Thank you. Yes, my initial experiences were great. All my colleagues are extremely nice, and I’m thrilled about the welcome they offered. That was particularly exciting for me, because this is my first graduate job.

In very simple terms, hosting means providing webservices on the internet. In our case, that is our customers’ learning management systems. For the greatest part, these are hosted in AWS or Azure Cloud.

As Hosting Engineers, we are responsible for installing and monitoring these systems, make adjustments for changes and deliver software updates. We also carry out maintenance and ensure that all systems are up to date.

Other key aspects are database management and backups. It is always worth having a backup in case something crashes. It’s very much the same as with a personal computer. Right now, we are very focused on simplifying certain processes. Many tasks are still performed manually, and we aim to automate them, so they can simply run in the background.

Naturally, an interest and a good understanding of technical matters are key. On top of that, it is important to focus on solutions, take responsibility, be diligent and stay focused. After all, we interact with sensitive client systems and data, and they need to be handled with great care.

I believe willingness to learn is a vital aspect, since the technology is always changing. That is something to always keep in mind – You never stop learning, you have to keep at it. Of course, team spirit and good communication skills are hugely important, but that applies to most jobs.

Well, I have to say, my degree in Communications Technology alone was not really enough. I did some additional courses on the side to feel more prepared while also boosting my prospects on the job market. Together, that probably adds up to a five.

Above all, flexibility. Our hybrid and flexible work model lets me choose whether I want to work from home or come into the office. That is very convenient.

I always knew I wanted to do something technical. As a kid, I was always tinkering with old monitors and computers. I desperately wanted to know what they look like on the inside, and how everything works. That made a degree in that field an obvious choice.

I really like all types of movies, from action through romance to comedy.

Back in my university days, I watched the anime series One Piece. It very much appealed to me. It’s about a boy called Luffy who is travelling the world in his search for a treasure that is said to be impossible to find. Yet, he never gives up. It really inspired me, and I could somewhat identify with that: I am also very determined and ambitious, and I never give up. I doubt I would have come this far without those traits.

Apart from that, women in IT always inspire me. You often hear that women are still an exception in this sector, or even that IT and women are different worlds. That view couldn’t be further from the truth. While I think we have a long way to go, a few inspirational women have already achieved a lot.

Kerstin Steffen: Simply put, it means that our activities are no longer tied to the office as a matter of principle, but the company affords us the flexibility to decide whether we want to work from home or from the office. You could also describe it as performance over attendance culture. We have no fixed attendance quota, but time in the office should be agreed with the team and the manager, and flexibility must not compromise organisational objectives.

While we firmly believe in flexibility, we clearly decided against moving all work to the home office. The relationship and commitment to the company remains very important to us. We want our offices to remain a place of communication and interaction – and that applies to official team meetings as much as personal discussions over a coffee.

Kerstin Steffen: The core team of the New Work Pioneers is based at the headquarters in Saarbrücken where the decision to embark on the New Work Initiative was made. We selected the team based on competences and included members from Internal IT, HR as well as Communications. That allows us to bring together the core competences to support process changes within the pillars of people, technology and spaces. Of course, we can add members that contribute other skills as and when we need them.

We hold regular meetings at least once a week, where we discuss and prioritise all the topics in our target plan, as well as any issues that arise. At times, the core team is split into smaller project teams. For instance, we maintain regular feedback loops with the managers of our different offices to get everyone involved. It also helps us see where improvements are needed and highlight how we might provide support from the headquarters.

Kerstin Steffen: We are a digital brand and stand for learning. Naturally, we want to understand modern formats and establish ourselves as a pioneer. Yet, compared to the key players in the market, we still have some catching up to do. Nevertheless, I would like to emphasise that this was a fantastic step for imc, and that our colleagues and applicants already consider it an absolute benefit. Working together to drive and shape cultural change is also a huge opportunity – and I invite everyone to seize it. We can be fairly sure that this is not a universal prospect offered by all companies, which makes it a USP for us.

Personally, I really want to see every single person benefitting from it. That means we also need to be open to constructive criticism and listen to concerns, no matter how excited we are about our ideas and progress.

