Jobs Sharing Done Right — Job Sharing at Uniper: Part 3

As previously reported, job sharing offers plenty of benefits — both for the people who share the job as well as for their managers and the company. For such a model to be successful, there are a number of prerequisites that need to be met: First of all, the manager must be willing to engage in it. "I'm still noticing many colleagues with leadership responsibilities who do not understand and reject the concept of job sharing because the benefits are not clear enough to them or they do not want to make the extra effort," says Stefan Bockamp, Director Growth Engineering at Uniper, who has hired job sharers himself and wants to encourage people in management positions to do the same. For him, the benefits clearly outweigh the downsides. 

"The culture change is much greater because you get different perspectives, more balanced views and feedback on situations," he explains. In his opinion, the application process should be based on competence, regardless of the number of applicants. Job-sharing partners are interviewed together and, like all other candidates, are considered in detail in order to find the best candidate for the role.

Theoretically, job sharing is suitable for any position. Mutual trust is the basis for successful cooperation, and there must also be an agreement on fundamental values between parties. That is why Lars Wiese and Thomas Preussler, who jointly lead the West Power Plant Group, held a discussion on values right at the beginning. "We knew that we would spend a lot of time together and there would be times when we had differing opinions, so we wanted to be sure from the start that we were working with the right partner," says Lars. As part of this process, they were supported by a coach. In spite of this, the two of them find that it can also be advantageous if the partners differ and do not share the same opinion on all points. This allows issues to be broken down better and will lead to enriching discussions. 

Jenny Banczyk and Nikola Feldmann, who are jointly taking over the management of Uniper Wärme, achieve positive compromises and results by understanding where similarities and differences lie and consciously appreciating what the other person brings to a perspective. "In general, we always ask ourselves what the other person would think about our actions and, in case of doubt, ask again so that we make decisions in the common interest," explains Jenny.

It goes without saying that job-sharing partners must be willing to compromise and not try to impose their own ego. The greatest risk is that job-sharing partners end up in a competitive situation. Therefore, the environment must be designed in such a way to prevent this from happening — this means that the partners get the same salary, have the same goals and receive equal recognition for their work and achievements. In short: As soon as they start working together, they are treated as a single person. If something is discussed with one half of the duo, it is their task to ensure that the other half is fully informed.

At Uniper, we are still at the beginning of a long journey: "It is clear that the perfect system will not exist from the outset. We all have to work together to develop it," says Thomas. For example, job postings need to be adapted, interested parties need to be offered a platform, offers need to be created and recruitment procedures need to be developed. In addition, managers must be prepared for the role of leading people in a job-sharing situation. However, it is clear to all those involved that the goal is for job sharing to be perceived as normal and that the best possible personnel can be found for each position — whether that's one person or several.

Become an energy evolutionary: https://www.uniper.energy/career