Over time Ergonos has evolved significantly and tailored its services to meet the new demands of creating project teams. The firm began by managing contracts for freelancers.
The company identity: rooted in the life of the founder
The beginnings and character of Ergonos are tightly connected with the biography of Gianpaolo Carpanese, CEO of Ergonos Consulting. With a doctorate in electrical engineering, Carpanese first began working in his field of training, later he took on managerial positions in IT at Nixdorf and Digital Equipment Corporation.
Organizing international teams for projects and taskforces defined his daily business life: in addition to his expertise, his partnership approach was frequently demanded in accomplishing the project goal together.
He also became well-acquainted with the freelancer point of view - even if in another field of work than today’s typical Ergonos consultant: after an extended period of employment in a managerial capacity, he worked as an independent consultant for other firms seeking to re-establish themselves strategically. At this time he also created new employee profiles.
1992 (Berlin): founding of the predecessor company in the classic field of oil & gas
Through his professional networks and references, Gianpolo Carpanese came into contact with a well-known Italian firm from the oil and gas sector. With its small core workforce, this sector was and is the classic model for industrial consulting, and SeMa - the predecessor to Ergonos - handled sixty-two freelancers from its offices in Berlin.
1995 (Berlin): sought-after skills beyond contract management
In the mid-1990s, a well-known Italian company from the power generation sector was added to its roster of clients. In addition to contract management, SeMa was important in another realm: it demonstrated a flair for communicating with foreign consultants.
Moreover, it became the stabilizing intermediary when it came to settling conflicts of interest between HR, management and consultants.
2000 (Geneva): growth in clients and consultants led to the founding of Ergonos Consulting
To meet the contract management demands of an ever-growing roster of clients and consultants, Ergonos Consulting was founded in Geneva as the successor to SeMa.
The Swiss location not only presented the appropriate international environment: it also allowed Gianpaolo Carpanese to work together here with his friend Robert de Picciotto. The two had met during their time at Digital Equipment Corporation.
Robert de Picciotto introduced software to improve Ergonos’ infrastructure. Also a company founder, he is still active in the business today. At this time Ergonos received the Swiss SECO license for contract management.
2005 – Today (Geneva & Berlin): Ergonos tailors itself to individual demands
As a result of the exchange of ideas with clients and consultants, Ergonos recognizes that trends are shifting from group-based contract management solutions to case-by-case analyses—also in neighbouring realms like recruitment. First and foremost, the dominance of the international project means one thing for assembling teams: one-size-fits-all solutions no longer exist.
Ergonos first responds by acquiring Swiss licenses for international recruitment and international interim employment. The new pattern of case-by-case analysis also applies to the development of internal personnel. Thus, specific strategies are developed for consulting, IT, recruiting, data analysis and new media.
Now clients and consultants can be individually advised on which type of contract fits them best. Recruiting is expanded with the addition of independent consultants and is streamlined. Future services will also reflect the needs of all parties involved in putting a team together.