In this time of social media platforms, a new term comes up every now and then: flash organizations. Very briefly, flash organizations are temporary companies that can be used to quickly and effectively implement complex projects. To do this, optimal teams with the right skills are put together within a very short time. Sounds exciting. It’s reason enough to take a closer look at the “flash organization” model.
At our Berlin office, we work with the highest degree of flexibility – and think in terms of tasks, not in fixed positions. We are always trying new forms and formats of work and trying every day to live what we preach to the outside world. In our 30-member team, all colleagues work in flexible work models. Currently we have three job-sharing tandems, four interdisciplinary project teams, five freelancers and 12 colleagues with a four-day week. We want to introduce some of them today and explain why we do what we do.
The best software in the world can only change organizations as much as people and culture allow. That is why at Tandemploy we do not only believe in the tandem principle when it comes to our job: through our new partnership with nextexitfuture, we’re changing and guiding companies sustainably – and with their cumulative startup and corporate experience. Together, the 8 founders of nextexitfuture have an impressive 160 years of experience in large companies: in top management, on executive boards and supervisory boards, and as investors. They know big hierarchical constructs, silo mentality, and the “but culture” of some internal stakeholders like the backs of their hands.
Globalization, demographic change, skills shortage, technologization, automation – external factors have changed the demands on companies and thus on managers enormously. But what does that mean for managers? How must leadership look today and in the future? Which leadership do companies need for digital transformation? And what about digital leadership?
What role do networks play in digitalization? How can the digital transformation be designed effectively and how can employees be helped along the way? What else is there to digitalization apart from the buzzwords? And do we really still need HR?
Every day, we get many exciting visitors at the Tandemploy office. So, we thought we would invite these digitalization experts, role models, New Workers, digital leaders and difference makers to our Yellow Couch and ask them these and other questions. Yellow Couch Talks – our new Tandemploy format for inspiration, questions, and discussions.
We signed the Diversity Charter in September 2018 and are very excited to be part of this wonderful and important initiative. In this article, we explain the goals of the Charter, why we are part of this initiative, and how important diversity is for businesses today. Read more
Knowledge is an important topic when it comes to digital transformation in companies. Good and continuous knowledge transfer brings many benefits and can provide a competitive advantage. Similarly, conscious use of the knowledge and ability of employees is playing an increasingly important role. What knowledge already exists in your company? What skills are there? Which ones do organizations need in the future? And how can they be used strategically? A systematic skill management plan can offer solutions.
© Hendrik Lüders
Tijen Onaran is a businesswoman, presenter and speaker. With startup affairs, she advises companies on PR and publicity, as well as on building and maintaining communities, and, with her Global Digital Women initiative, is committed to the networking and visibility of women in the digital industry. In addition, Tijen Onaran regularly publishes as a member of the Handelsblatt Expert Council, as well as a columnist for Lead Digital. She has been appointed to the Faculty Board for Digital Leadership of the Management School St. Gallen and to the jury of the Digital Leader, Corporate Culture and PR Report Awards. Before becoming self-employed, Tijen Onaran worked for members of the European parliament and the Bundestag, the Federal President’s Office, and for associations and a university in leading positions. In the interview, we talked about New Work, “tomorrow’s world of work” and the key skills needed in a digital and connected world.
Nedeljko Prodanovic (Managing Partner)
Stonehedge Beteiligungsgesellschaft mbH is a real-estate developer based in Berlin and its group of companies includes all types of skills, from acquisition to sales. They believe in flexible working and an open culture. We talked to Nedeljko Prodanovic about flexible working models, his wishes for their first tandem position, and the corporate culture of Stonehedge.
Digital forms of communication and collaboration are becoming increasingly important in the current climate of digital transformation. In addition, social collaboration is an important prerequisite for a successful digital transformation. This is demonstrated by the results of the “German Social Collaboration Study” by the management consultancy Campana & Schott and the Department of Business Informatics at the Technical University of Darmstadt. What opportunities are there in social collaboration? And why are knowledge transfer and silo removal so crucial?
Tandemploy develops software that purposefully and cleverly networks people and knowledge in organizations: to facilitate the sharing of knowledge, to work collectively to make flexible forms of work a reality, and to support digital transformation in companies. But we always try to live what we preach to the outside world. How else could we credibly and effectively make organizations more flexible and use our solutions to inspire a more agile working world?? Small companies like us especially have the freedom and opportunity to act quickly, to be brave and to try new things. Who, if not us, can live “new” work and initiate social change? Who, if not us, is responsible for tomorrow’s work environment, which in the best-case scenario starts today?
New Work is definitely a buzzword of our time. It shows up in very different contexts. Sometimes it’s about technology, sometimes about the free choice of workplace and time, and almost always about digital transformation. But what exactly is New Work? And what can it do for companies?
Again and again, the topic of job sharing is associated with women; with the re-entry of mothers after parental leave; with the compatibility of work and family life. At the same time, the working model can do much more – and is particularly appealing to men.
When deciding on job sharing, questions often crop up in the beginning. This “StarterKit” is available to help the tandems and HR department with a smooth start.
Eva Schubert is currently living her dream: she lives and works on Tenerife. She converted her 9-to-5 job as a social media coordinator into a job share and swapped her office in Cologne for a coworking opportunity in Tenerife. Eva told us in an interview how this came about, how life and work in Tenerife are, and whether she wants to remain flexible and independent of location in the future.
Julia Schwebel works for Merck in Darmstadt and is responsible for B2B in Asia/Pacific. This means that she and her team take care of electronically connecting customers when it comes to catalogs, orders or invoices. Not only are their customers international, but Julia’s team is also spread over four countries on three continents. Julia herself works very flexibly and passes this flexibility on to her team. She is especially concerned with the issue of compatibility. As a #ChangeAgent, she lives up to the change she wants to see in the work world.
bio verlag publishes the customer magazines Schrot & Korn, Cosmia and Ö-Magazin, among other things. Since 2011, bio verlag has dealt with three things: capital, decisions, and success. Participation and responsibility are the basis for their cooperative work, along with family-friendly working time models and a lot of commitment. All good reasons to have a longer #ChangeAgent interview in this case. We spoke with their managing director, Sabine Kauffmann, about the history of the publishing house, employee participation, decision-making processes, and the working world of tomorrow.
Who actually decided that almost every task, every job, would fit best into a 40-hour full-time position? Who says that? And who can judge that?
Isn’t that an absolutely crazy assumption? Outdated? Generalized? And, on closer inspection, incredibly inflexible? Doesn’t this (hardly ever questioned) assumption of the ideal 40-hour work week mean that we, as an employer, tend to build in too much capacity for tasks that could be accomplished in a few hours – and far too little for those that clearly require more? Doesn’t it also cause us to force people into a scheme that is not guaranteed to be life-phase-oriented?
Can organizations even transition from being elephants to gazelles when they stick to this very basic thought pattern?
