Work at imc Archives - imc Learning

On 8th March we celebrate International Women’s Day. This year’s focus is: Equal opportunities and equality of women and men. As in previous years, a large variety of events, forums and discussion groups are held under the hashtag #EmbraceEquity. Given our experiences during the corona pandemic, we at imc already asked ourselves last year, whether the crises undid decades of progress on the path to gender equality. As part of a roundtable discussion that included many external guests, we looked at the topic of “Women in the Hybrid Working World”. This generated a wealth of new and thought-provoking ideas. We wanted to know what has changed since last year, and how equality is realised. So, we asked our Executive Board and our colleagues.

The return from maternity leave did not go according to plan. Lockdown made the envisioned full-time role impossible, as Sabine Sauer and her husband faced challenges many other couples were only too familiar with. They needed to balance two 40-hour working weeks with childcare. Sabine decided to reduce her hours in her sales role at imc. Her employer’s reaction was a thoroughly positive experience: “It was very straightforward. As a woman, I was given the opportunity to do a cool job without the full-time commitment.”

When talking to Sabine, it is obvious that she loves her job. “Improving processes and driving communication between departments is extremely important to me.” A few weeks ago, she was promoted to Head of Account Management. This came completely unexpected for her. “I think it’s really cool that my employer trusts me to handle this role even though I don’t work full time. There would be no chance of that happening at other companies.”

However, reactions to her promotions were often more reserved in her private circle. She would hear comments such as “How are you going to manage?” or “Is that not a bit much for you?”. The sportsmanship of the former marathon runner and triathlete shines through in how she handles these doubts. “You only improve when you step out of the comfort zone.” Sabine has learned to push through and encourages other women: “You will achieve a lot with good organisation and structure.”

In recent years, a thorough change has become apparent among many fathers. They are no longer satisfied with being a weekend or leisure dad. Fathers now value family time as an important asset. Kenneth Littlepage – aka Kenny – is the proud dad of a 2-year old daughter. He made a conscious decision for parental leave. “There are various ways you can plan parental leave. We opted for a hybrid version, where I would work three days a week and my wife would work two.”

Kenny highlights that this model not only strengthened his relationship with his daughter, but also that with his wife. Both him and his wife would look after their daughter, handle the household chores and take responsibility for everything else on the days the other party was at work. Neither was exempted from any particular task. This helped him experience his child in a totally different way as a father. He also had to learn that everyday life is difficult to plan with a child, and some flexibility is always required.

He is very thankful that his employer offers flexibility and praises the new hybrid work model that imc introduced after the pandemic. “You can decide whether you want to work in the office or from home. That puts me and my wife on an equal footing. We have the same opportunity to coordinate our schedules and support each other.”

Simone Weber, Instructional Designer at imc, can confirm that equality extends far beyond the family context. About ten years ago, she took over her parents’ winegrowing business, cultivating the six-hectare vineyard together with her husband – on the side. Simone loves her work on the vineyards, which offers her a perfect balance to the “brain-work” at imc.

Leading a 20-member Instructional Design team, her days are filled with appointments and consultations. The vine is at the other end of the scale. “I am outside, all by myself. I listen to audio books or podcasts. Nobody speaks to me. It is really quite meditative.”

Simone appreciates the flexibility offered, but also wants to give something in return: “The grape harvest starts on a different date each year. I can take a 2-week holiday at the right time, whether that is in September or in October. My employer has always been accommodating in that regard. I will say though, that I am also willing to be flexible. If a meeting requires me to be on location, I don’t mind staying a little longer. There are times where you give, and times where you receive. I believe you need to maintain a balance – and that works quite well at imc.”

Equality and fairness – at imc, these two topics are not reserved for International Women’s Day.

Kerstin Steffen, Director Brand Strategy, has been heading the empowerHer Programme for almost four years, supporting women and young talents. She experienced many different aspects in her own career, both highs and lows. This is why fairness is so important to her now: ““Fairness means that we need to get rid of personal, unreflected prejudices and judgments, and biased, preferential treatment in order to create a fair and equitable world. Each and every one of us can actively support that within their own sphere of influence.”

Sven R. Becker, Member of the imc Executive Board, also emphasises that a holistic view of equality is necessary, and that it cannot be reduced to gender alone. “We need to look at a bigger picture of equality. It encompasses a variety in opinion, in work practices and much more. The most important thing is to self-reflect on everything you say,” he concludes. “In the end, it is people – not measures – who make diversity and inclusion thrive in a company.”

Thus, all of the company’s diversity programmes – from female leadership to inclusion – have self-reflection at their very core. Sven R. Becker aims to set a good example at all times. “I try to pay attention to my own words, and the effect those words have. And that is what I would like to see in others.”

Formula 1 and learning management systems don’t really have much in common. But if you want to be a pro in either of them, you need a lot of passion. And that’s definitely something Ravi Tandon, a customer success manager at imc Australia, has in abundance.

I’ve probably never spoken to any imc employee who is as passionate about the product they’re responsible for as Ravi. But then Ravi is, as he freely admits, quite a crazy guy, who still regrets the fact that he never got to be a Formula 1 driver. In this interview, he talks about his tasks, why he made the LMS his girlfriend, and a job interview that featured some very tricky questions.

You know, my role is actually a mix of customer success manager and e-learning consultant, and indeed I feel this is a very critical role for the company. Because here in Australia these roles are not so strictly separated from each other as in Germany, for example.

So, I take care of all issues that our customers have with our learning management system (LMS) and make sure they feel comfortable with our service and our product. But that’s not all. It’s also part of my job to ensure they trust and believe in us as a capable team.

Our tagline is “we empower”. And that’s what I try to do: I aim to empower customers to work as effectively as possible with our product. My goal is to find the best business solutions for them. Moreover, I want to make talking to us a positive experience for them, and, as I said earlier, make sure they don’t feel like just another number.

