemented, it will deliver great things.

At a recent Talent Acquisition event, we welcomed an industry expert who highlighted that, while AI will effectively handle many tasks, there will still be key touchpoints where human interaction is crucial. He stressed that, though AI can enhance efficiency, creating a meaningful, unforgettable candidate experience requires high-touch human connections at specific points in the journey.

When it comes to interpretation or interaction, that’s the remit of a human. AI doesn't have values or conscience, but it is your best assistant and can work in tremendous ways.

However, there are certain things that I - and we, as a company - believe you can never automate. Recently, we carried out our annual CEO outlook survey. It showed that 76% of global CEOs believe there will be no impact on the number of jobs. Instead, AI will change roles significantly, make them more productive, and create new jobs. I thought that was quite a remarkable finding.

That mirrors the conversations I've had with senior leaders. Many share similar insights, suggesting that roles will change, people will need to adapt and be willing to learn new skills, but the overall number of jobs may not necessarily change. Instead, technology will boost productivity and free people from transactional tasks, allowing them to focus on more engaging work.

I fully agree. Of course, there will be jobs that will vanish due to becoming fully automated. But that’s not so different from 25-30 years ago following the introduction of the internet. It's continuously evolving and quite a disruption.

All in all, I believe the number of roles will grow in the AI area. We will need more people with the ability to work with AI, its outcomes, data engineering, managing data lists, etc. I’m excited to see what will happen in the coming years.

You’ve previously mentioned an onboarding programme that won an award a few years ago. I'd love to hear more about that.

In 2022, we won an award for our fully hybrid onboarding programme, designed as a 100-day journey, which combines an app and classroom events. Throughout the programme, we have touchpoints where everybody comes together forging that engaging, cohort feeling.

We also have a two-to-three-day event centred on values and purpose.

A big part of our onboarding programme is instilling understanding and showing what it means to be part of our KPMG family.

The programme continuously evolves, with experiences and changes in recent years. It's a nice way to see that cohort bonding and people entering into a network where it's easy to reach out to one another. It takes time to get to know people outside your own team and the programme really accelerates that process. Beyond that, it’s fun, with many team-building activities. I love the programme!

What’s nice is that it brings everyone together - young and old, those experienced and those starting their career. At that moment, everybody is in the same place, learning from each other. They all go through the same experience, which is great. Everyone I've talked to over the past two years has explicitly said the onboarding programme is out of this world, and I've never seen it at other companies.

I'm really proud of it. It's not for recruitment purposes - as you’ve already decided to become a member of the KPMG family - but sparking that pride from the start helps people settle in well and feel that pride from day one. They take that pride into their teams, so it really helps.

Our engagement and retention rates continue to be very solid. It's a starting point of a long-term, unique employee experience, and it’s such an important kick start.

It sounds like there are lots of initiatives happening within the organization that people may not be aware of. Can you tell me more about that and how it ties into sustainability and trends in that space?

People know KPMG as one of the Big 4 accounting and advisory firms. Of course, we do a lot of traditional accountancy work - reporting on companies’ financials and financial health. But things are changing significantly with the non-financial KPIs that we support our clients with, such as Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG).

In Europe, we are assisted by legislation like the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), which organizations must commit to. At KPMG, we find ourselves at the heart of what's happening in society, supporting clients in meeting corporate social responsibility compliance.

We also have a large advisory practice that's undergoing big changes, especially with our technology department, which has a remit of over 500 people. You can see that the practice is shifting towards becoming a tech house, rather than a classic consulting firm, driving larger long-term transformations globally. It’s evolving very fast.

Interestingly, we are still a very young company – something not everyone realizes. The average age is around 33-34. People are driven and eager to perform, learn, and explore different opportunities.

Also, in the Netherlands alone, we have over 83 nationalities. That diversity brings so much richness that isn’t what people typically associate with an accounting and advisory firm, and it’s one of the reasons why I love this business. You’re surrounded and inspired by the next generation, new ways of thinking, and knowledge that simply wasn’t available when we went to school 30 years ago.

Tell me about your career. Can you share a few moments where you’ve taken risks? And how did you know it was the right thing to do?

Sometimes, you don't really know if it’s the right decision - you just take the plunge. For me, my career has included two different lives at KPMG. In between, I explored completely different sectors, including the music entertainment industry, which is completely different to professional services, and then a role in the medicalized FMCG sector – not as fast moving as traditional consumer goods, but still very different from what I’ve done before.

After my first life at KPMG, I got a chance to build out an international People strategy in a completely different sector.

I thought I could either stay at KPMG - as there was a clear career path set out for me - or take the plunge, and explore what other companies with great cultures are out there. With some personal factors influencing my decision as well, I decided to take the opportunity.

That experience taught me a lot. You initially self-reflect: Why is it so scary? What does it say about me? And you have to move beyond that; feel the excitement, just go for it, and reinvent yourself.

I knew I could thrive in a different environment and forge new connections, as I did when I went to study in the Americas. I had enough self-confidence to say, “I can do this.” In a way, I felt like Pippi Langkous [Pippi Longstocking], who famously says, “I’ve never done it, so I think I can do it.” That became my motto.

When the next opportunity came along, it felt easier, because I had already experienced those feelings, and you carry that with you. HR skills are transferable, even though each sector is different - every organization needs HR. I have been lucky meeting leaders who recognized my vision, skills and personality, and trusted me to be successful in a different environment and asked me to join them.

