"Being open with each other, that's just part of being here."

Doris on,

• What it takes to be successful at Zühlke,

• why continuous development is a prerequisite,

• and what Zühlke Bern's future looks like.

Like many of her colleagues, Doris Rogger started as a Developer at Zühlke Bern. Then as a Software Engineer, Architect and Scrum Master, she broadened her experience over a period of five years and, jointly with clients, developed solutions for complex projects.

In 2019, she moved to the Leadership Team. In her role as 'Head of Competence Unit' she led a department with three software development teams in the areas of Java, .NET and Mobile. Now, as Head of Mobile, Doris is responsible for mobile app development in Switzerland. Among other things, she manages the ongoing development of co-workers. For Doris, it is important to deal openly with co-workers and to support them on their path. Together they discuss questions such as: "What are your current challenges in the project? How can I help you? What's the next project for you? What's your career goal?"

Typical of Bern: "People know each other, the distances are shorter."

Compared to other Zühlke offices, the Bern location is (still) quite small. "We have 90 co-workers and 12 different job profiles; the focus is on Java." For Doris, the advantage of the smaller location is the good team spirit among the staff. "People know each other, the office is manageable and very centrally located right by the train station. You can also go out for a drink together after work or take a dip in the river Aare during lunch break in the summer."

Openness as a competence

"We are a service company. Our co-workers need to be open to a wide variety of technologies, a wide variety of clients, and a wide variety of industries." It is normal to work on a project for a maximum of two years, then to move on to the next one. This means that you are constantly getting to know new things and developing personally. "This agile setup, the ever-changing projects with challenging tasks, requires constant development of each and every individual. Co-workers need to regard this as important," Doris emphasises.

Passing on what you have learned is also encouraged at Zühlke Bern. Within the various topic teams, co-workers exchange information on a regular basis. "This can be on a particular technology, but also on a methodology or a social skill. If you are good at making presentations, you should also pass that on to your team members," Doris explains. At the same time, co-workers can benefit from the entire international Zühlke network. After all, there is a specialist in almost every subject. "The network is big; you have to use it and reach out to people."

You should also keep customer satisfaction in mind at all times. "Our work is less on internal Zühlke projects, but mostly for and with our clients. That means being at the client's site a lot."

Success is a matter of development

For anyone wanting to develop their career at Zühlke, there are opportunities galore: "You can work out goals with your Career Coach and ask yourself: 'What do I want to accomplish in the next few months? What do I want to learn? What do I need for that?' " All co-workers have access to modern, tailor-made training programs that can take a wide variety of forms.

The path that co-workers follow is a very individual one. "If you want to take on leadership roles and you have the skills, you can do it very early on. As a Scrum Master, or in a Capacity Manager role, you take responsibility for an entire development team. If that's not your thing, you can be just as successful on a technical career path and broaden your knowledge as an individual contributor. Or you start on the Java track, for example, widen your skills and then switch to mobile development or take over project management. We're very responsive to co-worker preferences and strengths."

And what does Zühlke Bern's future look like?

"We'd like to grow some more. Our target size would be around 100 co-workers at the Bern site." That would allow further diversification. Adding to some large and long-standing clients, the office has gained many new clients in the last two years. This has increased the choice of projects and is really exciting for all co-workers. "We work for a wide variety of industries: from transportation to mobility, communications, logistics and retail. And by the way, that's why we in Bern are not just recruiting for a specific job profile; we want to grow across the board. To do that, we need software engineers with various expertises: it can be in .NET, Java, mobile, security or embedded engineering."

As Head of Competence Unit, Doris has a special role to play here. She wants to support new recruits on their path and give them plenty of freedom. After all, a lot of trust was also placed in her from the very beginning. "I took advantage of that opportunity very gratefully, and I want to give opportunities like that to other people."

Does that sound exciting and just like you? Then become part of our Zühlke team and take a look at our current vacancies.

Picture credits: © Copyright Bern Welcome