That’s correct. My career path at imc is quite unusual. I started in pre-sales for our LMS, but then worked in the content team for a while. It was a great time, and I learned a lot, but I feel that I’m more of a tech guy. I love our LMS, and that is where I belong.

But one thing that all my roles at imc had in common was a great sense of exciting complexity. In the content team, the approach was rather top down, but the process was highly creative. In the LMS team, you work with a lot of different departments and people in various roles. That can be challenging and involve a lot of back and forth, but I love interacting with different people and in different ways.

I just love our system. For me, the LMS is like a black hole – and I mean that in an absolutely positive way. It’s so wonderfully complex, and you’re always finding new functions, or new ways to use certain functions. It’s like navigating in a spaceship in outer space, and I’m the navigator – for our customers.

It just feels good when a customer calls you – perhaps they’re desperate, or annoyed with something – and I can help them out. I enjoy that feeling of confidence and being a subject matter expert with the ability to turn an unhappy customer into a happy one within the space of a single phone call.

But I have to give big credits here to the team in Germany. At the beginning, they taught me a lot about the system, and they still have so much detailed knowledge that they’re always happy to share.

I’m originally from India, but I lived and worked for many years in the USA. When the e-learning company I was working for closed, I applied for a visa for Australia. I just didn’t want to go back to India, plus Australia seemed like an interesting country. When I finally arrived here, I had nothing. No apartment, no friends, no job.

Then I saw the job at imc, and it just fitted perfectly. So, I applied, got it, and spent the first three months in my new country making the imc LMS my new girlfriend. I wanted to learn as much about the system as possible and really get a deep understanding. So, I did a lot of self-learning, including in the evenings and on the weekends.

Oh yes, that’s a great story. As I said, I had worked in e-learning before and had 15 years of work experience. Anyway, when I was interviewed, it was a panel including a German-speaking colleague.

First, he asked some basic questions about me – my attitude and things like that. But then he wanted to test me, so he gave me some more challenging questions. Well, I was able to answer all of them. I challenged him back and told him to give me harder questions, but I was able to answer all of those, too.

Finally, he gave me a mischievous grin and said: “Ok, now I will give you one question, and I guarantee you will not be able to answer it.” I told him to go ahead but was still optimistic. Well, he asked me a question in German – which, obviously, I couldn’t answer as I don’t speak German. It was hilarious!

Diversity. It’s hard to think of a word that’s been more polarising this year. Heidi Klum used it in practically every episode of “Germany’s Next Top Model”, positioning herself as pro-diversity in the modelling industry. The reaction may not have been universally positive, but at least the issue was on the agenda.

And now sports fans, too, have been forced to think about diversity, thanks to it being a constant feature of the coverage of the recent Football World Cup in Qatar. Many found the focus on diversity unwelcome, but then again, many also felt the matter wasn’t receiving nearly enough attention. One question came up again and again: Does diversity even have a place in professional sport? Obviously, that’s not something we at imc can provide a final response to, but what we can say is that diversity and inclusion have become even more important to us this year.

In order to establish diversity and inclusion as broadly as possible in our organisation, we launched a D&I programme – a programme organised by our employees, for our employees. To ensure everyone can find what they are looking for, the programme is structured into three main elements: EmpowHER, a programme to connect and empower women at imc; the Cultural Diversity programme; and Diversity of Interests, a programme to celebrate the personal strengths of our employees and the interests that drive and inspire them.

With the year drawing to a close, we wanted to get everyone around a (virtual) table one last time to reflect on the successful year that was and look ahead to the year to come. And that’s precisely what we did. The D&I crew’s official end-of-year debrief was held in virtual form in December. The attendees reflected on the highlights of 2022 and then got down to the exciting business of what would be happening next. The short story here is that many of the D&I initiatives were so well received at imc that they will be continued in 2023.

The InspireHER tandem programme will be back next year, helping women within the imc organisation to network, share experiences, ideas and tips, and foster personal growth through mutual reflection and feedback.

Next year will also see the return of the “Get to know more about ...” series of cultural diversity talks on ways of overcoming various stereotypes here at imc. The organising team has sessions planned for each of our locations.

The “Diversity of Interests” team is also keen to step things up next year. They will be organizing barcamps where employees from all locations will be encouraged to talk about and celebrate their respective personal qualities, knowledge, interests and talents – including personal interests outside of work, such as volunteer work, social engagement, club memberships and unusual hobbies.

Kerstin Steffen, Director Brand Strategy, imc

“Our end-of-year event was truly inspiring in every respect,” says Kerstin Steffen, one of the founding members of the D&I crew. “It’s so pleasing to see that our diversity movement is growing steadily and reaching more and more employees. We’ve already achieved so much, so we’re still totally fired up to keep going. This positive spirit shone through at our get-together, and we can’t wait to see what next year brings.”

No, no, of course not. While I’m having my first coffee of the morning, I read my emails and Teams messages, look at the ticket system, and check using our monitoring system whether everything’s ok, or whether there’s something needing attention urgently. Then I work through my to-do list for the day – which is not all short-term tasks, by the way.

I also have a lot of longer-term projects on the go that require a fair amount of planning. Planning is important because the kinds of changes I initiate affect everyone. If I mess something up, that could very well put 350 people out of action. That’s why good planning and communication with a range of departments are absolutely essential.

This may sound a little counter-intuitive, but what I like most of all is the creativity. As I said, my job is to try to find solutions that work for everyone, but I also have to make sure they comply with our stringent security and data protection policies. That can often be challenging to reconcile. But certain things, like hardware equipment and security updates, just have to be managed top-down to ensure they’re done properly.

I really enjoy working with other people, and the more different they are, the more exciting I find it. I mean, a call from a developer is a very different experience to a call from Marketing. Different people speak completely different languages – figuratively as well as literally. And then there are the many different nationalities and cultures here at imc. That’s quite a change from where I used to work, and I really enjoy it.

One thing I particularly appreciate about my work here is that my ideas always fall on fertile ground. There are no wrong answers, and new ideas get listened to and not dismissed out of hand. You can always bounce ideas around and try to come up with creative solutions that work for the greatest number of people.

