Good practice: compatibility at St. Gereon Seniorendiensten

St. Gereon Seniorendienste gGmbH combines a wide range of care services for older people - from outpatient care and assisted living to short-term and residential care and intensive care. Shift work poses particular challenges in terms of balancing family and career. Nevertheless, the company has already been recognized several times for its attractive working conditions in the "Germany's Best Employer" competition.

For Manuela Garbrecht, Head of the Ratheim Care Support Center, Training Coordinator and Chair of the Employee Council, the fact that the approximately 620 employees also confirm a high level of job satisfaction in internal surveys is primarily due to the company's attitude: "We have always placed great value on a positive corporate culture. Our employees are our greatest asset. That's why we always have an open ear - even for private problems - and provide support through our networks. For example, we make initial contact with debt advice centers and youth welfare offices."

It is also important to St. Gereon Seniorendiensten to take into account the different life plans and situations of its employees and to enable them to reconcile their individual needs with their career. To achieve this, the employer also resorts to measures that initially sound impossible: Home office in all functional areas - including nursing. "That's something very special and is of course not possible when working directly with people. But nurses also have to perform many administrative tasks that they can easily do from home," says Manuela Garbrecht.

In addition, the employees are involved in drawing up the duty rosters. The mother who has to take her child to nursery in the morning can then decide directly in her team that she will only start at 8 o'clock. The soccer coach can also say that he can't work late on Tuesdays and Thursdays because that's when he trains his team. "There is much greater mutual understanding when those involved discuss this together than when they are simply given a duty roster," reports Manuela Garbrecht. The prerequisite is that the scheduling of the shifts is really flexible. There are no rigid patterns at St. Gereon Seniorendiensten that stipulate, for example, that employees work one week on early shift and one week on late shift.

Muela Garbrecht counters doubters: "Our employees are very good at dealing with this freedom. Everyone is aware that the senior citizens will not be adequately cared for if no one starts at 6 a.m. We've never had the problem of a service simply remaining unmanned."

A special extra from the company is that employees can earn additional vacation days. For example, anyone who completes a certain number of training modules via an app receives recognition for providing additional services that also benefit the employer.

Our interview was conducted in 2021.