Press Service of the New Work Evolution

On 7 May, the three-day trade fair and convention New Work Evolution (NWE) came to a close at Messe Karlsruhe – and once again highlighted the fact that the world of work is profoundly shaped by social and economic volatility. To be able to respond to these changes with agility, the world of work also needs a culture of flexibility and openness – and, above all, purpose. Keynote speaker and New Work thought leader Ali Mahlodij also made this clear: “What is the first question children ask? Why – the question of purpose.” From 5 to 7 May, more than 11,000 visitors from 34 countries made their way to Karlsruhe to find out about new ways of working on site and, at the parallel LEARNTEC event, about new ways of learning – topics that are already closely intertwined within companies.

The exhibition stands therefore focused entirely on the question of what modern working might look like – in terms of space, technology and culture – and how companies can successfully transform their own operations. HCD GmbH had created a ‘office of the future’ across 120 square metres, where workspaces provided the ideal setting for every situation: Meeting areas equipped with the latest technology, as well as flexibly configurable creative spaces, quiet workstations and small oases of well-being. At its stand, Haufe-Lexware brought together experts on topics such as artificial intelligence, employer branding and equal opportunities. Transformation consultancy for businesses was on the agenda at the stands of Karsten Franz and Strasser & Strasser.

Visitors on site benefited above all from the breadth of exhibitors in the fields of Technology, People & Culture and Office. Antonia Schulz, Project Manager for Corporate and Organisational Development at OEV (Oldenburgisch-Ostfriesischer Wasserverband), undertook a six-hour journey to gain inspiration for her transformation project: “We want to completely turn our entire head office inside out internally. We face a number of challenges and were looking for inspiration – and we found it here. The key question: How can we meet all the different needs? That’s exactly where we received comprehensive advice here. The talks were also very engaging. We gained many valuable insights on the topic of New Work for our future development.”

Stefan Kreutziger, Sales Manager for Germany and Austria at SilentLab, said: “NWE 26 was a complete success for us, just as it was the year before. This trade fair has enormous potential. Many thanks for the great collaboration and to all the helping hands behind the scenes. See you next year!”

Britta Wirtz, Managing Director of Messe Karlsruhe: “Karlsruhe is a hub for science and IT. New ways of working are already standard practice at many companies here. As a public-sector organisation, Messe Karlsruhe also embarked on its own transformation journey almost six years ago – and this has brought incredible agility and a whole new sense of collaboration to the teams. But we also know that to maintain this, we need a culture of change and a willingness to constantly question systems and processes.”

New Work lebt – und verändert sich

„Nach dem New Work Hype der vergangenen Jahre haben sich viele Unternehmen wieder in die entgegengesetzte Richtung entwickelt – Präsenzpflicht statt Home-Office, Mitarbeitenden-Benefits wurden zurückgefahren,“ erläutert Stefanie Ruf, Projektleiterin der New Work Evolution. „Die Expertinnen und Experten bei uns vor Ort machten deutlich: New Work lebt weiterhin, aber es ist eben nicht mit Einzelmaßnahmen erreichbar, sondern mit einer umfassenden Strategie. Denn was in einer Software-Firma funktioniert, ist im Handwerksbetrieb fehl am Platz. Dabei ist neues Arbeiten auch in untypischen Branchen realisierbar – wie erläuterten die Ausstellenden und Speaker auf der NWE.“

Fast 150 Vorträge, Panels, Podcasts und Interviews standen auf dem Programm – mehr als 140 Speaker waren vor Ort. Ein Highlight im Programm war die Podcast-Stage, powered by captureme und Lindner mit Gästen wie Unternehmerin und Hoteldirektorin Dr. Caroline von Kretschmann, BRATIWIVES mit Sabine Rath, Change Managerin in einem global agierenden DAX-Konzern und der Landtagsabgeordneten Dr. Marilena Geugjes oder Georg Frech, Leiter Akademie bei König + Neurath. Caroline von Kretschmann brachte Wertschätzung und Vertrauen als Key Skill von Führungskräften auf den Punkt: „Vertrauen ist eines der Kernwerte in unserem Unternehmen, also nicht Kontrolle. Eben nicht Vertrauen ist gut, Kontrolle ist besser: Bei uns ist es genau umgekehrt. Vertrauen ist eine unglaubliche Basis jeder Beziehung und Führung ist Beziehungsarbeit. Ich bin immer wieder berührt, zu sehen, was möglich ist, wenn man Menschen vertraut. Die wachsen im wahrsten Sinne des Wortes über sich hinaus, denen wachsen Flügel.“

