Svenja: The two of you have been working together as HR managers for the Eastern Regional Division of DB Netz AG for over a year and a half now. What motivated you to take this step?
Catherine-Marie Koffnit: The reasons were very personal. The idea came about at the end of 2016. We looked back over the year and realized how many health issues there had been. Managers who were absent for a variety of reasons . And then at some point you ask yourself what else there is in life and what is actually falling by the wayside due to the heavy workload. And then one evening we had this idea and we said to ourselves: “Man, working part-time would be great!” But we were also realistic enough to know that a management position at our level is not possible part-time. As the conversation progressed, we came up with the idea of saying that it COULD be a way to share the job; a management position filled by two part-time employees.
Carola Garbe: And then we did some research and interviewed other job-sharing pairs throughout Germany. And we talked about the financing. That had to be clear between us.
Svenja: And you obviously put that idea into practice. How does your process work? What does a classic handover look like for you?
Carola Garbe: We have three variants of the classic handover. Every evening we make a short summary – our “daily news”, which we send to each other. This is mainly about interpersonal aspects, about nuances. Secondly, we have a shared calendar and mail account. This way, everyone can see what is coming in and going out, to cover the technical part. Thirdly, we use a project management app for internal handovers and on Mondays we meet for coffee and do a very special handover in our project tool.
Catherine-Marie Koffnit: In addition, it has to be said that Monday as a day for handing over everything is very structured. For example, we have regular meetings with our most important direct reports, which we then attend together. As a small piece of private pleasure, we go out for a meal and a drink together at the end of the day. Monday is completely ours and that helps us immensely. In the evening, one of us always goes home and doesn't come back until the following week.
Svenja: And how do you spend your free weeks?
Carola Garbe: In my free time, I deal with transcooption, the change from a culture of competition to a culture of cooperation. I did further training in this area. I also devote a lot of time to my family and to networking.
Catherine-Marie Koffnit: We use the free weeks for the things we didn't have time for when we were still working, and that's partly just living. Things you've been putting off for years: learning Spanish, getting your golf license.
Svenja: Would you say that you can still really switch off in the free week?
Both: Yes!
Carola Garbe: I don't turn on the computer from Tuesday through Friday. If something important comes up, Catherine sends me a text message. But that's something we've only developed. For the first three to four months, it was extremely exhausting, including writing the nightly news. But when you're both really into the process, you're so well-rehearsed that it's no longer an issue.
Catherine-Marie Koffnit: Of course, it also has to be said that this letting go and switching off only works because we work so well together. We can rely on each other 100 percent and I don't have to finish everything on Friday of my working week because I won't be there next week. No, someone is there and the tasks will be completed or followed up. When you can rely on each other so much, you can switch off completely.
Carola Garbe: Another real added value is the holiday aspect. In our position, you normally have to do a lot of preparatory work for this and when you come back – even with a good assistant – things have been left behind. That's completely gone. I can go on vacation for almost three weeks, one week off, one week on and one week off. That way, you've only been absent for one week. That's so little! You can go on vacation and come back relaxed. For me, who has been working alone in a management position for 15 years, this is an incredible added value.
Svenja: Would you say that your handover times are getting shorter and shorter, so you are now at a very good level of efficiency?
Catherine-Marie Koffnit: When I think about it, I have to say that the two-hour handover remains, but the technical topics have been reduced. In that respect, we have become more efficient. We now use the free space for strategic topics for which we might otherwise not have had time. These are, for example, approaches to cross-departmental cooperation, the question of how we can get things moving or how we can develop concepts.
Svenja: What has been the biggest gain for you personally and for your employer since you started job sharing?
Catherine-Marie Koffnit: For the company, it's clear: you have two managers in one position, so concentrated skills, soft skills and know-how. 200 percent for the price of 120 percent. And you have two managers who are each other's sparring partners, reflecting on things. With a team that makes considered decisions, an employer is less likely to run the risk of someone making relatively high-handed decisions alone. We change and question ourselves, and that's worth a lot. In our private lives, it's about leisure time and recovery and being able to get back into it with motivation every week. We really do have the much-cited work-life balance.
