Conclusion and more on LinkedIn

Mental health in remote teams is not an “extra task,” but a central foundation. Those who take it seriously don’t just strengthen their teams – they also enhance the performance and innovative capacity of the entire organization. Tools like nilo make it possible to provide access to mental health support digitally – professionally, confidentially, and flexibly. What truly matters is integration into everyday work: not as an exception, but as a standard.

In our joint LinkedIn series with nilo, we share additional concrete insights beyond the video mentioned above – into our work, our mindset, and our HR structures, including:

• a personal perspective on usage from our colleague Yvonne
• a one-pager on mental health in remote teams

‍📌 Questions on how to promote mental health in your team? Contact us directly or book an appointment

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What Alternatives Exist – and Where Their Limits Are

Especially for managing directors and leadership teams, the question often arises of how a one-person HR role can be meaningfully supported and relieved.

A brief overview:

• Interns can help, but they are time-limited and require significant onboarding.

• Working students bring motivation, but are often only available short-term and focused on completing their studies.

• Freelancers can provide selective support, but are usually single-person solutions without built-in continuity or backup.

• Hiring a permanent additional role can be the right step, but is not always realistic – for example due to fluctuating demand or budget constraints.

CoSourcing offers an alternative: access to an entire team, with shared knowledge, built-in coverage, and flexible scaling – without long-term fixed costs.

Typical challenges in practice

In practice, three recurring challenges often emerge:

• Missing or inconsistent compensation frameworks

• Insufficient data quality in HR and payroll systems

• Uncertainty in internal communication

The communication aspect in particular is often underestimated. Greater transparency does not automatically lead to greater acceptance. Employees will ask questions, draw comparisons, and expect clear and understandable explanations. In this context, HR takes on the role of translator between numbers, systems, and lived perceptions of fairness.

A Long-Term Cultural Indicator

Over the years, our Heartbeat has evolved in every direction – from negative scores during challenging times to moments of 100% positive feedback when the team felt especially stable and aligned.

These fluctuations aren’t a sign of instability – they’re a sign of honesty. They show that the eNPS is not a snapshot but a living indicator of team culture, trust, and cohesion.

A consistently high eNPS reflects strong collaboration and sustained satisfaction. A sudden drop, on the other hand, signals that attention or support may be needed – giving us the opportunity to act early. That’s the true strength of the eNPS: it makes cultural health visible and actionable.

The Status Determination Procedure (“Statusfeststellungsverfahren”)

In Germany, the Statusfeststellungsverfahren is an official administrative process conducted by the German Pension Insurance Authority (Deutsche Rentenversicherung) to determine whether an engagement qualifies as employment or self-employment.

Step-by-step overview:

1. Application by either the client (company) or the contractor (freelancer).

2. Review by the DRV based on documentation and the actual working relationship.

3. Written decision issued by the authority.

4. Option to file an appeal if there is disagreement.

Important: This is not a quick process. Depending on the case’s complexity and administrative workload, the procedure may take several weeks to several months. Companies should plan accordingly and avoid making long-term decisions until the results are available.

The process is particularly useful for long-term collaborations, new or critical roles, or when there is uncertainty about the working arrangement.

Impact & Feedback

The cooperation with financeAds International GmbH is a prime example of how CoSourcing works without an internal HR department — and still delivers full professional support.

"Working with the KUNO team has been a game-changer for our HR operations. You get the benefit of a whole team of experts, not just a single point of contact. They are proactive in their communication, reliable in their processes, and always bring a solution-oriented mindset to the table – whether it's day-to-day topics or more complex challenges.”

- CEO, financeAds International GmbH‍

6. Cleaning Up HR and Payroll Systems

Year-end is the perfect moment to tidy up your systems — not as a theoretical audit, but as a practical clean-up. Over the year, HR Information Management Systems and payroll databases often accumulate incomplete or outdated records.

Now is the time to check:

• Are all relevant employee details complete and up to date?

• Are there information fields or sections rarely used that can be simplified or removed for the new year?

• Should internal structures or data categories be updated to make systems leaner and more efficient?

It’s also worth reviewing data retention and deletion policies: Which personal records must be deleted, and which must be archived for compliance reasons? Regular reviews prevent unnecessary data storage, ensure compliance with data protection laws (e.g., GDPR), and reduce long-term storage and admin costs.

Conclusion: This clean-up creates order, clarity, and data security. It saves time in the coming year and ensures HR and Payroll start 2026 with accurate and reliable data — a small investment with a big impact.

Digital Support: Leapsome as an HR Partner

The webinar also demonstrated how modern HR systems like Leapsome help simplify payroll. Centralized data, transparent absence tracking, and automated reports reduce manual work and prevent data gaps. Especially for growing teams, digital support is key to maintaining compliance.

👉 Learn more: www.leapsome.com‍

Personal Reflections & Learnings

In the podcast, Erica also shares personal stories — including how her family life and work life influence one another. A guiding principle for her has always been courage to try something new, even when uncertainty is present.

“What’s the worst thing that can happen to me?”

That mindset encourages her to take chances, reflect, and grow through experience. One of her favorite quotes captures this outlook perfectly:

“Experience is what you get when you didn’t get what you wanted.”

It’s a philosophy that defines her journey — staying open to new paths, embracing change, and viewing mistakes not as failures, but as valuable lessons.