Above all else, patience. As an IT- System Admin, you’re constantly dealing with people – communicating and explaining things and, every so often, smoothing ruffled feathers. You have to realize that most people, whatever the company, see IT projects and processes as a necessary evil. People just want things to work properly so they can get on with their job. And that’s totally legitimate, but technology is changing so rapidly that IT is constantly having to adapt.

Even so, you can’t just throw a new system at people and expect them to welcome it with open arms and work with it, no questions asked. You have to get the affected departments onboard early on, involve them, be patient, and understand what they need and how they work. Just because a system is a huge hit with Sales doesn’t mean it’s assured of rave reviews in Content, and vice versa.

Hence, as well as patience and good communication skills, you also need empathy. I have to put myself in the other person’s shoes so that I can understand what the problem is and how I can support them. And if things do start getting heated, I need to get alongside those concerned and calm them down.

In day-to-day terms, that means you need to be able to read between the lines. If I can tell from the tone of the e-mail that the writer is extremely annoyed, then I can reach out directly and try to calm things down so that the situation doesn’t escalate. That requires experience and well-honed instincts.

Another key personal quality for being a sys admin is the ability to get to grips rapidly with new subject areas. Sometimes there are situations that require fast decisions, so you need to be able to compile and evaluate the relevant information very quickly. I may have no prior knowledge of the problem someone is writing to me about, but I still have to respond quickly with a valid answer. Hence you always need to be keen to learn new things, especially in IT, where rapid technological change is a given.

I’d say seven. During my training as an IT System Electronics Engineer, I was fortunate to have a trainer who always believed in me. He would always say that in my chosen career I was walking a fine line between genius and madness. But he made sure to teach me the things that really matter – and not just the hard skills, but the soft skills as well.

Thanks to him, I developed a certain sense of ambition and learned to stick with things, to complete my tasks reliably and to not be afraid to step into conflict situations where necessary, but without losing my calm. So, a big shout out to Volker Laufer!

My father was a primary school teacher, and he got me interested in computers at a very young age. Back in the 1980s, he wrote his own learning software for Atari and Commodore. And for my mother, who was a self-employed music teacher, he wrote a sheet music learning program in Omicron Basic. Of course, I was always looking over my dad’s shoulder, and when I got my first Windows PC, I learned a lot just by experimenting and trying things out. So, when I got older, I naturally gravitated towards a career involving computers.

The fact that I am now working for an e-learning provider is a source of great pride for my parents, because in a sense I’ve brought the family full-circle. I feel the same way, which is why I’m able to identify very closely with imc’s values and products. It’s like I’m getting back to my roots.

Well, there’s the company’s size, of course, but mainly it’s the communication culture. Here, whenever I introduce something new, it takes two weeks tops for everyone to get on board with it, including everyone over in Australia. At my last employer, it would take an eternity, even though they don’t have any locations outside Germany. Here, people talk to each other, share ideas, and read the updates that I post in the blog.

But the biggest difference is the mindset. At imc, the attitude to change is more positive than negative. I never have to explain to anyone that IT changes and that they can’t keep doing things the same way they’ve been doing them for the last 15 years. Perhaps that’s due to the greater diversity here, and to the average employee age, which I think is about 38.

The people here also have a relaxed way of dealing with each other – there’s no stuffy business etiquette, just a willingness to help one another. And if you’re going through a tough time personally, that’s ok too. You can talk about it and get support.

Here’s a recent example that says a lot about our culture around mistakes and how we get along with one another. I was working on something that I failed to think through properly, and, as you’d expect, when the admin screws up, it affects the whole company. It wasn’t anything major, but it was still annoying. Pretty soon, one of my colleagues stormed into my office in a rage and had a complete meltdown over it. But that evening, we spoke about it again over a beer or two, and it was fine.

Mistakes happen, and people here accept that. Nobody holds that mistake against me, because they all know it wasn’t malicious and because I admitted it immediately and apologised. Plus, they know me as someone who does a good job and is always willing to help.

It might only have been one year, but it feels like ten – and in a really good way! I feel like I’ve been here forever because I’ve already gotten to know so many people and worked on so many projects and systems – I guess what I’m saying is, I feel needed. There is still a lot to do, obviously, and the processes are not quite the way I would like them to be, but we’re getting there.

Here at imc, my work is valued, people take the time to thank me, and I feel there’s a very healthy culture around conflict and mistakes. Discussions here are based on reasoned arguments. Rather than rejecting new ideas as a matter of course, the people here embrace change and accept that change also means new technology. That’s because change isn’t just about how you work; it’s also about how your workplace is equipped and what the systems are behind it.

I think we could do more to raise imc’s profile as an employer. For example, when I first applied, I knew virtually nothing about the company. Having said that, I was really impressed with the overall application process.

I also really liked the Welcome Days organized by the HR department and the way I was onboarded and welcomed into the fold. I would like to see imc build on this positive applicant experience and inspire more people to join the company – and hence also join my team.

I’m sure we can manage that. Thank you for sharing these valuable insights. You clearly love your job. Long may that continue!

Diversity and inclusion is now an integral part of our corporate culture here at imc. Our workdays are generally pretty busy, obviously, but we will always find the time to champion this important issue and generate awareness of our initiatives.

We: that’s the imc diversity team. Currently there are 22 of us. To ensure everyone can find what they are looking for, we have structured the diversity programme into three main elements: EmpowHER, a programme to connect and empower women at imc; the Cultural Diversity programme; and our most recent initiative, the Diversity of Interests programme.

To ensure that this diversity programme is genuinely accessible to all employees at all locations, we are planning to run most of the sessions and activities in hybrid or fully online form.

Last year, the EmpowerHER team launched their passion project, the InspireHER tandem programme. It involved 20 imc women meeting in pairs over an eight-week period to share experiences, ideas and tips, and foster personal growth through mutual reflection and feedback.