Carola Garbe: You have your own coach and a sparring partner, who is no longer available at this hierarchical level. Otherwise you are quickly left alone with problems.
Svenja: Is there anything that is going more difficultly than expected?
Carola Garbe: It's quite astonishing in a corporation like this, where we're tied to IT systems, that the systems reach their limits when they're supposed to divide things between two people. The systems aren't ready yet. We're not yet fully operational without making compromises in this regard. We have a single sign-on system because we work with personal data in HR. It must always be absolutely clear who has access to what, and sometimes that can only be one person. It's also difficult when we encounter strong opposition. Most people think it's great what we're doing, but some question it and say it costs us a lot of time.
Svenja: HR is often a pioneer, and that applies to job sharing as well. And often that's exactly the counterargument: “It's great that it works in HR, but it wouldn't work in the core business.” What is your view on this?
Carola Garbe: It definitely works anywhere! If it's well organized, if the boss wants it, and if the concept is right. Of course it takes courage, but we're sure it would work anywhere.
That's why we regularly offer a New Work breakfast with other job sharers at DB, where we advise employees who are interested but don't know how to approach it. The main thing is for HR to spread the word. Of course, we also want to see if we can help the company move forward. We can't afford to lose people who have a different concept of life than working full-time.
Svenja: There are many companies that struggle with the introduction of job sharing and then underestimate it. Often corporate culture and mindsets are underestimated. Those who have spent years pursuing a full-time career and adapting their private lives to it often find it particularly difficult to accept job sharing as an alternative, because it may call into question their own approach to the topic of job and private life. This often happens on an emotional level. How should you deal with this emotional level, which often comes to the fore when you want to introduce job sharing?
Catherine-Marie Koffnit: The words that come to mind are openness and honesty. A fundamental element is the issue of power. If I have been fixated on it for years and now have to give up power because I share the power, I have to stand behind the decisions of my tandem partner just as much as I stand behind my own. And even if I think differently, we discuss it among ourselves, but not with others. I have to talk openly and honestly about these emotional issues and think about them. And if I can't do that, I have to be honest and say that I'm not ready yet or maybe I'm not the right person for the job. We tell people that honestly.
Carola Garbe: Exactly. And we don't proselytize either. We tell people about us. For a long time, it was perfectly normal for me to work a lot and for long hours. “That's just the way it is.” The family often gets the short end of the stick, and I felt that over time. I was socialized completely differently as a manager, and in the beginning it was difficult for me to give up “power” or not make decisions alone. But that is precisely the added value: you have to be able to talk about it. For example, we still make decisions about our team together.
Catherine-Marie Koffnit: I often question the idea of why you want to make certain decisions one way or the other. And then we discuss the content and develop things further together. You have to be willing to go through this process.
Carola Garbe: Then you can still develop even at 55. You got into this position because you were good. At least that's what you think. After all, it's relatively easy to ignore other points of view when you're the only boss. But that's not possible at all in a tandem.
Svenja: You said that constant reflection improves the quality of your work. What are your hopes for the future of job sharing at Deutsche Bahn?
Carola Garbe: We hope that there will be more couples sharing the job and that the topic will be strategically supported.
Catherine-Marie Konffnit: And that at some point it will actually be possible to see not only “part-time” but also “job sharing” as standard in job advertisements.
Carola Garbe: What is important to us is to make it clear that job sharing represents a new way of working for us. It's about confronting an organization like ours with this new way of working. We make extensive use of our high profile for this purpose, which is why our breakfast is also called the New Work Breakfast. Where there are sometimes still discussions about the accessibility of employees in the home office, job sharing is still something special among HR topics.
Catherine-Marie Koffnit: There is so much more to it for companies, employees and families. It's great to see. We're both still learning and it continues to inspire us. Job sharing isn't just for mothers. It's exciting for Generation Z, it's interesting for outgoing managers who want to ensure a comprehensive transfer of knowledge. It offers so many possibilities and added values that we can't even foresee today.
Svenja: Thank you for your candid insights into your job sharing!
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