Her friendly smile is the first thing many colleagues see in the morning, her pleasant voice the first thing callers hear from EK. Nicole Richter is aware that she represents the company to a certain extent at the front desk – and she really likes this job because she enjoys dealing with people in a nice way.
“I take people as they are and like it when, for example, my friendly greeting is returned in the same friendly way. In this job, I can present myself as I am,” explains Nicole Richter. Every day – until her colleague Heike Velke relieves her at 1 p.m. – she welcomes the entire EK community as well as customers, service technicians and other visitors. In person or on the phone.
She celebrates her 60th birthday in December 2023 – and the years at EK are among the best of her professional career. In May 2015, Nicole Richter initially came to replace a colleague on parental leave and was immediately impressed by the atmosphere at EK. “I couldn’t have done better – luckily it turned out that I was able to stay indefinitely.”
She enjoys the variety of daily encounters. “For example, when someone told me on the phone that I had a beautiful voice, I took it as a compliment and was very happy about it. There are also often funny and curious encounters, such as the one with the external service technician who exclaimed, “Cool cabin” when he saw the foyer. “I had to laugh so hard, because the term ‘shack’ doesn’t fit our great building at all,” she recalls.
Nicole Richter also attributes her positive charisma at the front desk to the fact that she can walk or bike to work from nearby Gruiten. Despite the considerable incline on the way there, she uses a bike without a “built-in tailwind.” In general, she likes exercise in the fresh air: jogging along the Düssel with her girlfriend, hiking in South Tyrol or through the Bergisches Land, which has been her home for about 25 years. Sport plays a major role in her life – although the focus is not on performance, but on relaxation and fitness.
The fact that an EK team competes in the B2Run corporate races is also due to their initiative, as is the company-wide Corona Challenge over a total of 1,867 kilometers of cycling, running, walking or swimming. “I love getting things rolling and think it’s great when they’re embraced and build a sense of community.”