The launch was a success, and InspireHER was held again this year, with 20 imc women pairing up for regular close dialogue and sharing. The matters discussed are confidential because the aim is to create a safe environment for open and frank exchange, whether on professional or personal topics.

“The closing session this year was a time of emotion for everyone, but also of laughter as many of us had humorous anecdotes to tell,” says imc communications manager Nadine Kreutz. “We all noticed that we had bonded with each other at a personal – as well as professional – level, and that’s what made these intimate and joyous moments possible.” Nadine and her tandem partner met up every Friday afternoon: “It was always such a wonderful way to end the working week, having a good laugh at ourselves and the things we discovered we had in common.”

This prompted the Cultural Diversity team to look at ways of overcoming various stereotypes here at imc. For each of our company’s locations, they planned sessions dedicated specifically to cultural stereotypes. We still have one of these sessions to go before the end of October. It’s themed “Typically German”.

The Cultural Diversity programme kicked off in Australia with a session titled “Get to know more about ... Australia!” Samantha Mathews, business development manager at imc in Melbourne, led this session with warmth and disarming self-irony.

It pretty soon became clear that the Germans among us often find the laid-back Australian way of doing business rather off-putting. The fact that in Australia, meetings often start with informal chit-chat surprised the audience. "We consider it normal and even polite to ask people about weekend plans " Explains Samantha, "It's not uncommon for me to know what my clients do in their spare time, if they are married or if they have children."

This year’s programme featured the launch of our most recent diversity initiative. Called Diversity of Interests, its purpose is to celebrate the diverse qualities, knowledge, interests and talents of our people, focusing on personal interests outside of work, such as volunteer work, social engagement, club memberships and unusual hobbies.

For example, this year Julia Heib, internal Communications- und Event at imc, will be introducing imc to a project that has been dear to her heart for many years. “With ‘Operation Christmas Child’, everyone has the chance to give the gift of Christmas to a child in need,” Julia explains. “This appeal has been a part of my family’s Christmas tradition for years. I get my children involved, and we have a nice time together, packing the gift boxes. I’d like to introduce the appeal to the entire imc organisation and get lots of people involved. And our Diversity of Interests initiative is the perfect vehicle for just that.”

“Full of shenanigans” – that’s a beautiful phrase, right? It’s the first thing that came to mind when I first spoke to Oliver Nussbaum. It sums him up perfectly, as if the phrase was coined especially for him. You will soon understand why.

Olli is a Managing Director of imc Austria. In the late 1990s, he started an e-learning company – while dropping out of university and long before anyone had even heard of e-learning. When imc AG bought his company in 2008, he was kept on the payroll. In 2012, he became Managing Director of imc Austria, a role he now shares with his colleague Marc Müller.

In this interview, he shares how his understanding of work-life balance and career success has changed over the years, what he considers his most important task, and what really drives him up the wall.

My job is to ensure that things run smoothly. Essentially, it is my responsibility to create a working environment for our employees that provides them with everything they need while also making them satisfied and keen to come to work. I clear their path as much as possible and remove obstacles so they can focus on their actual job. People want jobs that meet these four criteria: a great work atmosphere, interesting tasks, flexible working hours and adequate remunerations.

In recent years, priorities have shifted, and money has become less important. Of course, pay has to be fair. Yet, few will stay in a job if it falls short on the other factors – if the work atmosphere is poor, the employer is inflexible, or tasks are repetitive and boring.

Here in Austria, our team comprises 27 members. Most of us come to the office at least once or twice a week. We hold all our important team meetings on a Monday, and we all come in that day. The other four days are flexible. Some come in almost every day, others really only do on a Monday.

We were absolutely certain that we wanted to remain flexible after corona – especially when we saw that productivity shot up by almost 30% when we were forced to work from home! I keep a close eye on working hours to avoid overtime, and I strive to keep fluctuation close to zero. What you need to consider is that after 5, 10 or even 15 years with the company, the wealth of knowledge a team member accumulates is so profound that it becomes almost impossible to replace them.

This is why it is so important for me to create employee satisfaction, so that both our new and our long-time employees say: I love working here!

Well, no. One glance at our output puts paid to that suggestion. Of course, I do place a lot of trust in my employees, and I put them first – as a person. However, I can only offer that flexibility if our corporate objectives are met. I expect absolute honesty, team spirit and a willingness to take responsibility. We are a team and think as a team. If one link in this chain becomes a burden on others, I will remove it sooner rather than later.

A person who compromises the collective effort, refuses to take responsibility for their work or offloads their tasks onto others will not have a future with us. I communicate this very clearly from day one to ensure everyone knows the script.

Honesty really is something I deeply care about. I am always totally honest to myself and others. The opinions I hold are not always that popular. Some will dislike that. However, I also don’t have an issue with others giving it to me straight. As a Managing Director, I need to be able to handle that. It is part of my job, and I would rather people let their frustration out on me than on my team. Our hierarchies are very flat. We don’t just preach an open-door policy because it’s cool. Everyone knows that they can come to me with any issue whatsoever. And they do.

To get back to your question: Honesty already starts during recruitment. I communicate our flat hierarchies very clearly from the outset. The last thing I would want is new team members getting the wrong idea about promotion opportunities and the like. Our structure naturally limits traditional progression through the ranks. Where we are not limited is in constantly offering new and exciting client projects and novel products like the imc Express authoring tool we developed in Austria.

Now, I also expect openness and honesty towards and from our clients, and I expect dealings to be on an equal footing. I cannot promise or sell anything our clients don’t need. It really is that simple.

After finishing high school, I went to university to study business management. But I successfully dropped out after a few years. Nonetheless, that time was very valuable to me. For instance, during my semester abroad in Colorado, USA, I studied computer design. This was in the mid-1990s. Back then, you could hardly even find a PC in Europe.

I learned a lot about graphic design and got into intermediate and small film production. That sparked the idea to create my own learning videos. Thus, I got together with my former partner to start an e-learning company. The thing is, in the German-speaking region, nobody really knew what e-learning was supposed to be, and nobody understood what we were trying to do.