The third edition of the trade fair and world of experience NEW WORK EVOLUTION will be launched on May 6, 2025 with a number of new features. In keeping with the theme, four new formats and areas will promote exchange, inspiration and co-creation. In addition to a podcast program, including with host Michael Trautmann from On The Way To New Work, there will be a workshop area for the first time as well as a community area where interest groups such as the Bundesverband Vereinbarkeit will be presenting themselves and inviting people to network.

The three-day event is aimed at managing directors, HR managers, transformation officers, architects and New Work planning offices, among others, and addresses all facets of new work: DE&I, People&Culture, Technology and Office.

Podcast Stage: From Michael Trautmann to Jule Jankowski

For the first time, more than ten podcast formats covering new ways of working, reconciliation, new learning and corporate influencing will be recording their issues in front of a live audience in Karlsruhe. The Podcast Stage powered by captureme will open the “Mittelstand digital” format on the first day of the trade fair. Highlights on site include Michael Trautmann from OTWTNW, the two brand.eins podcasters Jule Jankowski (Good Work) and Isabel Gebien as well as Johanna Fink with “Teilzeit Talente”.

With a three-day workshop program, NEW WORK EVOLUTION is also offering its trade visitors the opportunity to deal intensively and practically with new working environments and the associated challenges for the first time. Persolog will kick off the program on May 6: topics include mental health and resilience for managers - as well as methodical information on how employees can be won over to change. The second workshop day, organized by Adacor, will shed light on the technological side of New Work, from process automation to artificial intelligence for HR and knowledge management. Kiki Radicke, Head of People & Culture at Adacor: “For me, New Work means making work meaningful, effective and people-centered - especially in a digital world. Artificial intelligence opens up completely new scope here: it expands the possibilities of employees, relieves them of routines and creates space for creativity, innovation and genuine collaboration.” On the third day of the workshop, Kreissparkasse Böblingen will share what it has learned from modern working culture at regional savings banks - ranging from the transformation journey of Sparkasse Pforzheim-Calw to agility and design thinking.

Community meet-ups on compatibility, new work and corporate influencing

In the new Community Area, initiatives and associations invite their networks to exchange ideas on current challenges in corporate culture, HR and organizational development. Among others, the Bundesverband Vereinbarkeit (May 7, 2 p.m. and May 8, 11 a.m.), the Bundesverband New Work (May 6, 3 p.m. and May 7, 3 p.m.) and the New Learning Lab (May 6, 11 a.m., May 7, 10 a.m. and May 8, 1 p.m.) will be on site. Jürgen Schmitt, financial influencer at Deutsche Bank, will be inviting visitors to discuss corporate influencing on May 6 at 1 pm.

To ensure mental health for visitors and exhibitors alike, even on busy trade fair days, relaxation sessions with Step Ahead will be held three times a day for the first time in the green atrium of Messe Karlsruhe.

NEW WORK EVOLUTION will take place alongside the LEARNTEC trade fair for digital education; tickets are valid for both events. Further information and tickets are available online at www.newworkevolution.en/tickets.

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About NEW WORK EVOLUTION

Originally created as a congress, NEW WORK EVOLUTION became part of the Messe Karlsruhe portfolio in 2022. Since then, the event has been aimed at decision-makers from corporate management, human resources and IT as well as those responsible for training and further education, office managers and other people interested in New Work as a trade fair and world of experience for modern working. In addition to exhibiting companies from the areas of Office, Technology, People & Culture and Diversity, Equity & Inclusion, top speakers, best practice sessions and workshops offer up-to-date insights into all aspects of modern working environments. NEW WORK EVOLUTION takes place annually alongside LEARNTEC.

