Tackling what is important: For the third time in a row, we are one of the best employers in Germany according to the Great Place to Work Initiative. Once again, we have undergone an independent assessment by the international research and consulting institute – and impressed them. At the awards ceremony at the beginning of May, we were honored in three categories. In an interview, Modelyzr founder and Managing Director Nils Niehörster explains why it is less about the award as such and more about the exchange with employees and the further development of the corporate culture.
Question: Nils, Modelyzr GmbH will be recognized as one of the best employers by the Great Place to Work Initiative for the third time in a row in 2021. What is the initiative about and why are we taking part?
Nils Niehörster: Great Place to Work is a research and consulting institute that is active in around 60 countries. The initiative recognizes the best employers from various sectors and regions every year. Employees are surveyed anonymously on topics such as corporate culture, leadership, recognition, identification with the company and team spirit. At the same time, the measures taken by management in personnel and leadership work are examined. Great Place to Work derives an assessment of the quality and attractiveness of an employer from the results and examines how employee-oriented the corporate culture is.
We received awards in the categories Best ITC Employer, Best Employer Münsterland and Best Employer NRW. For us, however, it is not so much about the award as such, but for us participation in the competition is a tool to keep an eye on the needs of our employees and to understand them even better. The Great Place to Work initiative gives us an additional and neutral view of our company and allows us to recognize where there is potential for improvement.
Question: What speaks for Modelyzr as an employer?
Nils Niehörster: We have a collegial atmosphere and a good team spirit. Thanks to our flat hierarchies, there is room for good and progressive ideas. We are a young high-tech company with a really cool product that cannot be compared with any other solution on the market. With MODELYZR, we offer a genuine innovation in the field of data analysis and, with our comparatively small team, we are holding our own against globally positioned competitors. This is how we change the world and amaze both prospective and existing customers. When we introduce MODELYZR to potential new customers, there is always that moment when it “clicks” and you can see in their eyes that they are learning something completely new and ask themselves: “How do they do that?” This experience is a real highlight every time and nothing compares to it. We live our product and every one of our employees is proud to be able to say: “I am a Modelyzr”.
Question: What do you attach particular importance to when managing employees?
Nils Niehörster: On the three pillars of appreciation, individuality and transparency. I believe that appreciation is central to this. Our employees are fully committed to Modelyzr every day and that simply deserves recognition. Of course, salary also plays a role: if you do a good job, you have to be rewarded accordingly. In return, we offer above-average remuneration and the opportunity to benefit from attractive bonuses. However, it is perhaps even more important to show appreciation in our personal interactions at work. Praise for a completed task, a sympathetic ear for problems and an overall honest exchange create a productive atmosphere.
Appreciation also means seeing people and their individuality. The diversity of our employees is one of our strengths, which we promote accordingly. This begins with the freedom we grant our employees with regard to their working hours and vacation time. The freely selectable number of hours per week and the equally freely selectable number of vacation days make it possible to organize work and private life in the best possible way.
This is complemented by the individual design of the respective workplace and the offer of personal training and further education concepts. A corresponding training budget is available for this purpose. This enables team members to push their strengths and exploit hidden potential. In addition to external opportunities, interested parties also benefit from internal training or our support for part-time studies. This allows Modelyzr employees to develop and realize their potential according to their wishes.
The third important principle is transparency. This means that we not only keep our employees up to date with our goals and strategies, but also encourage them to communicate with each other. By participating in Great Place to Work, for example, we also create transparency with regard to which topics need to be addressed and where there is a need for action. We want to constantly develop and take our employees with us on this journey. As an authentic team with the right spirit, we master the daily challenges together hand in hand.