We are all learning together throughout this change process, and our success is dependent on wide-spread acceptance.

Kerstin Steffen: We are facing challenges every day, and I’m sure that will still be the case after the transformation. We are really looking at an agile learning process – for our leadership as well as things like our hardware, office equipment or seating arrangements. Being spread out across different locations on different continents doesn’t exactly make it easier, but we are welcoming that challenge. We might not be 100% perfect, but we genuinely try to create a new work culture step by step. We are all highly motivated and rather proud to see our first successes taking shape.

Internal Communications and HR contribute a lot of the support for the measures. It is important to us that the changes are transparent and successes are visible.

Kerstin Steffen: The feedback we received was mostly positive, which motivates us to drive the transformation. Naturally, concerns and worries were voiced, but that is to be expected in any change process. It is important to take that seriously and actively offer support. It is easy to get carried away, and we must remind ourselves that it is not only a major change in the organisation, but also a cultural shift. That demands sensitive and responsible support.  

Kerstin Steffen: First of all, we improved our internal communication channels and created new channels to strengthen team spirit. For instance, we started a newsletter that plays a key role in actively providing information and highlight success stories. We want to make small steps visible, initial successes tangible and let employees share in the experience.

The new formats we created aim to enhance collaboration and communication. The offer will gradually grow: We will create global guidelines, hold workshops and include smaller learning nuggets.

We will also incorporate formats such as social learning, informal learning and user generated content. Our brand ambassadors are also actively helping to shape the transformation. Measures like our BarCamp, Espresso Webinars and Flow & Focus sessions are already well-established and successful. Of course, we will develop these further and make them more professional. As to the strategic aspects, the adaptation of our leadership programme will be crucial, and we are professionalising our operational model.

One thing that stands out with an office management qualification is that I could gain knowledge in various departments. My trainer Markus Dilly introduced me to controlling tasks and things like proper invoicing. I also created order confirmations for accepted offers and created the relevant projects in a special online tool.

I completed work placements in three different imc departments, each lasting 4-6 weeks. An experienced team member would be assigned to me as a mentor for each placement, who would walk me through the tasks and particularities of that department.

First up was Sales. Here, I gained first experiences in dealing with customers. While I didn’t call companies myself, I often listened into the telephone meetings. I learned how to best present the benefits of our products to win over the customer, and how to react when the tone gets a little rougher.

In the secretary’s office, I processes incoming and outgoing post, as well as orders for individual imc employees. The corona pandemic cut my time in this department short, and since we also fast-tracked my traineeship, it was time to move onto the next area.

My time in Marketing was far more creative than in other departments. I learned how to create Instagram stories and write articles for our website. I was also shown how to create public awareness for our company, as well as inform colleagues within the company about the latest developments.

2 days a week, I went to vocational school, which would change things up a bit. We acquired a foundation for our future professional life. Subjects ranged from accounting through human resource management to marketing, and also covered all sorts of tasks expected in an office environment.

The school had to close due to the pandemic, and face-to-face classes were suspended for almost 1 year. We switched to an online format with lectures and exercise sheets to fill the gap as much as possible. Nevertheless, I was glad to finally return to school.

Of course, we also felt the pandemic at imc, but at least the home office arrangements allowed me to keep working from home. I only had to come to the office once or twice a week to print off documents and process accumulated files.

In September 2019, I had not long started my business administration degree at Saarland University in Saarbrücken. The perfect time to figure out what I wanted to do after graduation and gain some early work experience in that field. Of course, that meant I needed a student job.   

All said and done. In my degree course, I really liked marketing and management. I’m not much of a number cruncher and generally have more of a creative mindset. Therefore, I started looking for a student job in marketing. Soon after, I noticed a vacancy posted by imc. However, I was unable to meet all requirements listed in the job profile, because I had only worked in catering and retail – as many students do.   

I still tried my luck regardless, and soon received an invitation for an interview! A job offer followed just three days later, and I clinched a contract as a working student in the Marketing & Communications department. While I lacked professional experience, I scored with good preparation, dedication, and motivation. That was the first step in my journey with imc.   

