More long-term strategy and less constant reactive work
Gut am Arbeitgeber finde ich
Employees were generally treated like responsible adults who could manage their own time as long as their work was done well.
Schlecht am Arbeitgeber finde ich
Without the “right” degree or a particularly confident appearance, there was sometimes the impression of not being taken as seriously.
Verbesserungsvorschläge
The existing expertise and experience of many employees could be more strongly incorporated into strategic decisions and long-term planning.
Arbeitsatmosphäre
It often felt like you constantly had to prove yourself. Good work was appreciated, but there seemed to be little understanding that quality also requires time. In addition, employees were regularly assigned projects or extra tasks whose long-term value wasn't always clear.
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Internationally, ESMT appears to have a fairly strong reputation, especially on an academic level. However, I sometimes felt that internal issues were overlooked because of the anticipation of upcoming events or projects.
Work-Life-Balance
This depended heavily on the department. In my case, the work-life balance was fairly good. Vacation planning was relatively flexible, although this flexibility did not seem to apply equally to everyone.
Karriere/Weiterbildung
Yes, there are examples of successful career progression. However, in some cases it wasn't clear how performance was linked to promotion. In addition, the hierarchy itself sometimes left little room for further growth.
Kollegenzusammenhalt
Most colleagues were the greatest to work with. Collaboration was enjoyable, people supported one another, and there was a strong willingness to learn from each other. At the same time, it felt like the culture had become increasingly competitive over the years.
Umgang mit älteren Kollegen
As far as I could tell, older colleagues were not particularly valued. There were some symbolic-looking benefits, but long-term experience and professional expertise often did not seem to carry significantly more weight.
Vorgesetztenverhalten
Many decisions were difficult to understand from both a professional and business perspective. Employees were sometimes excluded from processes they had previously been involved in. In addition, contradictory information was occasionally communicated. From my perspective, recurring problematic behaviors were rarely really addressed. At times it felt like certain individuals were treated more favorably.
Arbeitsbedingungen
When tasks regularly required resources outside the standard setup — for example, increased computing power — solutions were often not provided. Workspaces were supposed to be flexibly booked through a desk reservation system. In practice, many desks were de facto permanently assigned to specific people.
Kommunikation
There were many meetings and coordination rounds, but I often wasn't clear on why certain tasks were prioritized. This sometimes created uncertainty about your own role and the company’s long-term direction. New responsibilities were frequently assigned without sufficient handover or documentation.
Gehalt/Benefits
Salary payments were reliable and always on time, but overall compensation was below the industry average. Additional perks like discounts were well intentioned, but didn't really add much value.
Gleichberechtigung
In day-to-day work, there was generally a sense of equal treatment, or at least a genuine effort toward it. However, looking at the upper management level, there were no women represented.
Interessante Aufgaben
My core responsibilities were genuinely interesting. Unfortunately, it often felt like that reliable and high-performing employees were “rewarded” with even more work. Additional projects were given clear goals, but their results frequently lost relevance shortly after completion.