Heike Corsten from EK’s Human Resources department knows exactly what she wants. And what not. For example, not being on extended business trips every month like she was in her previous job as a human resources manager. And don’t get angry at golf tournaments over cheating teammates.
In contrast, Ms. Corsten really enjoys working at EK and with the employees. The payroll clerk describes her typical daily routine as typically different every day. While there are definitely regularities to her job, such as certifications for parental leave or listing specifics in the monthly statement, she does not have to worry about the details. But when employees ask her about personnel matters as she walks through the company, she takes the time to listen carefully to her colleagues. “I approach them with respect and an open ear if they want to discuss something with me. And I try to listen to requests or concerns from employees as well.”
The trained industrial clerk learned her profession from the bottom up in a Solingen-based metal company: from financial accounting and controlling to payroll accounting and human resources. Afterwards she took over the personnel responsibility for about 100 employees of a nationwide forwarding agency at the Düsseldorf airport for 8 years. With stressful commuting between her birthplace and home in Solingen, with strenuous travel to the company’s various locations. “When the head office there closed, I asked myself if I wanted to keep doing this. I didn’t! I took it down a notch. And I’m absolutely happy with that decision.” Heike Corsten has now been with EK since the beginning of 2019.
Together with her husband, she lives in Solingen’s Südstadt in a condominium with a garden. Long-distance trips to California, where the couple frequently visited friends in recent years, including trips to Las Vegas and San Diego, are over for now because of the pandemic. Instead, Sylt and Lake Tegernsee are increasingly becoming the focus of the two passionate golfers. Speaking of cheating in the golf tournament? “Someone is looking for his ball, then secretly drops it and then acts surprised. I don’t need to – I just play with my husband and our friends!” Heike Corsten just knows what she wants.