Cultivating team spirit - it can also be done sportily
We have become accustomed to things like wearing masks and keeping our distance. Not everyone finds this easy, especially in production, where employees sometimes work in the greatest heat and manufacture our Schweiss-Fittings products. Umso wichtiger ist es, weiterhin für ein gutes Arbeitsklima zu sorgen. Miteinander reden hilft! Darum hat die interne Kommunikation im Hause KÖRBER einen hohen Stellenwert. However, we see it more athletically, not as an additional discipline, but rather integrate it into our daily work routine like a daily muscle workout, in keeping with the KÖRBER culture: together, with each other, at eye level.
Together - Tuesdays at ten
Our Tuesday round, in the morning at ten, has become an institution. Alle leitenden Mitarbeitenden treffen sich, um die anstehenden Aufgaben und Aufträge zu besprechen. Wir reden über die aktuelle Situation des Unternehmens, denn alle wollen wissen, wo wir gerade stehen und wie es weitergehen kann. Der abteilungsübergreifende Austausch sorgt für einen direkten Informationstransfer und stärkt das Vertrauen in die fachliche und menschliche Kompetenz jedes Einzelnen. Jeder hat die Chance, über den Tellerrand zu schauen oder einen hilfreichen Tipp von einer Kollegin oder einem Kollegen aus einem anderen Bereich zu bekommen. We collect and bundle ideas; new, creative solutions emerge. Our experience: Everyone is there, awake and attentive. Keeping a distance and wearing masks is a matter of course.
Togetherness: flexible working hours and assistance for trainees
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Despite initial policy easing, quite a few of our employees are still under a lot of strain, especially families with young children or single parents: Childcare, homeschooling and now the summer vacations. Nerves can get the better of us. In addition to collegial understanding, concrete support is needed from the employer. HR manager Gaby Körber knows from her own experience what it means to reconcile family and job. "With Corona, this situation has become even more difficult for some of our employees," she says. "We take our responsibility as an employer very seriously and strive to find appropriate individual solutions. We coordinate with each other who from the teams will go on short-time work now. In 2008, we already went through an economic crisis once and KÖRBER managed to keep all employees. However, the Corona situation is now much more stressful for everyone."
At eye level - thanks to horizontal structures
Our trainees, who still cannot go to vocational school as usual, also benefit from the flat hierarchies and our collegial understanding. "What homeschooling is in the family, we are now doing in the company," says Gaby Körber. She has personally taken care of the appropriate teaching material for the trainees and also creates free time during working hours to review solved tasks or answer questions. Colleagues in logistics or sales also provide assistance as mentors and do everything they can to fill the gaps that open up due to the significantly reduced vocational school time. "The prospective specialists in logistics or sales people can't even acquire that themselves, it's impossible," says the personnel manager. The fact that KÖRBER can do all this is not least due to the manageable structures of our family-owned company. Short, fast routes make it possible: Putting on a mask, getting up and going directly to the colleague in sales or the purchasing employee is usually more helpful than reaching for the telephone. Human Resources Manager Gaby Körber had already had protective masks sewn in a good-humor design before Easter. Even if the smile disappears behind it, we can look each other in the eye during the conversation and clarify questions unbureaucratically or simply say thank you. A direct line to the supervisor - right up to the boss - is common practice at KÖRBER. And our customers benefit from the flat hierarchies: a fast and smooth processing of all orders.