That was a really exciting time. It was huge fun. We had a proper garage start-up. We hired a room right above the employee shop of a Siemens branch. So, you could walk into the building and buy a washing machine with your computer-based training.

As the company grew, I took on different responsibilities. I handled sales, for example. At some point, my studies got in the way, so I dropped them to give all my focus to the company. We grew to 25 employees across the DACH region, Germany, Austria, and Switzerland, that is, before selling the company to imc in 2008. That was a massive change for me personally. All of a sudden, I went from being an entrepreneur to an employee. That said, I think more like an entrepreneur now than I ever did before!

Above all, you need great social skills and empathy, and be a good judge of character. You also need to know what really matters. You cannot waste time with micromanagement. You need to delegate. A good Managing Director must be able to hire people who can do things better than them – without any hint of fear. I consider that a key competence.

On the other hand, you also need to have experience in the business and the environment. You also need to be open-minded, draw on a broad knowledgebase, and have at least some understanding of pretty much any issue – enough to enable you to judge how important or urgent these issues are, and how your market and your customers think.

In a nutshell, there are three things I consider crucial: First of all, social skills. That includes the ability to hire the right people. Secondly, a healthy approach to delegation. Thirdly, keeping an eye on the big picture without losing focus.

My definition has changed many times over the years. During different stages of my life, professional success meant something different to me. In the beginning, I always wanted more: more customers, more revenue, more employees. I wanted to see the company take the big stage. The sale to imc seemed like a perfect fit for that ambition.

Today, I primarily define success by how satisfied my employees and how happy my customers are. I no longer need to be the centre of attention. I’m happy for others to take the credit. For me personally, status symbols and other financial aspects are now taking a backseat. Work-life balance has become a bit of a buzzword, but the “life” part is very important to me. In the past, I lived to work. I have become a lot more relaxed. It has been a few years since I put in a Christmas shift.

I also think that success means not taking things personally and developing a certain detachment while preserving your capacity for an emotional response. Taking breaks, trying to see the positives in anything, being able to laugh at things. The Dalai Lama said something along the lines of: “I love it when people laugh, because that is when they have new ideas.” My goal is to spend the rest of my working life in a way that allows me to retire but makes me want to come to work, simply because I enjoy it.

I cannot stand deliberate incompetence. We briefly touched on taking responsibility earlier. What really drives me up the wall and – to me – is very much a sign of incompetence is when people deliberately approach something with tunnel vision.

When they refuse to look to the left or right and claim “I wasn’t told to do that” or “It never said that in the requirements specs.” It’s not a healthy mindset. If you are responsible for a project, you really have to take responsibility. You have to make sure that it works. Of course, you can and should consult specialists – but ultimately, you are responsible. Responsibility is not something you can dump on someone else.

Another thing I take great issue with is unfounded accusations. I think I made it very clear that anyone can come and tell me what they think. I don’t want them to mince their words, but I do expect these opinions to be plausible and have a basis.

To be quite honest, I also drive people around me nuts. I come late to meeting, I talk too much, I’m not perfect. But let’s carry on.

There’s been more than a few! This client contacted us with an issue, and we were struggling to really grasp what was going on. So, we asked her to send us a screenshot of the error message. Now, she took a slightly complicated approach: She opened a screenshot image in the editor, took a photograph of that and send us that photo. It showed the wall behind the computer, adorned with an image of a naked man. Of course, we all had a good laugh about that.

Some of the other stories I’d rather tell over a beer and off the record...

That might be the right thing to do. Thank you very much for this interesting and very entertaining interview, Olli!

In every company, there are people everyone knows. You always see them around, but cannot help asking: “What exactly do they do?” Of course, the opposite is true of certain other individuals. People who prefer to stay in the background, who are busy backstage – yet everyone knows who they are and just how important they are to keeping things running.

That is the sort of person Gajarajan Shanmugalingam aka Gajan is. Gajan has been with imc for eleven years. He is one of the lynchpins in learning management system (LMS) integration. In this interview, he shares what exactly his role as Head of Technical Consulting entails, what skills a technical consultant needs to bring to the table, and why he took his office on the road.

Hi Nadine, the pleasure’s all mine. Imagine you visit a toy store. The sheer number of choices can be truly overwhelming for a child, or even an adult. My job would be to figure out what you want and what would suit you. I need to understand your requirements and recommend a toy that meets them.

It’s exactly the same with our software. The customer has certain requirements or wants to solve a specific issue. Together with my team, it is my responsibility to determine how we can help them.

At least at imc, Technical Consultants and Business Consultants work together very closely. However, us Technical Consultants tend to join the projects a bit later. The Business Consultants advise our customers on how the imc Learning Suite – our learning management system (LMS) – works, and how they can leverage that. They explain how different processes are mapped, what can be configured and such.

We take care of the more profound technical details. We discuss, install and support aspects like database servers, operating systems or single sign-on. We also help to ensure that the LMS rollout runs smoothly for the customer and handle customised adjustments – both in the project phase and during operation. Sometimes, we are roped in at an earlier stage to assist with steps like feasibility studies.

Absolutely. At imc, we are extremely flexible in general. Nearly all departments allow for a large part of the work being done from home, while keeping the office available. However, we have no desire to completely switch to remote work. Our full team regularly meets in the office, and on those occasions, we also go out for meals together, hold workshops and have longer meetings. Personally, I come in at least once a week. That helps me maintain a personal connection to my team and other colleagues.

To be quite honest, I think corona was actually good for our company. I doubt this shift in mindset towards greater flexibility would have been realised this quickly otherwise. It has now become apparent that productivity is not compromised when people work from their home office.

In fact, they even tend to get more work done. That removes any real need to force everyone back into the office or establish fixed office days. Each team can decide for themselves what works best for them.

