“I believe that employees should be open with their managers and tell them exactly what they need to make their jobs and careers successful.”  

I have been with Capco since 2008, which makes me one of the longest-tenured of all my colleagues in Germany. I joined as an Associate right after graduating and now I am 38 years old and a Managing Principal.

Being out and about in the world has always been incredibly important to me. I have lived in Frankfurt for a long time now, but occasionally I've spent time abroad. I finished school in England, did my Master's in the U.S., and lived in New York. Anyone who knows me knows that I am not someone who wants to stay in the same place. That was what attracted me to Capco right from the start - I was able to ‘jump’ straight into an international project. My first project entailed merging the foreign branches of two large banks, which enabled me to work in New York every few months. That was a perfect start for someone like me, as I had the chance to work in different countries on a fascinating project. 

As I am a single mother of a young son, Capco has allowed me to reduce my working hours to 75 percent. I split the hours over four days, to have a reduced work week from Monday to Thursday and Fridays off. This long-weekend working model pays off for me! It gives me enough peace and quiet to enjoy quality time with my child and to recharge my batteries. I try to keep Fridays off consistently, and my team does the same, so the model usually works well. Obviously, there have been challenges at times, but we have always found solutions. For example, over time, an important weekly meeting was moved from the usual evening to the afternoon so that I could always attend.

For some time now, I have been managing another account for a large German bank in addition to my core project. I do this on top of my regular project work because I enjoy it and because I see that my efforts can really make an impact. As a team, we have developed new ideas to help the customer time and time again, and as a result, this client has now become our most successful German account.   

I have always felt valued and my work has been recognized here at Capco. That is why I have no doubt that I could make it to Partner level if I wanted to. I am still thinking about whether I would actively like to take this step; there is time before my son starts school. Currently, my son is in day care but he regularly asks to visit our office, where we have a parent-child room equipped with toys. My son loves it when my colleagues play table soccer during their lunch break and let him join in.

Even as a mother, I would not rule out working abroad for a few months. My little boy is five now, so I would take him with me, and the firm is open to such arrangements. There are quite a few women at Capco, many of them are mothers, so I can say with confidence that Capco is a good employer for women at different stages of their lives. For example, as parents, we were offered extra five days’ leave during the pandemic so that we could organize our lives in a more flexible manner. For me, actions like that represent modern corporate culture on behalf of the employer.

In general, I believe that employees should be open with their managers and tell them exactly what they need to make their jobs and careers successful, including having discussions about flexible working and other kinds of support. In my experience, requests for greater flexibility have always been supported. After all, such changes not only improve private life, but also job performance.