"My boss isn't coming - I am the boss."

Female empowerment at hepster

For our customers and partners at hepster, the motto is: "don't care. we do." Because what could be better than satisfaction and peace of mind? But if we look at our team, our #hepsterheroes, we say: We care and we do.

Four of our Head Of´s at hepster show why this is the case. Under co-founder and CRO Hanna, Christine, Britta, Jette and AnneLi are responsible for Revenue Operations at hepster. As managers for the Marketing, E-Commerce, Customer Support and Claims and B2B Partnerships departments, they play a key role in empowering their teams and each individual #hepsterhero daily.

You can find out what this means for them and what challenges they have already faced in our video.

You can watch the full-length video here.

What is empowerment?

Empowerment at work can only work if it is supported and practised by the entire team. It's about thinking about empowering employees proactively and working together to create an environment that fosters a productive and positive work culture.

Some positive effects include:

1. Increasing motivation and engagement
2. Improving performance and productivity
3. Encouraging innovation and creativity
4. Increasing employee retention and satisfaction
5. The development of leadership skills
   

Consciously or unconsciously?

Promoted female empowerment involves implementing targeted programmes, policies and/or measures to actively encourage women to apply for management positions and promote their professional development. Mentoring programmes, leadership skills training, quota systems or other targeted initiatives - the aim is to promote gender equality.

In contrast, female leadership positions arise organically through natural developments and individual achievements of women. The positions are achieved based on their skills, achievements and personal ambitions, without the need for specific promotional measures. This can happen in companies or organisations that foster an open and inclusive culture.

This organic approach has developed at hepster through an inclusive corporate culture. We want to encourage not only women to stand up for themselves, but also anyone who has self-doubt, has suffered setbacks or has had other negative experiences.

Challenges and hepster DNA

As Christine, Head of Marketing, notes in the interview: "The team is growing, everything is growing, we are going to new countries and the challenge is to keep up with the structure and the team."

One of the challenges we face every day at hepster is to encourage personalities to no longer subordinate themselves to predetermined roles, clichés or structures. At hepster, we support social change towards more equality and freedom. The basis for this? Our hepster DNA.

By introducing the Revenue Operations department at hepster to you, we would like to give you an insight into how empowerment can grow organically if the values and corporate culture of the company lay the foundation for it. Because these five leaders are not only impressive powerful women but also inspiring and strong role models for us all.

The video not only shows the voices of our hepster managers, but also the diversity of personalities and gives an idea of the strength of our team of over 100 people. On Women's Day, we would like to draw attention to the need for equal treatment of all, explicitly women, and to the important role that a single person plays in our corporate culture.

"My boss isn´t coming - I am the boss."

Unfortunately, it is still common in many companies today to have a derogatory opinion of women. As our co-founder and CRO Hanna Bachmann herself had to experience this first-hand: "Once in Stuttgart at a partner meeting, I was also alone at the time and wanted to start the meeting and wondered why no one was making any effort to get involved. And then I was asked when my boss was coming and whether I could perhaps ask in the coffee kitchen how far the coffee was."

Prejudice? Definitely out of place. You should consistently counter derogatory comments at work and advocate respectful behaviour in the workplace. People who are confronted with derogatory comments at work have various ways of dealing with them.

1. Show self-confidence
2. Remain professional
3. Set boundaries and communicate expectations
4. Seek support (especially in the case of repeated behaviour)

Prejudices, explicitly against women, in management positions are often deeply rooted, but their validity is up for debate. For example, the assumption that women are less capable or decisive than men is not supported by evidence. Rather, such prejudices are often based on stereotypical gender roles and traditional expectations.

The idea that women are less committed or resilient due to family responsibilities is also problematic. Such assumptions ignore the diversity of life circumstances and choices of women and men alike.

It is important to critically challenge preconceptions and instead recognise the individual abilities and achievements of women and men holistically. A diversified management level that includes different personalities leads to better decisions, innovation and long-term corporate success.

In particular, active empowerment throughout the company helps to increase employee job satisfaction, motivation and performance, which in turn has a positive impact on the company's success and competitiveness.

The fact is: We care and we do. #hepsterhero

But what basis is necessary for good and strong empowerment? The answer: a corporate DNA that includes all personalities equally, gives everyone opportunities, provides challenges for everyone, encourages employees and protects them.

Mathias Schuldt, Human Resources Lead Manager at hepster, says the following about hepster's corporate culture: "It's a place where diversity is valued and encouraged, and where teamwork and collaboration are very important. The culture at hepster is characterised by a strong focus on the needs of employees and promotes respectful and clear communication as well as continuous learning and growth."