ELEMENT 

Insurance 

AG

Bewertungen

Gut am Arbeitgeber finde ich

Die Erfahrung gemacht zu haben, um zu wissen, was ich zukünftig nicht mehr will. Pünktliche Gehaltszahlung.

Schlecht am Arbeitgeber finde ich

Wer hat sich diese unsägliche, einmal jährlich stattfindende Gehaltsverhandlung ausgedacht? Wenn mit Kündigung gedroht wird, werden ein paar Euros locker gemacht. Jedoch reicht dann das Budget nicht mehr für die anderen. Hier wird nicht wertschätzend gehandelt, sondern nach entsprechendem Gusto. Wer seinen Mitarbeitern so seine Geringschätzung entgegenbringt, kann nur Dienst nach Vorschrift erwarten.

Verbesserungsvorschläge

Inwiefern wird die Arbeit der Vorstände und der Personalabteilung auf den Prüfstand gestellt? Vielleicht sollte hier an der Stellschraube gedreht werden.

Arbeitsatmosphäre

Vorab: Damals hatte ich richtig Lust bei Element anzufangen, habe mich auf die Aufgaben und das Team gefreut.
Aktuell ist die Arbeit durch Unsicherheit geprägt, ob meine Arbeitskraft in den nächsten Monaten / Jahr überhaupt noch benötigt wird. Immer mehr geschätzte Kolleg :innen kündigen von selbst, dass trägt nicht gerade zur Motivation bei. Es fehlen Verbindlichkeiten seitens der Führungskräfte/Vorstände, mit schwammige Aussagen kann nicht jeder etwas anfangen.

Image

Wird nach außen hin aufpoliert, vielleicht will man sich für einen zukünftigen Verkauf hübsch machen? Warum sollte man mit Element Insurance AG als MGA zusammenarbeiten wollen? Intern sieht das Image anders aus, als nach außen.

Work-Life-Balance

Flexibel, jedoch besteht seit Monaten ein sehr hohes Workload. Bis 20 Überstunden im Monat sind laut Arbeitsvertrag bereits abgegolten.

Karriere/Weiterbildung

Kollegenzusammenhalt

Im eigenen Team gut.

Vorgesetztenverhalten

Er/Sie/Es war stets bemüht - mehr auch nicht. Keine Erwartungen haben, dann gibt es auch keine Enttäuschungen. Teilweise Mikromanagement, fragliche "Kontrollen" um evtl. den eigenen Arbeitsplatz zu manifestieren? Wenn die direkte Führungskraft kaum nutzbares Fachwissen vorweist und auch nicht in der Lage ist in Spitzenzeiten mit anzupacken, stellt sich die Frage warum für so eine Position Geld ausgegeben wird. Die Stelle hätte intern besser besetzt werden können.

Arbeitsbedingungen

Teilweise remote, selbst hier hat der Arbeitgeber keine Kosten. (wie z.B. Internetnutzung, Wasser für die heimische Toilette, Getränke, Strom). Aber hey, wenigstens finde ich mein zu Hause cool, kann nicht jeder von sich behaupten.

Kommunikation

Augenscheinlich wird diese betrieben. Wenn man sich jedoch durch die Augenwischerei gekämpft hat, bleibt leere Luft. Solange keine Verbindlichkeiten geschaffen werden, wird das Thema der fehlenden Kommunikation immer wieder angebracht werden. Da hilft auch das zehnte Format mit einem einfallsreichen Namen nichts.

Gehalt/Benefits

Gehalt ist eine individuelle Entscheidung, durch wen auch immer und wird nicht gerecht gehandhabt. Hier werden Verantwortlichkeiten verschoben. Absolute Intransparenz. Welche Sozialleistungen? Der 50 € Rewe Gutschein über die Emplu App? Ach so, IKEA, Thalia und H&M gibt es auch. Zuschüsse zur Altersvorsorge oder z.B. ein Unfallgruppentarif sollte für ein Versicherungsunternehmen Standard sein.