Further information is available online at www.newworkevolution.en.

In the TÜV Continuing Education Study 2024, almost half of the companies surveyed stated that adapting to digitalization and New Work is having a massive impact on their companies, with more than a third considering new agile working methods to be a decisive factor. NEW WORK EVOLUTION itself is the best example of how relevant new ways of working have become for many companies: launched in 2022 as a special show at the LEARNTEC trade fair for digital education, it has been an independent trade fair since 2023 with continuous growth in exhibition space and numerous new formats. The exhibitors and partners at NEW WORK EVOLUTION from May 6 to 8 in Karlsruhe will be demonstrating the breadth of the topic.

People & Culture: YourCoaches will be presenting their new management program KOMPASS for the first time at NEW WORK EVOLUTION and inviting participants to a workshop on personality-oriented team development. Perspektur will be presenting its Change Management Playbook and providing information on multiplier training and intercultural change management. Emendare has another trade fair premiere up its sleeve: its modular micro-training is an approach for individually supporting companies on their way to becoming adaptive organizations. The specialist publisher Franz Vahlen will be presenting new products from its editorial team and inspiring specialist literature on New Work, agility and leadership.

Stratos is one of the companies in the Technology category. Its software solution guides companies through decision-making processes in a structured manner and makes New Work methods accessible to traditional companies. Probonio supports the management of employee benefits with its app - whether benefits in kind, meal allowances, mobility budgets and other tax-free offers for employees. Exhibitor Zgoll presents a mixed reality app that bundles existing software applications in buildings, such as room booking, workplace booking and building control, into a single user interface and displays them where they are needed using mixed reality. Adacor's trade fair appearance will focus on artificial intelligence in the HR sector.

DE&I: Berufundfamilie advises and informs about audits on diversity and family-friendly offers at work and university. Kreissparkasse Böblingen offers a look into practice - and presents in workshops how New Work, diversity and mental health are implemented at regional savings banks.

The Office theme block focuses on planning offices and furniture manufacturers. The raum rebellen focus on sustainable and flexible room concepts. Future Office will be providing information about its Active Office solutions, which are designed to encourage more movement in the office. With its “Workspace Performance Insights”, Wow tomorrow makes the quality of offices measurable and shows how well the respective office supports employees in their work.

“Change and empowerment”

Lily Kruse, Future Founder of exhibitor HYBEAM, a provider of mixed reality solutions for hybrid workshops, says: “For me, NWE is an event all about change and empowerment. I always leave the trade fair feeling incredibly empowered, as I've been given new perspectives and tools that I want to implement straight away!” Project Manager Stefanie Ruf: “At NEW WORK EVOLUTION, the boundaries between exhibitors and visitors are blurred - and that's how it should be! Because NWE is a meeting place for like-minded people to exchange ideas. People are convinced of the potential of new forms of work and want to gain inspiration for their own individual challenges here with us.”

NEW WORK EVOLUTION takes place alongside the LEARNTEC trade fair for digital education; tickets are valid for both events.

The end of the employer market has set the course for topics such as diversity, inclusion and equality to complement or even trump traditional factors such as salary, job security or leadership. A study conducted by IU International University among 1,200 respondents on the top criteria they use to select their future workplace confirms this change: most frequently mentioned were equal opportunities, work-life balance, openness and acceptance of different characters and personalities as well as meaningful work. The NEW WORK EVOLUTION exhibition in Karlsruhe from 6 to 8 May 2025 will focus on topics such as d, e & i and corporate culture - the online format xChange will provide an initial foretaste with a New Work slot on 30 January. We spoke to xChange speaker Yvonne Weiß, Chief Cultural Officer at Funke Medien Group since one year.

INFO:

Yvonne Weiß will be presenting on the role of the chief cultural officer as part of the online event xChange. Free tickets for xChange and the full programme can be foundHERE.

Pressrelease only available in german!

