Petra Ernst reports

Feeling the "SEW spirit"

I've been working at SEW-EURODRIVE for over 20 years now. I started in 1992 with a Business Administration degree program at the BA Karlsruhe (now Cooperative State University Karlsruhe). This degree program was an ideal combination of theoretical knowledge with actual practice, and gave me extensive insight into all of the commercial departments. Before I'd even finished my degree, I was offered a position in the central accounting department.

Good onboarding by my colleagues, support from my supervisors and the long-term opportunity for further training motivated me on my way to my managerial position. This inspires me to encourage my employees in the same way and support their development.

My team is responsible for creating the monthly and annual financial statements for the German companies within our corporate group, and for managing our fixed assets. Because of changing laws, further technical training is essential in my department.

Through in-house workshops within their fields, our employees collaborate with us supervisors at all hierarchical levels to develop solutions for more efficient business processes. In addition to exchanging technical information, this personal contact reinforces team spirit and employees' loyalty to SEW-EURODRIVE.

In-house and external management seminars support my management work and give me the chance to talk to specialists and managers from a wide variety of fields, whom I continue to meet with on a regular basis outside of the seminar series. The wide variety of leisure activities on offer provides an ideal counterbalance to my work.

SEW-EURODRIVE is a growing company that offers a wide variety of employment options for applicants. If you work at our company, you'll feel the "SEW spirit." I think this is because of the company's many years of success on the one hand, and the managing partners' innovative approach and willingness to invest on the other.