The fact is: there is no company without a corporate culture. It always comes into being when people come together in all their diversity and work together. In the process, common values emerge. They become visible and tangible in the biographies of the employees. On the occasion of German Diversity Day, we arranged to meet Dorothee Reinhardt, Manju Tojan and Selcuk Kurban to talk about their experiences and to shed light on the values that are lived out in the company.
“I had the basic trust that everything would be fine.”
– Dorothee Reinhardt –
The memory is still present. Of how the sporty contours emerged more precisely from the moldable clay with every step of the work: “We stood shoulder to shoulder, the red-brown clay in our hands, and realized: The new Astra will be a unique model.” That was in 2017, when Dorothee Reinhardt had been with the company for seven years. She had completed an apprenticeship as a technical model maker and then qualified as a product designer. The Astra was her first project as a clay modeller – “everything was perfect.” And yet she didn’t hesitate to look for another job in the company when it became apparent that the clay modeling team was going to downsize. “I had confidence that everything would be fine,” she says. This basic trust had built up over time, through the appreciation of her work, her commitment. “Part of it was that I was offered a career break, in 2014, for my further studies to become a product designer – that was anything but a matter of course,” she emphasizes.
Excel instead of clay
Equipped with this basic confidence, she plunged into her new job in the summer of 2020 – as Assistant Brand Manager. But she could only do a fraction of what was required in the internal job advertisement: “I didn’t have a business degree and whether it was PowerPoint or Excel – every program was new for me.” But she pushed through, from the home office, with “great support from colleagues.” And so the 31-year-old not only shaped the Astra from clay, but also helped to introduce the newcomer from Rüsselsheim to customers across Europe a few weeks ago in TV commercials, on giant posters and in magazines with a 360-degree campaign. “Whether it’s developing campaign motifs, organizing shoots, selecting photos: I can also bring my creative streak to bear in my new role,” says the new marketing colleague. And the basic trust in being in the right company – that has continued to grow.
“Wow, a job offer from Opel!” After a Master of Technology in Communication Engineering at one of the best universities in India, a Master of Science in Electrical Engineering in Darmstadt and three years as an applications engineer at an automotive supplier in southern Germany, Manju Tojan didn’t have to think twice : “It was the perfect next step in my career.” In the field of “Noise, Vibration, Harshness” she was able to contribute her experience, expand her expertise, and professionally it went great. But she felt alienated in the beginning: “The team was great, the colleagues nice. But I was the only woman and, at 27, the youngest. By far. And when I became pregnant during my probationary period, I was worried that my career at Opel would be over before it had really begun,” she says. But things turned out differently. One of her experienced colleagues realized that she needed mental support. “Ulrich Zimmer, a great colleague and wonderful person, became a kind of mentor for me,” Manju Tojan recounts, “unfortunately he has since passed away, but he will always have a special place in my heart.” It was also he who encouraged her that parental leave did not have to be a setback for her career.
advanced possibilities
And that’s how it happened: When Manju Tojan came back to the company, she was able to get back on track professionally and even more: the merger of PSA with Fiat-Chrysler to form Stellantis opened up new perspectives. “We have group-wide responsibility for a global platform,” says the Performance Integration Engineer, not without pride. Of course it is challenging to manage your daily work with noise and vibration tests, the tests in climatic chambers and on roller test benches and the many calls,
“but I love my work and the cohesion in the team, the exchange with colleagues worldwide.” Mobile working helps a lot in balancing her professional duties with those of a mother of a six-year-old son. And when there is a need to talk, she exchanges ideas with her colleagues in the
“Women of Stellantis
“ network.
“The mutual support is inspiring and so important,
“ she says. She has long since fully arrived at the company and is
“Happy, absolutely happy
” – an intensified duplication, which is exactly what she means.
“Flexible mobile working helps with having a demanding job and being a mother.”
– Manju Tojan –
“The cohesion among the colleagues in Rüsselsheim is still special.”
– Selcuk Kurban –
“I’m an Opelaner through and through,” Selcuk Kurban introduces himself on the phone and adds: “I’m a group leader with an immigrant background.” Did his family and cultural background ever play a role in the company? “Not to any extent,” he says without hesitation. What did play a role, however, what his will to get involved and take on responsibility. Thus, the 47-year-old, who joined the company in 1991 as an apprentice electronics technician, is now the personnel manager for more than 2,000 employees. This includes colleagues from production, facility management and logistics at the Rüsselsheim plant. Selcuk Kurban had the desire to get involved early on. In his second year of apprenticeship, he became involved in the youth representation of the works council. Later, when he was a test driver in Dudenhofen, chasing Opel models over the vibrating track or the high-speed track, he also represented the interests of the employees.
Diversity as DNA
And issues such as equal opportunities, diversity and respect continue to drive him today as Group Human Resources Manager. “In my long time with the company, I have often experienced how enriching it is when people with different backgrounds and experiences come together,” he describes. The cohesion among the colleagues in Rüsselsheim is still special today. Kurban: “Basically, diversity is our DNA.” After all, people from around 50 nations work at the plant in Rüsselsheim. The youngest are 20, the most experienced colleagues over 60. And a lot is happening at the moment. “We are hiring new colleagues for a second shift, and the selection of the next generation of foremen is underground,” he says. He is pleased that more women are considering craft professions – “this brings in new perspectives, enriches the teams.” And the fact that Opel has been a leader in the employment of severely disabled employees in the automotive industry for more than 20 years shows that diversity and integration in the company do not only exist on paper – “it is actively lived.”
May 2022
Text: Tina Henze, photos: Meike Schmidt, private, Andreas Liebschner