#interview: more than 3 questions for Britta from our front office

Hello Britta. How are you today?

Britta: I’m fine, the day has started well. Our office is getting new height-adjustable desks and the assembly went really well. So I’m doing great.

How long have you been with PROMOS and where did you start?

Britta: I started at PROMOS on 1 July 2000. Back then, I applied for a job in a very old-school way in response to a newspaper advert. My job interview then took place in this very room [laughs]. As the main assistant to Jens, our founder and CEO, I had the traditional role of organising appointments. I answered the phone and assisted with correspondence. Over the years, many new tasks have been added, in particular a lot of organisational issues such as planning training courses.

What has changed at PROMOS since then?

Britta: PROMOS has become very young. We’re hiring more and more youngsters, which I personally think is great. I’m actually a vocational school teacher by profession, but I’ve never actually worked in that position because I started working at PROMOS straight away. This qualification and my many years of professional experience have enabled me to obtain a training licence. That’s why I’m always happy when young people get a taste of our office and I can show them our job and the tasks involved, and why I’ve always enjoyed working with interns, trainees and students.

What does a typical working day look like for you?

Britta: I start the morning with a circuit of the office. I check whether the offices are in order. That takes about a quarter of an hour and then I get my own coffee and breakfast. This gives me energy for the day ahead!

Then I boot up my laptop to plan the day. In most cases, there are invoices to be entered and authorisations to be obtained. We have a lot of contact with the other departments, as there are many points of overlap. I check appointments for the day and always keep an eye on the management calendars and all the meeting rooms. This means I can always see exactly where each appointment is taking place, which meetings need to be prepared, which visitors we are receiving and so on. All visitors must be registered and wear a visitor’s pass. New colleagues arrive at the beginning of the month. This means that the first thing we do is hand out the keys and then show them how to use them.

Which task do you enjoy the most?

Britta: The organising. I particularly enjoy organising meetings, preparing events and organising catering for after work. Contact with people takes centre stage here. I enjoy working with many different people – it’s the diversity that makes PROMOS so great. I used to be able to do everything without a notepad and knew by heart what needed to be done and when. In the meantime, we’ve become so big that this is no longer possible.

What challenges does your job entail?

Britta: You never know what to expect. Every day there are new surprises and often very urgent requests that have to be brought forward. On such a day, it’s sometimes a challenge to get everything coordinated.

Which other PROMOS departments do you work with the most?

Britta: I often work with IT because of some of the technical tools I use to manage my tasks. I’m also in close contact with the HR team, especially when it concerns applicants who come to visit the office or when new employees are being welcomed. We are the first to receive new Promos employees and hand them over to the departments.

What is your favourite thing to do outside of work to relax?

Britta: I like to use the Duolingo app on the train journey home and learn English. It helps me to wind down, switch off and start my afternoon. It’s become a real ritual for me and I look forward to it every time [laughs]. Otherwise, I spend a lot of time in my garden at home. It takes a lot of work, but it also brings me a lot of joy and relaxation when I travel home after work from the city centre to the outskirts of north-eastern Berlin. Every time there’s a little highlight.

Do you have a funny anecdote from the last 24 years at PROMOS?

Britta: Of course, I’ve had a lot of experiences over the last 24 years – it’s difficult to single out one in particular. The LWB training courses were particularly memorable. We had to print and prepare 5,000 training documents for this. It was a bit chaotic, but we also had a lot of fun. Our PROMOS parties are also always very enjoyable. Especially back then, when they still took place on the Spree river. We celebrated together like a small family. We’ve developed many private connections here, we have a strong bond and stand up for each other – that’s what makes us special and is particularly evident at such celebrations.

PROMOS in 3 words?

Britta: One big family!

Thank you, Britta, for those exciting insights. We look forward to sharing more special moments with you in the future!