Most of us have a traditional IT degree. But that’s not really a prerequisite. While we do look for appropriate technical understanding, we equally welcome applicants who gained this through an IT-related traineeship or other professional experiences.

The ability to think holistically and analytically is far more important than qualifications: To see the big picture and be creative in finding solutions for the issues at hand. Java is our core programming language. We also use JS frameworks for the frontend and employ various relational databases.

Above all, customer centricity. The ability to put yourself into the customer’s shoes, to understand their problems and find solutions. I consider it crucial to be willing to learn, to try and test things, to always seek new understanding, to remain curious.

Now, you are never just left to your own devices – We really are and work as a team. We also made a point of looking out for each other throughout the lockdowns. We are not beyond telling a team member off for working late into the night. We consider ourselves a unit and take responsibility for one another. We can only achieve the best results for our customers if we work as one. And ultimately, that is our goal.

To come back to your question: Communication skills are hugely important and must not be underestimated. This might not be as much of an expectation for us techs, but we do work closely with various stakeholders, both internally and externally. If clear communication is lacking, things go wrong.

Personally, I really enjoy the fact that there are many sides to this role. If you are motivated and this prospect excites you, you should think about joining our team! We will welcome you with open arms.

As soon as you said that I had to think of my early days with imc. Back then, Andreas Pohl – who is now Director Research and Development – and I visited a major customer. We were meant to do a system migration over the weekend to avoid any disruption to their operations. So far, so good. Everything went smooth and the system go-live was planned for Monday morning.

Sunday night, we were already heading back home when the customer ran a final test and a problem occurred that we had not encountered before. I think it was some display that failed to work properly. We had to make a decision.

Where do we go from here? Postpone the go-live? Press ahead with it regardless? As Andreas was driving, I got to work. He told me a few things, and I resolved the software issue while on the road. It worked. The go-live went according to plan and the customer was happy. I will never forget my “very mobile” office, and still have to laugh thinking back on it.

I’ve interviewed quite a number of imc colleagues about what exactly their job involves. I’ve put myself in the shoes of software developers, taken a peek behind the scenes in product management, and quizzed colleagues from marketing.

But I’ve never encountered anything as complex as what my colleague Eric Andre does for a living. Eric is a software architect, responsible for the imc Learning Management System (LMS). In our interview, he told me what Connect Four and his job have in common, how he trained as a software architect, and what the distinction between happiness and joy has to do with his work.

To understand what a software architect does, you first need to understand the function of architecture in software. Architecture refers to the fundamental way in which an entire system is organized – the basic framework. It specifies both the individual components that make up the system and the relationships, or dependencies, that exist between them.

Hence building a house is an apt metaphor. When you’re planning a house, there are certain things you must specify clearly at the outset. You can leave room for future additions, obviously, but if, for example, you want to be able to add another level at some point, you’ll need to allow for that when planning the foundations.

Software is similar in that sense. On the one hand, it must be flexible and open to change rather than static and ossified. But on the other, certain limits and properties must be maintained in the system at all times.

Connect Four is also a good metaphor. Here, architecture is like the blue grid of the game: it provides a structure within which the individual tokens are flexibly arranged and re-arranged. But it only works if the grid is designed to support this.

Yes, that’s part of it. But I also have to make decisions very early on as to what might be important later on. That’s always a bit like gazing into a crystal ball. But with software architecture, it’s also like a house: if everything is working properly, you don’t give it a second thought. If it’s well planned, there won’t be any problems up front.

But planning doesn’t end with the initial build. It’s an ongoing process. It costs time and money, with no immediately obvious benefits. But if you don’t plan, and you just keep on building, then sooner or later things can get really expensive. There’s a great quote from Brian Foote that sums it up beautifully: “If you think good architecture is expensive, try bad architecture!”

I usually get up fairly early, sometime between six and seven, and go running for an hour. Then I have a coffee, preferably outside in the garden. That’s when I start thinking about my day. I have a not to-do list, and every day I jot down what I want to achieve and how I intend to go about it. In doing so, I always have our roadmap in the back of my mind.

Most mornings, work starts with our team meeting, with me generally pacing back and forth. I prefer to work standing up anyway, and I’m always moving around because I always have a lot to think through, and movement helps me order my thoughts.

In the late afternoon, I often go for an hour’s walk or do some gardening, after which I go back to my (standing) desk. My working day ends once I’ve done everything I set out to do that day. This flexibility and the freedom to switch between periods of high intensity and relaxation is very important to me.

Good software architecture demands an incredible amount of time and effort. And even then, sometimes you just have to accept that what you’ve come up with won’t work, and that you have to tear it up and start again. Only when I’ve thought everything through in the minutest detail and looked at it again and again from every angle do I know that I have given it enough thought.

That’s when the real work begins and I start defining processes and process flows, document requirements, and talk to my team, the developers and other teams. That might sound simple, but believe me, there are a lot of people and departments involved. The Executive Board, too, needs to sign off because the architecture affects the entire system.

Not through any classic apprenticeship or any one course of study. There are usually various certificates and modules involved. In most cases, including mine, you end up in this role at some point after starting out in software development. Software developers progress through various stages from junior to senior, at which point career paths branch off in various directions and you’re referred to as an individual contributor.

If you want to continue along the hands-on technical career path, you can work your way up to fellow engineer. Alternatively, if you prefer a management role, your career and further development options range from engineering manager all the way up to CTO. Or you can go into software architecture. The journey probably varies from company to company and industry to industry. But ultimately you progress from being a software developer to being an architect who must learn to delegate some of their previous responsibilities as a developer.

These days, there are various kinds of software architect, and each has a different focus. For example, there are enterprise architects, who are responsible for verifying that the organisation’s IT strategy is aligned with its mission. It’s their job to analyse both business properties and the external environment and to define all business needs.

Then there are solution architects, whose task is to evaluate all business needs and develop solutions in the form of products or services. They are the interface between business analysts and IT experts.