Gleichberechtigung

Eine Gleichberechtigung bezüglich des Gehalts ist nicht feststellbar, trotz gleicher/ähnlicher Tätigkeit und Ausbildung innerhalb eines Teams. Selbst offene Gespräche mit der Führungskraft bezüglich einer Gehaltsanpassung sind nicht zielführend. Ein Mitarbeiter bekommt „Zugeständnisse“ der andere nicht.

Interessante Aufgaben

Gibt und gab es, allerdings herrscht seit Monaten Eintönigkeit auf Grund der hohen Arbeitsbelastung.

Gut am Arbeitgeber finde ich

At this point...the coffee?

Schlecht am Arbeitgeber finde ich

Almost everything.

Verbesserungsvorschläge

Stop deleting comments but change what people think by some positive actions.

Arbeitsatmosphäre

It has been great the last years but since our management changed and we are struggling with money, it's a backstabbing culture×100.
It's so bad that the company decided to go with obvious fake comments which are so far from reality that it makes everyone laugh. Everyone keeps checking this page and laughs about the "oh we are so progressive and cool" comments vs agreeing with the real ones. Also almost all real comments magically disappeared since last week. If you disagree with certain people you are screamed at and fired on the spot. Decide for yourself if that is a place you want to work at. This place is not safe for your psychological safety if you can not deal with having a screamed discussion about a work related topic.

Image

Better than it is but it starts cracking.

Work-Life-Balance

Depends. In my section this is fine due to my wonderful manager.Other departments are basically reduced to single people working themselves to burnouts.

Karriere/Weiterbildung

Gehalt/Benefits

This is approximately 40%under the market standard for my position. Can not say about others.

Umwelt-/Sozialbewusstsein

People with no social support system get fired. Unfortunately nobody cares about this.

Kollegenzusammenhalt

Depends. Still there in some teams,non-existing in others. It's also teams against teams now. It used to be very good years ago.

Umgang mit älteren Kollegen

I think that is ok.

Vorgesetztenverhalten

Depends. Upper management is very disconnected from us and treats us like puppets. Last year it was said there will not be any cutbacks in people. This was a lie. So how your own work life is really depends on how your manager fights for you.

Arbeitsbedingungen

Worst I have ever seen and I have seen things..

Kommunikation

Everyone is scared because layoffs are not over. People talk against people's back and it looks like it is encouraged by the management from their lack of reaction and their own behaviour. Communication to the outside obviously evolves deleting comments on kununu to make it look better.

Gleichberechtigung

If you are not a German man good luck getting promoted. This was talked about a while but this discussion was stopped by upper management.

Interessante Aufgaben

Nothing is clear and this affects also tasks.

Verbesserungsvorschläge

Please start communicating reasonably and openly with your employees. Remember that employees are the most important asset ELEMENT has. Keeping them requires a respectful and appreciative interaction and support.

Arbeitsatmosphäre

ELEMENT used to be a very dynamic, innovative company with a real drive to change something in the insurance market. The employees were motivated to move the company forward, there was open dialogue, ideas and personal initiative were appreciated. For just over a year now, the atmosphere has deteriorated continuously. There is now an atmosphere of uncertainty, demotivation and frustration. Several colleagues have already resigned, are thinking about it, quiet quitting or have been fired.

Image

I cannot make any statement about the external perception of ELEMENT in the insurance market.

Work-Life-Balance

The workload is manageable. If your supervisor plays along, a significant amount of home office is possible, but this is at his/her discretion. ELEMENT offers the opportunity to work remotely from abroad for up to four weeks a year. That is a real benefit.
What really bothers me is that most of the holiday for the following year has to be applied for in the previous year. That takes away a lot of the flexibility that you actually expect in a relatively young and small company.

Karriere/Weiterbildung

Gehalt/Benefits

My salary is in line with the market average. Clear guidelines on what is required for a salary increase are not communicated, at least not to me. The decision is made once a year at the end-of-year talks and is not transparent.
In accordance with legal requirements, there is the option of taking out a company pension scheme.
There are a few additional, voluntary benefits - for me, the most important is a platform that offers counselling, workshops and information on the subject of stress management and mental health. You further i.a. have the opportunity to visit a gym at the Berlin office, the obligatory fruit basket, company ticket and a mid-double-digit amount each month that can be redeemed for certain vouchers. Foreign colleagues are supported with housing and language courses.

