Between Paragraphs, Cost Management and Playmobil | Anna Lena Alff
Switch on the laptop, pour the coffee, check e-mails – Anna’s morning in the office usually begins in the same way. Today, however, she is not drinking her first coffee at her workstation, but in one of WEINMANN Emergency’s meeting rooms in São Paulo. The schedule for the day says: Data protection check-up 2021.
Have applicants been provided with the required information according to articles 13 and 14 of the GDPR? Has a binding workflow for training employees in data protection been established? Are newsletters only sent on the basis of consent? Anna devotes a whole day to guiding her colleagues through the check-up and assisting them with the survey. “The topic of data protection accompanies us every day. It involves a huge amount of administrative work but, at the same time, it is a very interesting subject.
Especially in the context of digitalization,” says Anna. As Consultant for Central Services and Legal Affairs, however, she is not only a contact for data protection matters. Property insurance, the vehicle fleet, and straightforward legal issues are among the many different tasks that land on Anna’s desk. “Put simply, I am an internal contact for a wide range of subject areas within the company,” she summarizes. And that is what she has been for 18 years already.
Career start thanks to the ULM CASE
Her career at WEINMANN began in 2003, when she trained to become an industrial clerk. As the daughter of a physician, she was born with an enthusiasm for medical technology. She more or less owes her application to WEINMANN Emergency to the ULM CASE. “My mother found the advertisement in the newspaper and said: Your father has an ULM CASE, why don’t you apply there?” smiles Anna. Shortly thereafter, HR invited her for an interview and a test day. Anna started her training as an industrial clerk a couple of weeks later. This was followed by full-time studies in business administration and a brief detour into auditing until she returned to the starting point of her career. “When I received the call to say that there was a project for me with subsequent employment, it was easy for me to accept immediately,” recalls Anna.
Career and family? Both are possible!
For the last three years, however, Anna has no longer only been an employee of WEINMANN Emergency. She is now also the mother of twins, who manage to keep her busy after work too. Nevertheless, this change has not harmed her work-life balance – on the contrary. The fact that she is able to combine her work and family so well is down to the mutual trust between her and her employer – of that she is quite certain: “WEINMANN Emergency is not only a family company on paper. The familial atmosphere is clearly perceptible here. The employees always comes first.” This is also evident with regard to the error culture. “I have made mistakes too, of course. But we never point fingers at anyone here. Instead, we always try to find the cause together. This approach has taken away my fear of making mistakes.”
Five quick facts about Anna
- In my job, it is above all necessary to be capable of acting quickly and spontaneously.
- My day-to-day work is characterized by regulations, horsepowers, and figures, figures, figures.
- My colleagues say that I am cheerful, helpful, and a little (car) crazy.
- For me, WEINMANN Emergency is a place of employment where I not only have colleagues but have also made friends.
- At the weekend I hope that I have no damage claims in my mailbox on Monday.
