Mark, what made 2023 a good year?
A lot of decisions that we have made together over the past few years and that we have worked on continuously. I’m particularly pleased that it was often based on honest feedback from our customers. When making internal changes to our culture, we have tried to listen to the needs of our colleagues, take them seriously and then try to implement them in the best possible, entrepreneurial way.
What have you been thinking differently about since last year?
I recently wrote a few words to a colleague at the end of the year: I think I’ve really realized once again that diversity is not only crucial for open and fair cooperation, but also contributes to the company’s success.
After all, it is the clear mix of so many different perspectives, opinions, experiences, backgrounds, experiences and knowledge that ultimately makes it possible to really decide exactly how something is perceived, received or accepted.
Maybe I’m late with this, but for me there’s always a difference between doing something because you think it’s right and having actually experienced it.
What were the most exciting developments on the market in 2023 for you?
Everyone would probably be shouting “AI” right now. But I don’t actually think that was the most exciting thing that happened on the market. It is certainly the most exciting thing on the user side, because many people had their first ever personal contact with a real AI. Also in relation to the topic of voice, where you can say: Wow, that really feels real, a generative AI like that. In my opinion, however, our industry has not yet fully achieved this.
Something else that has certainly moved our industry a lot and will continue to do so is everything to do with interest rates. Of course, these macroeconomic issues not only affect us in the jobs sector, but also have a major impact on the entire topic of mobility in the real estate sector.
Looking directly into the future: what impact do you think AI will have on our business model in the coming year?
Well, I don’t know if it will be next year, but I do believe that there will be opportunities to have a real conversation with an AI. That may sound a bit absurd right now, but if you imagine that you could find out what you’re actually looking for or need through a conversation with an AI and then get real feedback from the voice AI, just like in a conversation with a friend in the evening about a future job, a car or a property. I think that’s extremely interesting.
Apart from that, of course, everything that we already see in the background in terms of the results lists and the way in which suggestions are made when we search the internet. This will be massively influenced by AI.
The most beautiful and probably also the most interesting form of AI that we may experience is one that we as users will no longer even notice because it is so well integrated. This may not quite be the case next year, but it will definitely be within the next few decades.
What needs to happen for you to say at the end of 2024: That was a good year for our company?
It will be similar to what made 2023 successful: we meet our financial targets, customer feedback is more positive again – as is the feedback from our colleagues. It looks very easy in writing, but in reality it’s a big challenge every year. 😉