Category: Team Culture

Since our team has had several new additions in recent months, we thought a team day to get to know each other outside of the office was a good idea. To keep the excitement going, only the planning team knew where we would go. The only information was: “Sturdy shoes would not be wrong!”

Then the time had come: On June 9th, 2022 we all met on the train to Königstein for a hike at Sächsische Schweiz. The only problem was that the train was headed straight for a rainy area. Despite everything, we started the route to our first highlight under rainy conditions, the ascent to the Pfaffenstein via the Nadelöhr.

After almost 400 meters of altitude, we were able to enjoy the foggy but still beautiful view on the plateau. As the next highlight after the descent, the hiking route led us after passing a vantage point of Festung Königstein to the neighboring village Gohrisch.

A delicious 2-course menu awaited us in the QUARTIER 5 restaurant located there. After lunch, a workshop on the subject of team building was held to further promote better acquaintance within the team. By asking specific questions like “What would you definitely take with you to a desert island?” or “What does the perfect day look like for you?” we learned many new things about each other.

The stay in Gohrisch was concluded with a lecture on finding a name for the newly founded krawall & wunder GmbH. As a suprise, everyone got a new team shirt with a matching logo.

On the way back to the train station, the sun broke through the cloud cover. This made the last few kilometers with easy conversations very relaxed. So we can all remember this day with great memories and are already looking forward to the next trip as a team!

What a turbulent year it has been so far. In March Corona put us completely into the home office and the uncertainty about what was in store for us was very great. Fortunately, we made it through the special time well, which puts us in a positive mood for the times ahead of us. That’s why it was time to get together outside of everyday work and celebrate the year and summer. So we went up to lofty heights.

Friday, August 28th, 2020 at 9 a.m. in Dresden: it is pouring rain. Nevertheless, we find ourselves at 10 a.m. at the Waldseilpark in Bühlau – hope dies last.

After the seat belts have been put on and the instruction is done, the sky suddenly tears open and the sun shines: what luck! Our team event and summer party can take place as planned. Together we slowly feel our way into the spheres of the climbing paths: first the easy level of difficulty, then the medium and then the Mega Fox – a zip line that has it all. If you dare, you have a wild ride through the climbing forest in front of you. Everyone is fully committed, we motivate each other and give each other tips on how to best master the course. Now that the sun is shining, it is quite exhausting! At the end of the day, some colleagues try their hand at the highest level of difficulty and mostly master it successfully. Only the shaky ladder is the undoing of one or the other – but a joint rescue operation also welds together.

After the climbing action, we stop in the Hubertusgarten and enjoy lunch. A toast will be given to our working student Minh, who is having his last day with us today. Our beloved colleague will finish his studies in another city and we will review the time we spent together.

In the afternoon, family and friends are invited to the Saloppe to toast the summer. It is important to us that our family and friends can experience who we work with. We use the time and play table tennis or Viking chess together, get to know each other from other sides and have dinner together. Friends, siblings and parents, but also our project partners can exchange ideas and get an insight into how we work together.

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Punctually from 7 p.m. the rain starts again and reminds us of the sunny and wonderful day we enjoyed together. Shared experiences weld and allow us to continue to grow as a team. Because for us, work means a lifetime that should be fun!

Hi, my name is Madlen, happy mom and wife, passionate globetrotter and “juggler” between worlds (family and job). Currently, of course, much more than usual, but with wonderful family support.

Soon I already “marked” the 5 months at PHMU. Wow, I’ve been here for almost half a year and notice once again how time is running! “Run” in a positive sense, because for me personally that also means movement. And I’ve moved a lot in the last 5 months. After more than 15 years, I gave up a secure job as a management position in a completely different industry (printing industry – logistics). So I’ve been there for almost half my life.

In addition, I am the super happy mom of a 3 year old daughter. And it’s not that easy to get it all under one roof. But all parents know that. 😉

So a new start in my career, being a mother from the heart and then “Corona”.

At the time, many people asked me with irritation why I am daring to start over from scratch, considering this as a rather difficult time. But my thoughts on it were very clear: “If you don’t dare, you won’t win!” Fortunately, I’m naturally endowed with the “glass half full, not half empty” approach. So it was actually clear to me from the start that this path could only be the right one. For me there are only one-way streets in traffic. 🙂 You can find happy paths and roads everywhere. Even with detours.

At that time I found the job advertisement on the web. When I visited the PHMU website, I was immediately attracted by the open, versatile and creative concept of PHMU – I got excited. I thought to myself that whoever stands there casually with Chucks on his company pictures can only be wonderfully creative, innovative and open. 🙂 That was exactly what spoke to me immediately.

After the interview with Philipp, it quickly became clear to me that I could imagine working at PHMU and so I canceled the other offers.

I used to be an absolute workaholic at times and didn’t understand that batteries have to be recharged and that not only on our many long-distance trips. I immediately found it super-likeable that PHMU is so understanding and flexible when it comes to life and work. Unfortunately, this cannot be taken for granted. Philipp and I are both parents and therefore understand what this balancing act means.

Despite the 21st century, we are unfortunately lagging a little behind in Germany when it comes to flexible time models, part-time, 4-day weeks and so on. But I am confident that there will be a lot more positive changes in the coming years and that the work-life balance will become even more established. Modern and flexible home office models will certainly establish themselves even more due to current developments.

My fresh start in February was of course not completely normal. After almost a month of working in the office, the new normal with Corona had now “caught up” with us. Like many other companies, we then all switched to working from home. Of course, it wasn’t that easy at the beginning. But after a few days we also had a great daily routine with fixed meetings and conference calls.

One thing I learned relatively quickly during this time: “The further away you are from each other, the more you have to communicate”. So we finally found a great way in the team to not lose sight of each other during this long time of not seeing and to continue to act together as a “team”. In the meantime I even have the feeling that we sometimes talk a lot more to each other than in the office.

We even conduct team workshops and developments online and it really works wonderfully!

Even during these tough times (also from an economic point of view) we even hired a new employee (in the home office) and integrated him into the team. I found that really remarkable and by no means a matter of course.

Unfortunately, I know a few people in my immediate vicinity who are currently on short-time work, have financial worries and cannot work. So that we continue to receive such great projects and customer inquiries and are allowed to work at all during this time, I feel very lucky!

Personally, I hope that everyone continues to see the positive, look ahead and not back! And even if the glass “appears” to be half empty, it should be refilled after a period of relaxation and a sigh of relief. 🙂

Kind regards, Madlen from PHMU