From chaotic start-up to a corporate & established organization
Arbeitsatmosphäre
In the past few years, zooplus has gone through a lot of changes. Some came from the shift in ownership — which means less short-term reporting pressure than when the company was publicly listed, and more focus on building long-term value. Others were shaped by the market itself, with economic challenges and tougher competition in the digital space.
Because of that, teams have had to deal with quite a bit of uncertainty, with different levels of success depending on the area and how resilient people could be. Overall, I feel there is less cohesion than a few years ago, which makes sense as the company and headcount have kept growing.
That said, I do see progress: collaboration is getting better, and we’re starting to celebrate wins more often, which is a positive step forward.
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zooplus is not very well-known and doesn't do a lot to change the pattern. I think that there is still a lot to be done to "live" the category a bit more.
Work-Life-Balance
I feel that the company demonstrate care for its employees and I never experienced situation where individuals were not supported when they add to deal with personal matters. The company even provides days offs for pet adoption and the loss of a pet which is very aligned with its purpose.
Karriere/Weiterbildung
I’ve been lucky to make some career steps and benefit from training opportunities. At the same time, I feel there is still a need for more clarity around career development — like what skills are required to move forward and how gaps are addressed.
Gehalt/Benefits
Good in relation with work-life balance - probably on the mid-end of what's available in the market.
Umwelt-/Sozialbewusstsein
Good not great - I think we are simply busy with other topics
Kollegenzusammenhalt
Strong sub-cultures where team-members appreciate each-other. I am sure that more curiosity and less judgement would help breaking silos between teams.
Umgang mit älteren Kollegen
I don't know many seniors in the company and I have the feeling that they are entirely part of the teams and the journey.
Vorgesetztenverhalten
All the changes over the past years also brought shifts in management — some worked out well, others less so. I feel the company has strong individual leaders, but it still struggles to build a truly cohesive leadership team.
Looking back at the managers I’ve had so far, the majority (around 80–90%) taught me valuable lessons that helped me grow, both personally and as a manager. From the remaining 10–20%, I mostly learned what not to do by seeing behaviors I wouldn’t want to replicate.
Arbeitsbedingungen
The new office is really nice and well equipped — maybe even a bit too big. I liked the closeness and interactions we had in the old building (it felt more like a family), even though the noise and lack of meeting rooms were frustrating.
Now we enjoy a quiet and comfortable workspace, but cross-functional interactions don’t happen as much anymore. The after-work events help, though participation is still limited.
Kommunikation
I think communication is one of the areas where the company has improved the most (to be fair, the starting point wasn’t great). There are now plenty of forums to share opinions — whether through collaboration tools, team meetings, ask-me-anything sessions, all-hands, or town halls.
That said, there is still room to make these interactions better. Anonymous questions to management sometimes come across as childish, selfish, or even toxic, and that doesn’t help anyone. Communication works best when it is a two-way street.
I also understand that the recent right-sizing was a shock for many. But it's a reflection of the current economic reality. The best way to build cohesion now is to keep the dialogue between management and teams as open and transparent as possible, while approaching things with common sense.
Gleichberechtigung
The average employee age is around the mid 30s with a very diverse (more than 50 different nationalities); It is quite unusual for a company of this size. Diversity is lived without being over-political. Still, it is true that the C suite has a low representation of female, while the C-1 roles are more balanced
Interessante Aufgaben
I have been with the company for some time and I never got bored. There are plenty of things to do and improve and I always found a way to make a difference. It might come at the cost of exhaust and there is a fair amount of resilience and patience needed to succeed.