A spotlight on EPFL's new Human Resources Director

© 2020 EPFL Claudia Noth en télétravail

© 2020 EPFL Claudia Noth en télétravail

Claudia Noth is EPFL’s new Director of Human Resources. She was appointed to her position on April 1st, reporting to Prof. Edouard Bugnion. This nomination takes place amid the unprecedented situation ruled by the coronavirus.

You're joining EPFL under unprecedented conditions

My personal philosophy is to have a direct contact with the people with whom I work. At EPFL, I was looking forward to having a team close to me rather than dispersed across the world. COVID-19 decided otherwise! I am taking my first steps at the EPFL via webcam. In order to build relationships, we hold frequent and regular Zoom sessions and I am meeting staff, professors and contacts individually via teleconference before having the pleasure of meeting them in person. At this time, my priorities are my availability for the team for the workload is substantial, as is the investment in the Coronavirus Task Force to enrich the support proposed to all EPFL staff in this exceptional hour.

Could you tell us about your background?

I was raised in Berlin. I have a university degree in Education to teach German and a Master’s degree in Linguistics and Interpretation. After a six month stay in London, my further studies at the University of Geneva brought me to Switzerland. I only planned to stay an additional 6 months nevertheless 25 years later I am still here, for in the wake I was hired by Mercer Group, the Human Resources consulting firm, and was in charge among other responsibilities, for European training. My work developed quickly and I had the fortunate opportunity to manage Human Resources projects for various organizations across Europe covering job evaluation, salary benchmarking, talent development, performance management, and competency frameworks etc. The experience allowed me a better understanding of International Mobility and its implications for integration. I then built upon this knowledge base by completing an MBA at the University of Geneva.

My next position was for Lombard Odier, the Swiss banking group. I started in Learning and Development before serving as Head of Human Resources in Asset Management, Legal & Tax, Logistics, Finance, and International Mobility. After a decade in banking, I decided it was time for change. I was keen to broaden my horizons, and experience the full scope of Human Resources activities, and see to what extent these practices were dependant on diverse sectors and industries. I joined LEM, a multinational firm specializing in electrical measurement devices, as Vice President of Human Resources. This led to my initial contact with EPFL as one of the privileged sources for recruiting talents, for the School educates excellent engineering graduates. In this respect, I was able to establish Human Resources as a true and trusted partner for all stakeholders in a publically-listed international manufacturing firm.

What defines the EPFL?

Currently this is uncharted territory, as I do not yet have enough hindsight. A virtue I have noticed at the EPFL is a sense of loyalty, and pride among EPFL employees denoting an emotional attachment to the School. My first challenge is to learn the lay of the land – although working remotely makes it more arduous. I am impressed by the patience and dedication of my counterparts in explaining how it all works.

There are many differences and singularities on campus across the diversity of staff, different schools, units and professors. My role will be to accommodate these warranted differences, practices, and procedures by establishing a unified, School-wide set of principles such as, for instance, consistent and fair treatment.

I look forward to drawing upon my strategic and operational expertise and contributing to EPFL’s future development. I am certain that Human Resources needs to play a role as a trusted partner in “Caring, daring and sharing” by looking after employees, having the courage to ask questions and give feedback, as well as encouraging sharing within the School.