And finally, there are domain – or technical – architects, who mostly work as part of a team and tend to specialize in one particular technology. They can also work as technical project managers. These software architects work collaboratively to ensure the overall system has the flexibility, scalability and security required in order to meet business needs.

Adaptability, the ability to transfer and apply knowledge to new areas, and analytical skills. I need to be able to familiarise myself with new subject areas and problems very quickly and transfer my existing knowledge to new situations.

For instance, I’m not the best developer by any stretch of the imagination, but I know enough to be able to understand problems and quickly get a handle on the issues involved. Good communication skills are also very important, as I deal with a wide range of stakeholders.

I used to work at a large US corporation, and things were done very differently there in several respects. For example, decision-making processes are much shorter there, and people are more inclined just to give something a try. Here in Germany, there’s generally a lot more discussion and planning before something gets implemented.

I’m very happy with the overall situation here at imc. The people here are very open and honest. That came across right from the outset, during my job interview and the onboarding process. But I also like the way people deal with one another. And then there are all those in-house events and knowledge-transfer opportunities.

I also really like our approach to design here – it’s all so cohesive. Plus, I like the painstaking attention to detail here, and the fact that people notice when you go the extra mile. It’s not all strait-laced and serious either – people know how to have a bit of a laugh without being puerile. I suppose it’s a little like working for a start-up, albeit one with more structure.

Also, in my role, I’m able to work with a very wide range of information and levers, and imc always gives me really good support in that regard.

Professionally, several. At a personal, human level, the actor Keanu Reeves springs to mind. Despite his immense success, he remains grounded, uses public transport and stands up for others. I find that truly remarkable. Amid all the rapid changes of our modern world, it shows that there are still immutable principles and values that we all share, or at least should share.

Indeed! And that wraps things up nicely. Thank you for your time, Eric. Here’s wishing you continued joy in your work!

This year, International Diversity and Inclusion Day fell on Saturday, 21 May. Aware that it would be difficult to reach out to our team on a Saturday, we simply declared the entire week leading up to that date Diversity Week.

Our Diversity crew organised a wealth of engaging sessions and initiatives to make our D&I programme accessible to all employees at all our sites and generally raise awareness of this important issue.

To make sure there is something for everyone, the programme is divided into three key elements: EmpowHER, a programme to connect and empower women at imc; the Cultural Diversity programme; and our latest initiative, Diversity of Interests.

To get imc Diversity Week off to a strong start, the D&I team brought in a high-profile external speaker: Stephen Dorsey. Stephen Dorsey is an author who recently published a book titled Black & White: An Intimate Multicultural Perspective on White Advantage and the Paths to Change. During the week’s opening session, he provided a thought-provoking perspective on racism and prejudice.

Stephen joined our global video meeting at 2:30 a.m. (Canadian time) and, wide awake and none the worse for the early hour, gave a deeply moving personal account of his childhood and upbringing in Canada. Warm, open, and engaging, he provided food for so much more than just thought, his words striking a chord with many of our employees and setting up our Diversity Week perfectly.

Diversity Week also featured our most recent diversity initiative. Called Diversity of Interests, its purpose is to celebrate the diverse qualities, knowledge, interests and talents of our people, focusing on personal interests outside of work, such as volunteer work, social engagement, club memberships and unusual hobbies.

For this part of the programme, we invited six people from our own workforce to present short, five-minute nuggets on the things they love. Kenneth Littlepage, one of our project managers, got the ball rolling with an account of his other life as a livestream football commentator for the Saarland Hurricanes. Our colleague Selasie Smith, a business consultant, spoke about her experiences of volunteering in the UK and about her own project, The Gentlemen’s Network. Nicolae Purcar, Director of imc in Romania, shared his passion for trail running, and Elke Zastrau, Head of HR at imc, talked about her membership of International Inner Wheel. Tyson Priddle, Director Digital Learning, Australia, spoke about his hockey club, Altona HC, and Oksana Buhay, one of our business consultants and a native Ukrainian, outlined her contribution to a Ukraine humanitarian aid programme in Stuttgart.

The aim of the initiative is to create a platform where people can share ideas and even find collaborators, kindred spirits and supporters for projects that go beyond their day-to-day working life. The idea is that the initiative will give rise to further initiatives or talent pools which then feed into employees’ day-to-day work or specific imc projects – a win-win all round.

This year will also see the return of a project dear to the heart of our EmpowerHER team: the InspireHER tandem programme. InspireHER is where 20 imc women meet in pairs over an eight-week period to share experiences, ideas and tips, and foster personal growth through mutual reflection and feedback. This year, the emphasis will again be on personal growth and networking, with each pair free to focus on topics of their own choosing. The programme of events will close in July with the emotional feedback session.

The imc Diversity & Inclusion crew has every reason to be pleased with this year’s programme. The Executive Board’s Sven R. Becker is also very pleased:

“Once again, the feedback from the imc family on our Diversity & Inclusion programme has been very positive. It’s a wonderful testament to what a grassroots movement can lead to. This is a bottom-up initiative, something our staff created entirely on their own, so I have absolutely no doubt they will achieve their goal of making diversity and inclusion part of our company’s DNA and integrating it into our corporate culture.”

“We’ll know that we truly understand diversity when we no longer need to talk about it. Diversity and inclusion must become part of our DNA. It must become just as routine as small talk at the coffee machine. And I think we’ve come a step closer to achieving that goal,” says imc Executive Board member Sven R. Becker.

To make sure it achieves this goal in the next three to four years, imc has a Diversity and Inclusion (D&I) crew whose job it is to put together an annual D&I programme for all employees across all company locations. To ensure there’s something for everyone, the programme is divided into three parts: EmpowHER, a women in leadership programme, Cultural Diversity, and the latest initiative, Diversity of Interests.