I started my student job in October 2019 with little marketing knowledge, but a generous helping of enthusiasm. The first few weeks were marked by a wealth of new expertise, comprehensive processes I needed to learn and incomprehensible terminology. I somewhat felt as if I was back at school. It seemed like I had to start from scratch and learn everything anew. As I would later find out, this did pay off.  

Initially, I was given minor tasks like copywriting for our social media channels, event preparation and smaller research tasks. At this point, I was also introduced to a new marketing automation tool – and I was involved in its implementation from day one. I could participate in all workshops, which afforded me the opportunity to gain sufficient knowledge so that I could take on my own tasks.   

As a student, flexibility was also extremely important to me, as I had to juggle university life, work, and leisure. The company was very flexible and let me set a schedule for the days and times I would come to the office to ensure that my work did not compromise my studies. Especially during the often stressful exam period, the option to move working days and make up the hours in the semester break was available.

Personal development and networking across city and country boundaries is also made easy. Various internal employee programmes are available to all employees, and that specifically includes working students. That includes the Brand Ambassador Programme, as well as various projects and events on Diversity and Female Empowerment which strengthen diversity in the company. Other activities, internal events and regular updates from the Executive Board strengthen solidarity and team spirit, which is a top priority in the imc Marketing Team anyway. At imc, all working students are part of the team – and that feels great!

My degree course was coming to a close, and I kept asking myself: What next? Thankfully, imc offered me a position as Junior Marketing & Communications Manager, allowing me to continue my journey. At the interface between Marketing and Communication, I will now support my own campaigns, maintain internal channels, and even start my own coverage of certain topics in addition to my existing projects.   

I can also apply the marketing knowledge gained as a working student in global processes and product campaigns, guaranteeing 360-degree training. As a permanent employee, I also benefit from the flexibility of hybrid work, and am free to decide whether I want to work from home or come to the office. Now, exactly two years after I started my student job, I’m sitting here, writing my very first article about my early days at imc, looking back at my journey in satisfaction. 

The job title is rather abstract because it covers a broad spectrum of topics and tasks. The basic idea of learning strategy consulting is that we support customers whenever they face a more complex issue. Rather than offering advice on the introduction of a learning management system (LMS) or the key aspects of content development, learning strategy consulting focuses on the development of a holistic learning offer.

This is particularly relevant for companies making a fresh start with their digital learning offer and companies with little experience in this field. We help them consider all aspects and create a framework. Even larger companies will face new issues from time to time, and we then help them address these.

Digital onboarding would be “our thing.” It is a fairly new topic for many companies. Of course, you can hire a concept designer to create a training course for you. The difference is that we are looking at the learner experience as a whole, rather than just the training course itself.

The learners are at the heart of the offer, and we need to start by identifying their needs. What content do they need? Which learning formats are suitable? How do these need to be designed? Next, we naturally examine how the training can be embedded in the LMS: How do we integrate it into the learning paths? How is the training presented? What interface does the learner see?

We are not restricting our evaluation to the content or the LMS but consider the entire learning journey. In a nutshell, learning strategy consulting covers traditional consultancy and needs assessments, analysis, and concepts design. We often support client projects for longer periods, coordinate the implementation or act as sparring partners.

It is always exciting and full of surprises. Each project and each set of customer requirements is different. There is very little routine. You need to engage with the customer and be tactful to find out what they need.

It also works in my favour that the job is very generalist in nature. I’m not a subject-matter expert. I know a lot of things in many fields, and somehow need to bring those pieces of knowledge together. All the different aspects – technical details of the LMS, different learning formats, change management processes – impact the learning culture as well as the corporate culture. We bring them together.

One thing that is extremely important to me, and I always try to convey to our customers is this: Neither a system nor a specific training course are at the heart of corporate learning. It is about the people. Employees want or need to learn something to do their job better. Their needs must therefore be a top priority.

After all, only the users decide whether a learning offer is a success or a failure. If they don’t see something that helps them, the offer is wasted.

