The HR startup Personio is pursuing this strategy

March 8th, 2021, 7:10 am

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It is well known that different teams bring better results. And yet there are mostly men in the executive suite. Personio is about to change that. The HR startup is pursuing this strategy.

It is often said that there is a glass ceiling for women in the corporate world. You look up and see through a transparent partition how men lead them and make careers. This is a problem in two different ways: On the one hand, it makes it clear that there is definitely room for improvement in terms of equal opportunities between the sexes. On the other hand, companies run the risk of missing the best results. Because one thing has been scientifically proven: Diverse teams have an enormous effect on the company’s success. Women are underrepresented, especially at C-Level. All you need to do is take a look at the board departments of German corporations. In 2020, 14.6 percent of the DAX 30 executive board positions were held by women. The trend is upwards, but only sluggishly.

Too few women in management positions – why?

There are several reasons why this is so, reveals Martina Ruiß in t3n-Podacst. she is Director Talent In her position, von Personio deals with the recruiting of the Munich start-up, but also believes, as a female observer of this topic, to recognize certain patterns. This includes that the promotion to manager usually happens in the age group between 30 and 40 years. An age at which women often have children and this still makes their professional development very difficult. In addition, you have to be clear that employees at management level work together a lot and intensively and that they primarily employ people who are similar to them. That could also be a reason why most boss names in Germany are either Andreas or Michael.

Also interesting: “Personio – These are the people behind the successful startup from Munich”

“50 percent of all candidates have to be women.”

Personio wants to keep moving: “We strived for a good relationship at the top level,” said Ruiss. “At the same time, it was clear to us that we wanted the best candidate with the right skills, the right experience and the right personality.” The startup was founded by men. Three of them are still active on the C-Level. The remaining four positions are now divided between two men and two women. The latter have assumed leadership roles that Martina Ruiß herself identifies as a male domain. Geraldine MacCarthy is Chief Revenue Officer and Birgit Haderer is Chief Finance Officer in the company. Two women who were hired solely because of their achievements, but who were not just a coincidence.

“We worked with recruitment agencies and set a very clear goal,” explains the Personio recruiting manager: “50 percent of all candidates you introduce to us have to be women.” Decide against a gender, but first make sure that there are many good men and many good women in the talent pool in equal parts. “Whether someone is ultimately qualified for a job has nothing to do with gender,” says Martina Ruiß. Accordingly, the Personio employee does not think much of an imposed quota. She believes that the work environment and corporate culture must be adapted to the needs of women so that they can apply more to the executive suite on their own.

Also interesting: “Diversity Pays – Why the Tech Industry Has to Be More Female”

At Personio, that would mean talking to them right from the start: “It was important for us to understand exactly what the personal situation is like. What has to be given so that women can get involved with us and develop fully? “Personio is not a company that insists on always doing everything as always. In order to cater to the needs of mothers – but also fathers – Personio has already adjusted many things internally over the years. This includes, among other things, that meetings are no longer held in the off-peak hours, where parents tend to have problems because they still have to take care of someone other than the company. According to Martina Ruiß, these changes are having an effect: to date, women have occupied 29 percent of the management positions at Personio and even 45 percent of the positions across all management positions.

You can follow the whole conversation in the t3n podcast.

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Sponsor Notice (Ad): Today’s podcast is sponsored by Asana. Asana is a work management platform that provides more clarity and structure in teams. In Asana’s “Anatomy of Work 2021” report, you will learn how companies today should work in order to be and remain successful. You can download the report here. asana.com/focus

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