The online event xChange has been taking place since the beginning of 2021 in preparation for LEARNTEC - Europe's most important event for digital education - and is increasingly focussing on the topic of New Work. Just four months before NEW WORK EVOLUTION, which takes place alongside LEARNTEC, the free xChange programme and four top-class speakers will provide in-depth insights into the world of modern working. NEW WORK EVOLUTION will also feature exciting online presentations and discussion panels as part of xChange, covering the most popular topics in the field of New Work. Dive in live either from home or from the office and experience everything new about New Work on 31 January. Anyone interested can register free of charge at www.newworkevolution.de/en/xchange.

How companies can successfully counteract the shortage of skilled labour

The online presentations will focus on the areas of Technology, People & Culture, DE&I and Office. Participants include Jörg Staff, Alex Gessner and Corona Feederle.

Jörg Staff, Chairman of the German Society for Personnel Management (DGFP), will be speaking on 31 January from 10:25 to 10:40 a.m. on the topic of "The (R)evolution of work: Impulses & trends on the future of work that have determined the future viability of companies and HR in this decade".

Alex Gessner, Chief Operation Officer and Managing Director at ACI Consulting, will then take over and devote herself entirely to the area of DE&I. In her presentation "Diversity - when will we finally get it right?" on 31 January from 10:45 to 11 a.m., listeners will gain new insights into current developments.

Corona Feederle, Managing Director of feco-feederle GmbH, will be providing information on the latest developments in the office sector from 11:05 to 11:20. Her presentation "How New Work is reinventing the office: Hybrid work as an opportunity and a challenge" will tackle all kinds of difficult questions about the future. "People are coming to the office more purposefully. They value personal interaction, which is difficult to replace with a screen. But they also need private areas to complete their personal tasks - and these should be better than before the pandemic," says Feederle. In this presentation, you will learn how to combine the best of both worlds. How to create a hybrid way of working that utilises the benefits of both the home office and the office. How to promote a culture of togetherness based on personal encounters, creative idea development and strong team dynamics. And how to organise your working environment so that it supports your individual tasks and goals.

The online event xChange has been taking place since the beginning of 2021 in preparation for LEARNTEC - Europe's most important event for digital education - and is increasingly focussing on the topic of New Work. Just four months before NEW WORK EVOLUTION, which takes place alongside LEARNTEC, the free xChange programme and four top-class speakers will provide in-depth insights into the world of modern working. NEW WORK EVOLUTION will also feature exciting online presentations and discussion panels as part of xChange, covering the most popular topics in the field of New Work. Dive in live either from home or from the office and experience everything new about New Work on 31 January. Anyone interested can register free of charge at www.newworkevolution.de/en/xchange.

How companies can successfully counteract the shortage of skilled labour

The online presentations will focus on the areas of Technology, People & Culture, DE&I and Office. Participants include Jörg Staff, Alex Gessner and Corona Feederle.

Jörg Staff, Chairman of the German Society for Personnel Management (DGFP), will be speaking on 31 January from 10:25 to 10:40 a.m. on the topic of "The (R)evolution of work: Impulses & trends on the future of work that have determined the future viability of companies and HR in this decade".

Alex Gessner, Chief Operation Officer and Managing Director at ACI Consulting, will then take over and devote herself entirely to the area of DE&I. In her presentation "Diversity - when will we finally get it right?" on 31 January from 10:45 to 11 a.m., listeners will gain new insights into current developments.

Corona Feederle, Managing Director of feco-feederle GmbH, will be providing information on the latest developments in the office sector from 11:05 to 11:20. Her presentation "How New Work is reinventing the office: Hybrid work as an opportunity and a challenge" will tackle all kinds of difficult questions about the future. "People are coming to the office more purposefully. They value personal interaction, which is difficult to replace with a screen. But they also need private areas to complete their personal tasks - and these should be better than before the pandemic," says Feederle. In this presentation, you will learn how to combine the best of both worlds. How to create a hybrid way of working that utilises the benefits of both the home office and the office. How to promote a culture of togetherness based on personal encounters, creative idea development and strong team dynamics. And how to organise your working environment so that it supports your individual tasks and goals.