I found myself in a rather odd situation shortly before I joined imc. I was still working for my previous employer but had already handed in my notice and signed my contract with imc. My boss was aware of that, but the customer we had a meeting with that day had no idea. The purpose of the meeting? Helping them choose an LMS. Various providers pitched their solutions, including Sven R. Becker who is now on the imc Executive Board, but was Head of Sales at the time. While we both knew, the customer was unaware of my upcoming change of employer. Fortunately, the customer had to use a different tender procedure, so I was “off the hook” and did not have to make a recommendation on which system to choose.

I would say my candour and my rather positive mindset.

Yes. It offers variety, is challenging and puts me in touch with many interesting people.

Savoury. I love my peanut puffs.

Markus: I started as a working student in Controlling in 2012, and took on a permanent role in 2015. I recently started leading a small team comprising our two trainees, our working student and a junior controller. I am also responsible for international invoicing and procurement management, and admin the Projectfacts system we use as a time recording and invoicing tool and to record holidays. Sales enquiries and client projects also come together in Controlling. On top of that, I support our line manager Peter in the preparation of monthly and annual financial statements.

Markus: There is no such thing as a typical day at work for me. I have no big project to keep working on, but many different tasks. Some tasks come in almost on a daily basis – giving new colleagues access to certain systems, assigning order numbers or creating new contracts or projects in our systems.

I am also often in contact with Sales, and we check things like contracts or quotations together, highlight particularities and check if the order value is adequate for the scope of the order. As the process from order creation through invoicing to booking the invoice in SAP is supported by various systems, coordination with my colleagues is very important.

Markus: I suppose. I always knew that I am good with numbers and would study something in that area. But if you asked me for my dream job, I’d probably go off in a different direction – like games journalist or games designer. However, I am realistic and was very aware of my strengths and weaknesses at a young age. I know my way around the figures, I always enjoyed it to play with numbers, so my business degree was an obvious choice. And since imc is also involved in gamification, I did find my place!

Markus: Yes, I first did my Bachelor in Technical Business Management in Zweibrücken, and then embarked on a Master’s with a Finance major at Saarland University. While studying for my Master’s, I visited an on-campus job fair and started talking to Scheer GmbH. Back then, they had no vacancies for student jobs, but they were nice enough to forward my application to imc. So I joined imc in a roundabout way – and stayed.

Xenia: I left another job to join imc, and was pleasantly surprised by the speed of the recruitment process. Back then, I called Melanie in HR to clarify a couple of questions I had about the vacancy. I then emailed my application, and two days later, I attended a job interview with Melanie and our line manager Peter. The following day, I already received my job offer.

Markus: No more than a 6. I would say that studying is more about teaching yourself and learning to be self-disciplined. Of course, you gain specialist knowledge and learn the terminology, but there are stark differences in how that is applied in different companies. University only scratches the surface. You really only delve into it on the job.

Markus: There is this stereotype of finance people hiding away in some dark chamber, refusing to talk to anyone and seeing nothing but their figures. In our department, you won’t find any of that. We have a great atmosphere. Xenia is a particularly cheerful and happy person and always willing to help. Her expertise is very broad and she is always willing to listen. It’s great fun working with her!

Markus: You should be precise and – maybe even obsessively – pay attention to detail. You need to be reliable and love numbers. Strong perseverance is never amiss, either.

Markus: Great question – I love movies! In general, I totally dig Tarantino films, but if I have to pick my two favourite movies, it has to be Pulp Fiction and Fight Club.

Xenia: I imagine Singapore must be beautiful. Having said that, I would also like to go to Switzerland. That would be a great contrast. London should also be quite interesting.

#creative #learning #empowerMe

Marketing and Communications work closely together and have overlapping goals and responsibilities. In general, our communal goal is to make sure that people in our target audience know that imc exists.

They need to know what we do, which products and services we provide and how our products can support their organisations. And of course, they need to know where to find us and how to reach us.

For marketing, the end goal is simply selling our products. In Business-to-Business (B2B) marketing that boils down to lead generation; we try to filter the right people out of the crowds and then we hand these “leads” over to Sales, who will do the actual selling.

For communications, the final goal is not necessarily sales related. It is also about informing external and internal audiences. For example through social media, internal communication or by dealing with press and other public relations.

Basically, a lead is a relevant person in our target audience with a certain interest in imc and our products and services. The most important thing about leads is that you need to distinguish different types of leads. The two main categories are Marketing Qualified Leads (MQL) and Sales Qualified Leads (SQL).