Umwelt-/Sozialbewusstsein

There was a dedicated ESG project at ELEMENT, but I haven't heard anything about it recently. I am not aware of any further endeavours in this regard. At least waste is separated in the office :).

Kollegenzusammenhalt

The colleagues are the only reason why I have stayed with ELEMENT for so long. In the past, ELEMENT has managed to attract many really talented, well-trained, friendly, fun and motivated people from all over the world. There is still a good sense of cohesion, a kind of community of destiny, especially among the long-serving colleagues. In the meantime, however, the general frustration is also reflected here.

Umgang mit älteren Kollegen

The age structure at ELEMENT is very mixed, from young to old. I have not experienced any discrimination against older colleagues.

Vorgesetztenverhalten

I can only say good things about my direct superiors. Very understanding, open and kind-hearted people. I can't say that about the top management. There is no appreciation or recognition. Employees are managed like pawns in a game of chess. The HR department has also not shown itself to be particularly humane in this respect in recent times.

Arbeitsbedingungen

The Berlin office is gorgeous and well located, but rarely fully occupied because many employees work from home. You regularly get the basics you need to work - a decent laptop, mouse and keyboard. You have to set up your home office yourself.

Kommunikation

There is no open, clear communication between management and employees. Decisions are made behind closed doors and are at best announced but hardly explained, even if they involve major cuts to the company's operations or the employee's own working conditions. Decisions that directly affect employees personally are also made over their heads and employees are presented with a fait accompli without being able to express their views. ELEMENT is currently laying off a significant number of people. None of the employees know who is affected; the only way to find out that someone has been fired is through the grapevine. The other employees are left in the dark as to whether they will still have a job in a few months' time or have to rely on what their direct superior tells them.

Gleichberechtigung

In management, the ratio of men to women is around 2:1. Women are otherwise more likely to be in lower positions. I am not aware that ELEMENT specifically supports women. There are projects that deal with the empowerment of women in the professional world, but the initiative for this came from committed female employees.

Interessante Aufgaben

I had many interesting tasks and worked on various interdisciplinary projects with the other departments. There's hardly any of that left. Projects were cut back, processes scrapped, etc.

Gut am Arbeitgeber finde ich

Work-life balance is good for a start-up.

Schlecht am Arbeitgeber finde ich

No open communication in C-level.

Verbesserungsvorschläge

If the backstapping culture doesn't stop I will search for a new employer like so many others did before me. Since the C-level changed, it's all about saving money. So if there is a chance to replace someone with someone cheaper, it seems to be taken. Strange though because we lost so much knowledge because of it that it is really not efficient at all. Unfortunately you can not even say something because since HR was basically replaced, there is (almost) no open ear for improvement. Element has a lot of amazing people working here. It is a shame that the culture is destroyed by some... I would really hope that this changes again. You can see many people trying to fight the culture change but since it's quite top-down now I doubt that it will happen.

Arbeitsatmosphäre

Backstapping...since our C level was switched everything changed...People at all level start to talk behind other's back.

Work-Life-Balance

This point I can not complain about

Karriere/Weiterbildung

Kollegenzusammenhalt

Depends.Can be truely great, can be bad, really depends on where you are working

Umgang mit älteren Kollegen

We basically don't have any anymore...But we are a start-up so there were never a lot of them

Vorgesetztenverhalten

It depends. This is hard to generalize. There are manager who would do everything for their team, and there are manager who only care about themselves. But that's my experience in every company so far

Arbeitsbedingungen

Homeoffice is possible. The office is beautiful and has the usual snacks although the fruits were a bit more plenty in the old times. There are not enough meeting rooms though. The kitchen is well equiped, you could even cook there.

