Why I do HR on demand

In every one of my permanent roles there came a point when the real work was done: the structures stood, the team ran, the processes carried themselves. What remained was administration. I noticed that I am at my best when something has to be built, repaired or led through an upheaval. That is exactly the situation in which companies look for HR leadership on demand: a vacancy, a growth spurt, a restructuring, an integration after an acquisition.

The second reason is speed. Finding a permanent head of HR takes four to six months, and onboarding another three. I am up to speed within days, because I have seen these situations from the inside several times. And I work directly with you, without an interim provider in between taking a margin and filtering the contact.

My career

Six stations in seven years, four very different worlds. The bank taught me how HR works with committees, compliance and many stakeholders. The consumer goods group taught me how to deliver recruiting without an agency and without extra budget. The software company taught me how a restructuring across nine countries stays fair when it has to happen in three months. And the fast-growth phase taught me how HR builds structures without becoming the bottleneck itself.

  1. 2020Learning the craft in a strong team

    Junior HR Manager in an HR team that genuinely worked well. Recruiting, contracts, onboarding, conflict cases: I learned the craft where processes run cleanly and experience is shared. To this day that is my benchmark for what a well-run HR function looks like.

  2. 2021Corporate HR with every committee

    Management trainee at a bank. I learned how HR works in a regulated organisation: co-determination, compliance, many stakeholders. And I led a project that set the rules for working from abroad for 4,400 employees, from the policy to its rollout.

  3. 2022Recruiting under pressure

    HR Business Partner at a consumer goods group. A recruiting campaign for medical professionals that I ran on my own: 8 of 10 positions filled in 4 months, without an agency and without additional budget.

  4. 2023Restructuring across nine countries

    At a software company I supported a reorganisation across 9 countries, in just 3 months. Planning, committees, communication and the conversations themselves. Since then I know what makes a headcount reduction expensive, and what keeps it fair.

  5. 2025Scaling through rapid growth

    As HR Manager at a consumer goods company I scaled a region from 70 to over 100 employees. Structures, roles and hires at a pace at which HR usually becomes the bottleneck.

  6. 2026My own practice, first engagementCurrent

    I founded Nick's Advisory in Frankfurt and took on the first interim engagement shortly afterwards. Since then I bring the same responsibility to companies that need it for a fixed term rather than as a permanent hire.

Results I was responsible for

I only quote numbers I was personally responsible for. A region scaled from 70 to over 100 employees, with structures, roles and hires that kept running after I left. A reorganisation across nine countries in three months, in compliance with employment law and co-determination (Mitbestimmung, the works council's statutory right to be consulted or to consent on defined HR matters), without a conciliation committee. Eight of ten positions for medical professionals filled in four months, without an agency. A working-from-abroad policy for 4,400 employees, from the first draft to rollout with every committee. Manual HR administration cut from 30 to 5 hours a week, with Excel VBA and AI routines. AI routines for job ads, reference letters and onboarding introduced, with a works council agreement rather than around it. The detailed examples, anonymised and from permanent roles, are under Case Studies.

“I have seen enough presentations about HR transformation. What companies need is someone who starts on Monday and puts something finished on the table by Friday.”Nick Schäfer

How I work

Four principles that apply in every engagement, whether full-time, on fixed days or as a project:

Understand first, then buildThe first two weeks belong to conversations with the managing director, line managers, the HR team and the works council. Then there is a plan with dates.
Results in weeksEvery engagement has milestones in a four-week rhythm. You see early whether it is working, and you can adjust at any time.
Works council as a partnerI go into the first meeting with an assessment, not with a finished draft. That saves weeks later on.
AI where it saves timeJob ads, reference letters, onboarding texts, analyses. Always with a works council agreement and a human final decision.

The roles you can book me in

The role follows your gap, not my job title. All three run full-time as an interim engagement or on one or two fixed days a week as a fractional arrangement.

Interim HR Manager

Full HR ownership when the head of HR is missing: team, works council, employment law, payroll governance, leadership meeting. See the role

HR Business Partner

Sparring for line managers during growth or restructuring: organisation, compensation, difficult people decisions. See the role

HR Operations

Processes, systems, data quality, payroll interfaces. When HR runs but does not scale. See the role

On fixed days instead of full-time: Fractional HR

What you should not book me for

I am not a recruiting agency and do not place candidates for a fee. I am not a lawyer: employment law in daily practice yes, litigation no. I am not a corporate interim for groups with several thousand employees and their own HR board member; other profiles fit better there. And I do not work through interim providers that stand between us. If you have 50 to 500 employees, currently no head of HR, and a concrete problem that has to be solved in weeks, then we are a match.

Documents

If you want to forward the profile internally before we speak, everything is on one page here: roles, career, working principles and the terms of an engagement. Both versions have the same content; the German one is for local management and the works council.

To download and forward

Short profile HR Interim (PDF, English)Roles, career, working principles on one pageKurzprofil HR Interim (PDF, German)Same content in German, for local managementNick Schäfer on LinkedInCareer, recommendations, recent posts

Personal

I live and work in Frankfurt am Main, on-site in Rhine-Main and remote across DACH. German and English at negotiation level; after years in international teams I no longer notice switching between the two. Nick's Advisory is my own company, and in every engagement you work with me personally, not with a team I send ahead.

What I do alongside HR work is related to it: I write about interim HR, fractional HR and AI in daily HR work, from my own practice rather than from theory.

Frequently asked questions

From when are you available?

Projects and AI work right away. Interim and fractional engagements we discuss on the first call, where I give you the earliest realistic start date.

Do you work on-site or remotely?

Both. In Rhine-Main I am regularly on-site. Across the rest of DACH (Germany, Austria, Switzerland) I work remotely with fixed presence days, depending on what the works council and the team need.

Why not through a provider?

Because you speak with me, not with an intermediary. No mark-up, no filter, no waiting for replies to be relayed. The contract is directly between your company and Nick's Advisory.

How quickly can you start?

For projects, within two weeks. For engagements it depends on the term of my current engagement; the lead time for fractional arrangements is four weeks.

Which languages do you work in?

German and English at negotiation level. I have led international teams and headquarters communication mostly in English, and operational HR work with the works council and employees in German.

Is there a profile I can forward internally?

Yes, the short profile as a PDF in English and German, under Documents on this page. It sums up roles, career and working principles on one page and is meant for internal alignment before the first call.