An MQL is a relevant person who shows an interest in imc, but she/he does not necessarily have an immediate need or a purchase intent. An MQL might just be looking around, reading up on some topics, downloading a whitepaper, signing up for a webinar, etc. But that’s it… at least for now.

An SQL on the other hand, does have an immediate need or a purchase intent. They did their homework (when they were still an MQL), they know what they want and they are ready to talk to Sales now.

It is important to make this split in order to manage expectations and to avoid confusion between Marketing and Sales. On average, only 3% of the people in your target audience qualifies as an SQL.

The other 97 % is not ready to buy (yet), but that does not mean that you shouldn’t pay attention to them. On the contrary. You want to stay in touch with them, to make sure that they will think of imc as soon as they get to the SQL stage.

In other words, you need long-term strategies to make B2B marketing work. And that can be quite challenging.

Often the day starts with meetings because of the time difference between me and my colleagues in Asia and Australia. Then I check the performance of the running marketing campaigns and if there are any urgent things to do. After that, I try to find a 3-hour-slot in which I can work – uninterruptedly - on one of the bigger tasks on my to-do list.

These are things like analysing and optimising the results of long-term strategies, like Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) and conversion optimisation. The rest of the day is mostly filled with all kinds of smaller tasks and daily routines such as preparing for upcoming events, meetings or webinars, testing new messaging, answering emails, etc.

I think patience and persistence are very important. As I mentioned earlier, B2B-marketing relies heavily on long-term strategies. Marketing and Sales cycles are long and your efforts do not instantly pay off in leads or sales.

It is not like selling consumer products on Amazon. That makes it important to define a long-term strategy and to stick to it. You can constantly test, change and optimise different tools and new channels, but your overall goal and strategy should be clear and consistent. And that is not always easy, so patience and persistence are essential.

What I find quite funny is the image of marketing people. Some people still seem to think that marketing people are like Don Draper from Mad Men: Slick men in suits day-drinking whisky in the office. But it is quite the opposite. I identify more with beardy nerds in unironed t-shirts staring at statistics all day.

It’s more Math Men than Mad Men I’m afraid. But that is what makes it so interesting for me. It is a combination of creativity and analysing data. You need to be creative to solve problems, to reach the right people, to find the right messaging, but you also need to analyse data.

It is not just being creative for the sake of being creative, but there are clear goals to be achieved. The data is helping you to do that better, quicker and/or more efficient. That is what I like a lot about this job.

My job title can mean something completely different in every company. Here at imc a Brand and Marketing Manager is responsible for all brand and marketing activities in a certain region, so you need to know a bit of everything.

I used to work for different marketing agencies in which I worked for over 50 different companies in various industries and different countries. I have had all kinds of roles from marketing strategy to data analysis and from content creation to performance marketing, so that gave me broad marketing experience. That comes in real handy in my role now at imc.

In terms of studying, I started with a Bachelor’s degree in Communication and Multimedia Design, followed by a Master’s in Business Communication and Digital Media. My time at the university taught me a certain way of analytical thinking, researching and problem solving, but – to be honest – the actual skills I need on a day-to-day basis I didn’t learn at uni, I learned them on the job.

While my friends wanted to become cool things like policemen or firefighters, I wanted to become a fiction writer. I told you I was a nerd…

Running. It keeps me fit and helps me to clear my mind. Since Corona I have set my goal to run at least 25 km a week plus at least one half marathon every month.

I could give a sophisticated answer or name some Tarantino or Guy Ritchie movies (which I love), but in the end, my all-time guilty pleasure is Dumb and Dumber…

At the moment, my girlfriend and I are rewatching all episodes of the Big Bang Theory. Who doesn’t love Sheldon?

Rock! I am always very impressed by the skills of many jazz musicians, but I feel like I don’t understand the music very well. After a 20 minute improvisation I’d quite like a hook, a chorus or some kind of structure again.

So, I prefer rock. I used to play bass guitar in various rock bands, but I actually play on a Fender Jazz bass, so – in a way - there is still a bit of a jazz influence.