Kommunikation

It used to be very open, but since the backstapping is socially accepted I would say this is not great

Gehalt/Benefits

Average salary, not many benefits compared to a cooperate

Interessante Aufgaben

Certainly more interesting than in other companies. Since we are a scale-up this became a bit less interesting but there are still plenty of interesting things to learn

Gut am Arbeitgeber finde ich

still digital

Schlecht am Arbeitgeber finde ich

ELEMENT completely lost USP

Verbesserungsvorschläge

focus on business and market, focus on former USP

Arbeitsatmosphäre

bad, pressure only

Image

now bad, coming from very good

Work-Life-Balance

not existing

Karriere/Weiterbildung

Gehalt/Benefits

bad, below average

Umwelt-/Sozialbewusstsein

not existing

Kollegenzusammenhalt

fight club

Umgang mit älteren Kollegen

worst

Vorgesetztenverhalten

pressure only, too many "leaders" for such a small company

Arbeitsbedingungen

worrst

Kommunikation

not happening

Gleichberechtigung

no

Interessante Aufgaben

lat year interesting - now boring

Gut am Arbeitgeber finde ich

Keine Kernarbeitszeit, Home Office

Schlecht am Arbeitgeber finde ich

Fehlende Wertschätzung

Verbesserungsvorschläge

Fluktuation ernst nehmen
Personalentwicklung im HR etablieren

Arbeitsatmosphäre

Im eigenen kleinen Team ist es super, aber leider haben langjährige Kollegen das Team nun verlassen.

Work-Life-Balance

Hierfür muss man selbst sorgen und auch mal nein sagen / Sachen liegen lassen können.

Karriere/Weiterbildung

Gehalt/Benefits

In Ordnung

Umwelt-/Sozialbewusstsein

Es wird sich engagiert

Kollegenzusammenhalt

I.O., aber teamübergreifend schwierig.

Arbeitsbedingungen

Büro sehr laut, wenig Meetingräume, Überstunden sind automatisch abgegolten, 30 Tage Urlaub, kein Utlrlaubs/Weihnachtsgeld

Kommunikation

Die Kommunikation war unter dem vorherigen Vorstand (Mitgründer) besser. Aktuell ist der Buschfunk schneller als der offizielle Weg.

Interessante Aufgaben

Die Aufgaben sind sehr vielseitig

Gut am Arbeitgeber finde ich

There is a steep learning curve and still a lot of willingness to try out new things or do things differently.

Schlecht am Arbeitgeber finde ich

Top line is our god.

Verbesserungsvorschläge

Be realistic and transparent, at least internally. Listen and take up employee's suggestions in a professional manner.

Arbeitsatmosphäre

Open communication on a daily level; identification could be better as suspicous partnerships (decisions by sharia board such as rejecting LGBTQ; excessive commissions; insurances that nobody needs or do support harming environment ...) are pursued regardless of serious critizism

Image

Outside image is overall still good, but quite some turnover from people with deeper insight over the last 12 months.

Work-Life-Balance

Sometimes extreme due to typcial startup culture (e.g. surprises are intentionally not always incorporated in planning: expectation to work beyond) and increased staff turnover

Karriere/Weiterbildung

Gehalt/Benefits

Salaries are comparable with other Berlin-based startups, but not beyond. Monetary benefits are poor. Company events have become victims of expenses cutting. Other non-monetary benefits are good.

Umwelt-/Sozialbewusstsein

Good on micro level, but overall ESG seems mainly for marketing reasons than part of the DNA.

Kollegenzusammenhalt

Excellent

Umgang mit älteren Kollegen

Unclear wether it is mainly push or mainly pull that a number of them left

Vorgesetztenverhalten

Much more top-down then then it used to be

Arbeitsbedingungen

Open space that is usually quiet while also providing extra-areas to fully focus or have conversations and regular or spontanous meetings; home office quite flexible but mostly at your own expense and responsibility

Kommunikation

Top management frequently uses almost brainwashing-like approaches; there are less updates on financials or employee-enagagement then it used to be (in time with company goals not being met for a while and then restructuring); anonymous questions are not shared anymore but rephrased (up to sometimes making them appear foolish to the whole audience) so people may less dare to ask

Gleichberechtigung

Mostly male white German speakers seem to make it to leadership level

Interessante Aufgaben

As most of the business innovation is rather kept outside with the partners, certain tasks are less interesting after a while as compared to other insuretechs with specialized business model or larger players. As with other startups, the need to rather support short-term topline than a company that is to exist and run a business with a long-term view may also take its toll.