When HelloFresh entered a new phase of rapid growth, its people strategy started to show the strain. Each market operated independently. There were no global HR systems, no centralized performance processes, and limited visibility across regions. It was a setup that had worked in the past—but it wasn’t built for scale.
That’s the challenge Syed Ali Abbas inherited when he joined as vice president of people for International, SE, and HRBPs. Tasked with helping the business mature its HR function across markets, Abbas approached transformation with intention.
In this candid conversation from the EmpowerHR 2025 Europe, he shares how HelloFresh moved toward a more unified, scalable approach and why lasting change depends on thoughtful design, cross-functional buy-in, and an unwavering focus on adoption.
Start slow to move fast
Most transformations fail because they skip the fundamentals. Abbas emphasizes the importance of deeply understanding the business context: What kind of company you are, what kind of talent you need, and what exactly needs to change. The goal isn’t to jump straight to a shiny system or a polished business case. It’s to design the right solution, not just a fast one.
“People go into transformations or major system buys and rollouts with a very financially focused use case, and there is not enough due diligence and homework done before sort of taking the decision,” he says. That lack of strategic planning, he added, is what causes many transformations to stall or fail entirely.
“I think a lot of transformations fail because not enough attention is paid to the design stage.” These include asking ‘what’ questions: What are we as a business? Are we a customer-focused B2C Company? Are we an enterprise-focused B2B Company? Are we a Global Fortune 500 company? Are we a mid-sized company that’s focused in one region?”
The second part is the “why.” For HelloFresh, answering those questions meant recognizing that what had worked during hypergrowth no longer scaled. It was time for a different approach. “I think a lot of transformations fail because not enough attention is paid to the design stage: Why are we doing this, what exactly do we need to do, and what results do we want to achieve?”
Without adoption, nothing else matters
When HelloFresh selected Betterworks, the decision wasn’t based on features alone, he says. It was about confidence in adoption. Abbas was clear: If people don’t use the system, nothing else matters.
“If the system is not used by employees and people managers and business leaders, who are ultimately the consumers of that system, it doesn’t matter how good the analytics coming out of the system is,” he said. “We were confident Betterworks would have the best adoption by users.”
That emphasis on usability extended beyond HR. Abbas warns against assuming that pushing tasks onto managers through self-service automatically leads to efficiency. “There’s a massive amount of time wastage created by systems that are rolled out that are not user-friendly and… easy to use,” he explains.
The takeaway: Real ROI isn’t just about automating tasks. It’s about building tools that are intuitive, well-adopted, and genuinely helpful.
Keep listening, even after go-live
Getting to go-live is only half the job. Sustained transformation requires continuous attention and multiple feedback loops.
Abbas outlined a multi-layered approach to staying on track: “Even if it’s early days, you can get a good read of what direction things are going. … It’s red light, amber light, green light.”
Usage data also plays a critical role. “Looking at the usage patterns, the analytics that come out of that to measure adoption, right? So who’s using it more? Who’s using it less? Is there any country or market where there is heavy usage or light usage … that is an outlier from the global average?”
But metrics alone aren’t enough. Human feedback is just as important. “Do some focus groups with actual users, employees, and managers, just to get a view of the customer experience and how things are going and what tweaks need to be made.”
This combination of data and dialogue allows the team to catch problems early, iterate quickly, and keep building momentum.
HelloFresh didn’t just implement a new performance management system. It rethought how its people strategy could scale with the business. By slowing down up front, prioritizing adoption, and continuously listening, Abbas and his team built more than a tech stack. They built a foundation for long-term performance and growth.
Want to see what goes into executing intentional HR transformation? Watch the full session from EmpowerHR 2025 Europe.
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