InspireHER tandem programme

The day’s celebrations also marked the start of this year’s InspireHER tandem programme, an initiative particularly dear to the EmpowHER team’s heart. InspireHER is a programme in which 20 women from imc meet in pairs over an eight-week period to share experiences, ideas and tips, and foster personal growth through mutual reflection and feedback. Launched last year, it was such a success, and received such positive feedback from its participants, that it is being held again this year. “The thing we really liked about the tandem programme is that it created a really strong connection among the participants,” explains Eva Lettenbauer, a member of the programme’s organising team. This year, the emphasis will again be on personal growth and networking, with each pair free to focus on topics of their own choosing.

Cultural Diversity

Our offices are spread across the world – across 12 international locations, to be precise – and are home to more than 350 people from over 50 nations. That kind of diversity creates challenges from time to time, but it’s a great opportunity to get to know other cultures and points of view. “I’m really looking forward to the programme we’ve got lined up for the Cultural Diversity group this year,” says Nadine Kreutz, a member of imc’s Diversity crew. “We want to give people at our various company locations the opportunity to learn more about the history and culture of their country, including the work culture. The event dates are based on the national holidays of the countries selected, and the presentations will be given by colleagues from those countries.”

Diversity of Interests

The latest initiative in our D&I programme kicks off in May during Diversity Week. It’s called Diversity of Interests, and its purpose is to celebrate the diverse qualities, knowledge, interests and talents of our people. The focus also includes personal interests outside of work, such as volunteer work, social engagement, club memberships and unusual hobbies.

The imc Diversity & Inclusion crew has every reason to be pleased with this year’s programme. The Executive Board’s Sven R. Becker is also very pleased:

Equality and new work concepts as a formula for success

Stepping out of the comfort zone – Wine-growing entrepreneurs, part-time managers and working dads

Part-time manager: Career with time for family

Working dad: Co-parenting as a family model

Between the office and vineyards: 2 jobs, 100% satisfaction

Self-reflection at the core of the imc diversity programmes

Members of the imc Diversity Movement Gather to Celebrate Successful Year

Diversity and Inclusion at imc: How We Are Continuing to Walk the Talk

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The crazy tech guy who wanted to be a Formula 1 driver

Meet Ravi Tandon, Customer Success Manager at imc Australia

Ravi Tandon

Hi Ravi, great to meet you! How would you explain to your parents what you do as a customer success manager in e-learning?

That sounds like a very important role. What does it involve exactly?

So, you need an in-depth knowledge of our LMS, the imc Learning Suite, but you haven’t been working with the LMS the whole time you’ve been with imc? Is that right?

What do you like most about your job?

Which skills do you think are the most important for your current job?

How did you come to imc, and where did you work before?

I heard your job interview was rather funny. What happened?

What makes working at imc special compared to other companies?

Ok, and now for a few short, random questions. Please complete: When dealing with colleagues, it is especially important to me...

Which department would you like to visit for a week?

If you could travel back in time, would you choose the same career path again?

Name something that drives you up the wall?

What’s your favourite movie?

How much coffee do you drink?

What are your hopes for the future?

A Fine Line Between Genius and Madness: A Day in the Life of an IT- System Administrator

Teamwork makes the team work: A Technical Consultant debunks the myth of the Hermit Techi

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imc D&I crew looks back at 2022

In-Person and Remote: Members of the imc Diversity Movement Gather to Celebrate Successful Year

End-of-year debrief and campaign recap

Kerstin Steffen, Director Brand Strategy, imc

Diversity and Inclusion Isn’t Just for Diversity Week and Pride Month

Diversity in e-learning content

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A Fine Line Between Genius and Madness: A Day in the Life of an IT- System Administrator

Q: What do you get if you combine technical savvy with the patience of a saint and a willingness to help? A: The perfect system administrator. In other words, someone like Raffael Willems, Head of Internal IT at imc. Not that life in IT is always perfect...

Raffael Willems

Hi Raffael, thanks for making time to talk to us! You’re the boss of internal IT here at imc. How would you explain to your three-year-old daughter what you do for a living?

So, your role as a system administrator is to ensure everyone at imc can do their work?

What does that look like on a day-to-day basis? Do you just sit there, waiting for people to call with their problems?

What do you like most about your job?

What personal qualities do you need to be a IT-System Administrator?

On a scale of one to ten, how well would you say your training prepared you for your current role?

What attracted you to the profession of System Administrator. How did you get into it?

In what ways does imc differ from most of your previous employers?

You’ve been with us for almost exactly a year now. What’s your reflection on how things have gone?

What would you like to change?

Living the dream as Hosting Engineer

Teamwork makes the dream work

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Diversity and Inclusion at imc: How We Are Continuing to Walk the Talk

From cultural diversity roundtable to tandem programme – Our summer highlights of 2022

EmpowerHER: Round two of the InspireHER tandem programme

How can we learn about and understand cultural diversity in our organisation?

Operation Christmas Child

Diversity and Inclusion Isn’t Just for Diversity Week and Pride Month

Diversity in e-learning content

Contact

The rise of Mr. Hilarious – From a small garage start-up to Managing Director at imc

No. We’re not talking a Hollywood script for a new Vince Vaughn comedy. We’re telling the story of a Managing Director at imc. He reveals his most important task, and what work-life balance means to him today.

Oliver Nussbaum

Hello Olli! Thank you for taking the time. What exactly does Managing Director mean? Can you explain your role in one sentence?

Respect! That was short and sharp. Can you explain it a bit further?

Let’s talk flexibility. In 2022, imc introduced a flexible working time model under the motto: “100% flexible but not 100% remote.” How are you realising that in Austria?

Sounds like a very relaxed approach. Many a traditionalist might even accuse you of not actually working.

What exactly do you mean by honesty?

Let’s talk about you and your career. How did you train for this role? What was your career path?

What characteristics do you think a Managing Director needs to bring to the table?

How would you define professional success?

Let’s also talk about negatives. What really gets your hackles up?

To round things off – Tell us about a funny experience you had at imc.

Living the dream as Hosting Engineer

Teamwork makes the dream work

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Teamwork makes the dream work!

A Technical Consultant debunks the myth of the Hermit Techi

Gajarajan Shanmugalingam