My conviction is that, if an opportunity feels right, take it. You’re more likely to regret the things you didn’t do than those you did, even if it doesn’t turn out as you expected. There’s always something to learn from each experience.

Why is the Netherlands a great place to live?

I've travelled a lot and worked in many countries, so I’ve experienced many cultures up close. The Netherlands has a very high quality of living. The healthcare system and education facilities are of great quality, which is one of the reasons we see so many international people migrating here.

When we talk about international mobility, we have around 4,500 people working for us in the Netherlands, with a couple of hundred being international hires. It’s a talent pool we tap into as part of our workforce shaping strategy. Additionally, the Netherlands has a democratic culture with a low power distance; you can voice your opinion and there's lots of beauty in that.

However, having worked in different cultures, I've also learned to balance this openness with decisiveness. While it’s great to encourage voices and ideas - leading to innovative solutions - there are times when decisions need to be made more promptly. Sometimes, the Dutch can be overly democratic, which can delay action. Other cultures tend to reach that decision point more quickly. In gaining these international experiences, you gain a lot of leadership lessons.

What aspects of your HR role and your life outside of work bring you joy?

As I said, we truly need international mobility, especially with high-knowledge workers. The labor shortage will not go away in the coming years. Of course, AI and its hopeful productivity gains will help us close the gap, but not completely.

That's a big theme I will need to respond to in my profession, because it's so volatile and is everywhere at the moment. I’m following it very closely to see what things I have to manage and what challenges will come our way.

Then there's the skills gap. I talked about the education facilities, which are great, but when you look at what companies need at this moment and what is being delivered from universities or high schools, there’s a mismatch. We need to address it. We have to educate our own people and make them fit for the future. It is an important duty of care, not only for our own organization, but for society as well.

At KPMG, we have four (almost five) generations working for us, ranging from young employees around 18 years old to those in their 60s. We have to manage that, too. Not everyone - let's say the digital-savvy generation versus the more experienced generation - has the same pace. The more experienced generation does not lack the ability to become digitally savvy, but they come from different backgrounds and may prefer the more traditional – or transactional – parts of their work over technology, such as AI, taking over.

There’s also this duty of care as an employer to closely examine how we keep everyone employable and how we upskill them. This is a more ethical consideration to keep in mind.

When it comes to fun, I enjoy tackling these challenges. I have a great team, which makes for a rewarding environment in different types of settings. I engage with the Board of Management, our supervisory board, the works council, the HR community at large, my own HR team, and the business units we work with extensively. We enjoy challenging each other in achieving our People ambition, and get positive energy throughout the day in doing so.

From a content perspective, it’s fulfilling to see that we’re doing things that contribute to societal challenges. We impact 4,500 people with our work, and I always try to emphasize this to my HR team. They might feel like they’re just hiring new people or putting together a reward structure, but it’s not only about the techniques; it’s about the impact we create to our people and the communities they live in.  

This became clear when COVID hit us. We directly saw the impact we had by keeping everyone safe and tending to their wellbeing. It accelerated our thinking about the purpose of the team and how they contribute to the greater good. You have 4,500 people, but you also have their families. In a way, we contribute to a much broader community than just our own people, and I think that’s the beauty of the profession.

I’ve been involved in HR recruitment for about 18 years and witnessed the function evolve significantly. People often ask if I’d like to recruit for something different, but HR roles today are vastly different from what they were 18 years ago; they’ve constantly changed.

With all the aspects you’ve just mentioned, HR is such an impactful function that touches so many areas. I think your response reflects that - now is truly the best time to be part of the HR discipline.

Absolutely. That’s a true conviction, because of the trends we discussed earlier. Technology is impacting not only our own function, but all the functions and roles in the organization. This ties into the labor market and how we search for new skills, as well as how we retain our people and ensure they remain employable. All of this is driven by technology trends and the acceleration through AI.

We also have societal trends and the impact of significant movements like Me Too and Black Lives Matter. These big topics place a strong emphasis on culture, particularly the need to create psychologically and socially safe environments.

HR is now much more directly linked to the organization’s strategy, instead of just being a transactional function that ensures people get paid and that health and safety measures are in place. It’s much more than that, given all the significant shifts occurring simultaneously.

As I mentioned, regarding the different generations, this presents one of the reasons for a greater responsibility for our leaders. This evolving landscape means managers can no longer adopt a transactional approach, simply saying, "I’ll pay you monthly, so go do what I want." That way of managing is long gone. There’s a completely different human deal at play now, and many leaders - particularly those who are a bit more experienced - need to wrap their minds around this change. Maintaining a connection with the younger workforce and understanding their needs is challenging and requires continuous effort.

We invest heavily in ensuring our leaders adopt a more empathetic leadership style, instead of a transactional one. We place a strong focus on psychological safety and ethical behavior, making sure everyone feels comfortable in their teams and in their roles. This emphasis on culture, ethics, and values may have always been present, but it wasn’t always at the forefront of the HR discipline.

Now, it’s becoming increasingly important and may evolve into the major priority for HR, especially as transactional aspects could easily be handled by Operations or other functions. The real added value lies in our focus on culture and people.

Thank you to Caroline for speaking to Katie Insley, Director in our Human Resources recruitment team in the Netherlands. 

Views and opinions contained within our Executive Interviews are those of the interviewee and not views shared by EMEA Recruitment.