odelo is like family

In your opinion, what makes odelo different from other employers?

odelo has a very informal approach. There is always a possibility, you always find a way to reach your goal together. You can get help at all hierarchical levels. For me it was both the directors and the management who supported me a lot. It is highly valued, especially because of the fact that the hierarchies here are very flat. Thus, one also has opportunities for development, certain freedoms, to push your own projects, ideas or processes, to present them and then to get support from the necessary persons responsible. Here we have a lot of freedom at work compared to large corporations. You learn to work on your own initiative and come up with new projects. Of course, there is also constructive criticism, but where one also grows. You can improve and drive the projects forward.

What are your typical tasks at odelo?

I'm a human resources specialist and together with my supervisor, I take care of the 174 employees in Hedelfingen together with a part-time employee and a student. My daily tasks range from labor law topics, to consulting management and employees, to personnel development and recruiting – actually everything from A to Z in terms of personnel. There is really nothing that we don’t do here in HR. An example of self-initiative is the creation of a new employee survey. This was what I meant that I would like to optimize the employee survey. We also want to build up the staff development with the employee survey and I arranged the topic accordingly, prepared and then presented it to the management. That would be an example where self-initiative is also rewarded by having the project awarded to me as well. When I started working as a student here, for example, I also helped shape recruiting, and also assisted in the introduction of new software and I had the responsibility of taking care of student jobs even as I was still a student. So here there is a big leap of faith. I had already been assigned many tasks before my fulltime job, which means a lot of responsibility for a student, and it is also rewarding to show that you really give everything here. The employee survey is there, I think, the best example.

What advice would you give a new employee on the his/her day of work?

I would recommend the person to walk openly through the company, get to know the employees, just do not be shy and ask. Just take a look at who is responsible for a specific area, if you can’t get any further, then the colleagues will really help. I also believe that integrating into the odelo community is not very difficult. You can really talk to your colleagues. Of course, that depends on the area you work in, but in general it’s not difficult. On the first working day get to know the employees and management as well as possible, I mean as well as you can. But you can really tell very quickly how close the company atmosphere is. I think I would take the opportunity of easy integration. And do not be afraid to ask questions. Here You can always ask. You do not get any stupid answers, but instead always only support or help where else you could ask and find the solution.

What are you especially proud of in your life?

I was particularly proud that despite my permanent position, I wrote my master's thesis on a part-time basis and really gave it my everything I had at that time. I am also proud that, in addition to my horse, which I am also very busy with, I finished my master’s thesis well and did the job well here too. Here I also got good feedback from the management and staff. I am really proud that I did it with a double load or triple load on my shoulders. And I am equally proud to be so integrated here and to get recognition and to work here. I am very proud of that.

What interests do you have outside of work?

My passion is horse riding. I'm there four to five times a week. I like to do something with friends. I also like to go away on weekends and I like to go water skiing or go hiking in the Allgäu. I like going to travelling further afield just as much too. I really would like to see a lot of Asia, New Zealand and Africa. There are still a lot of traveling to different places that I would like to do bit by bit. I'm very adventurous.

What else would you like to see / experience in your life?

I would definitely go back to Vietnam and to Bali again. At that time, we had to leave because of an erupting volcano, then unfortunately we were only 2 weeks into the four-week trip in Bali and then spent the rest in Thailand. In Bali, I was so enthused by the culture and the life there and how happy the people were so I would definitely go back. What I learnt from being there would be to not take life to seriously.