Interesting, flexible and dynamic work atmosphere
Gut am Arbeitgeber finde ich
I really appreciate the open feedback culture, the flexible working hours and in general the encouraging but also challenging work atmosphere.
Arbeitsatmosphäre
In my time at zalando I experienced now four different direct leads. Every single one of them was a bit different, none of them was lacking any major leadership skill. I have experienced a trust build relationship with challenges that were in line with my strengths. I am driven and motivated by continuous change and challenges so my first boss for example offered me to take over a maternity leave cover in a different department, which I took over. I could have said no as well, the decision was totally and completely my own. My latest boss introduced a couple of initiatives to make sure team members are rewarded for their achievements. In this meeting not only she thanked specific people but everyone was encouraged to do this as well. By this we have quickly formed a close team based on mutual trust and gratefulness.
Kommunikation
Communication within zalando is definitely the trickiest category. The company itself is growing and continuously changing and it’s definitely a major challenge to not lose anyone along this way. In terms of management board communication we definitely have quite a lot of communication channels such as “all hands” or “ask us anything” which you don’t necessarily have to attend personally but you’re also able to stream it online.
Kollegenzusammenhalt
I have met the most amazing colleagues here from various different countries. As teams are changing constantly you might think that the team spirits is a bigger challenge, however this is not the case. Within category management I have now been part of four different teams and in each of them I was able to trust all of my colleagues on a both professional but also personal baseline.
Work-Life-Balance
Work-life-Balance is the part in which I think a lot of people working at zalando don’t speak up for their rights and therefor unnecessarily complain. I myself am a mother of two children and working full time. I have a very flexible approach in my works, which means I look at the possible impact of my actions and rank priorities accordingly. So it can be that one some days I spent up to 11 hours in the office because I want to finish a specific task (which by the way is MY approach and not something I have to do), and some days I already leave at 4 or 3:30 because I have to pick up the kids. Whenever one of my children is sick I can work from home without having to justify this decision. At zalando we don’t have work time trackers which can definitely lead to frustration when you continuously work over hours. However within category management I have experienced only understanding and support whenever I raised my concerns on work load.
Vorgesetztenverhalten
As I previously said I have experienced four direct leads now. All of them were transparent and supporting. In the end the Reaktion ship is very dependent on the character of the lead itself but the leadership culture and principles in general are ones I enjoy. Every single one of my former leads created an open feedback culture and were very supportive in terms of concerns and development opportunities. I might have been lucky but every single of my former leads set up sessions with our HR department which were designed to collect a 360 degree feedback after a start, stop, continue model.
Interessante Aufgaben
I am very thrilled by the continuous challenges zalando offers me. It’s not only challenges that are directly connected to my job but also I can be involved in various other projects in the overall company.
Gleichberechtigung
Zalando is just a representation of society. Women in higher management positions are still rare. However zalando itself is working on a lot of initiatives to embrace a change.
Umgang mit älteren Kollegen
There are actually only very few old colleagues.
Arbeitsbedingungen
We just recently moved to a new office which is nice. We have a canteen and very modern work environment.
Umwelt-/Sozialbewusstsein
Sustainability is a key building block for our buying departments however I think we still have lessons to learn here.
Gehalt/Sozialleistungen
The salary is ok for Berlin. It’s not amazingly competitive however there are much more important things for me.
Image
Zalando will always be in the Press and some say this, some say so. Actually this part is not at all important to me so I can’t say much about this.
Karriere/Weiterbildung
At zalando you have a lot of career opportunities even outside of your usual way. You can go from category management to HR, from HR to marketing.