About us - Interview with authorised signatory Janine
Today our authorised signatory Janine introduces herself. She talks about details of her work, including HR and financial accounting, and of course a few personal topics are also addressed.
Hello Janine, you are an authorised signatory at McParking, what does that mean?
I've been with McParking for 12 years now and soon became the Managing Director's right-hand woman after I started here. However, I am primarily responsible for human resources management and financial accounting. As an authorised signatory, I have sole power of representation for McParking in various business matters and really appreciate the trust placed in me.
... can you give us a few examples of what you do?
Over the years, I have recruited and hired well over 100 employees for McParking and supported them in all matters relating to their employment relationship throughout their entire time with the company.
I have helped to build up locations and also accompanied difficult phases, such as the delayed opening of BER or the corona crisis, and mastered them as a team. Whenever something needs to be organised, tackled or rebuilt, Ms Schlockow is always there to help! Payroll accounting is also part of my job. In financial accounting, I ensure that accounts receivable, accounts payable and asset accounting run smoothly. I liaise closely with our tax office so that we always know quickly and accurately how McParking is doing financially. Insurance matters are also part of my remit.
How did you come to McParking? What did you do before your time "in the car park"?
In 2011, I got to know Kai Rixrath (founder and shareholder of McParking) through my husband, who was already the operations manager at McParking at the time.
At that time, McParking had locations in Leipzig, Schönefeld and Berlin Tegel. A new location in Königs Wusterhausen with more than 3,000 parking spaces was to be built or was being built at the time. McParking was expanding and building up its presence. For this, active support was needed to structure and advance the organisation even better. Among other things, this meant recruiting staff, planning the operational processes and organising everything else. This task was so exciting for me that I jumped at the chance!
And it remained exciting: for example, I was involved in the planning of the Berlin Bohnsdorf site from the ground-breaking ceremony. Be it the construction of our premises, the arrangements with the carpentry workshop regarding the furnishings and much more.
Before McParking, I was in charge of accounts receivable at the Arbeiter-Samariter-Bund (ASB), took care of route planning for the transport service and did their monthly accounts.
My commercial training and corresponding further qualifications are the basis for my work, but it is important to me to always keep my finger on the pulse and continue learning.
What are the biggest challenges in your job at the moment? And how do you deal with these issues? What are you doing, for example, to recruit and retain staff?
Fortunately, even before the current period, which is characterised by a shortage of skilled workers, we were already taking intensive care of our employees. This is paying off today, as we now have a good network to fall back on and I do everything I can to keep my finger on the pulse.
One challenge is that we operate a highly seasonal business - more people fly on holiday in the summer months than in the winter months! And the trick is to always have enough staff on board with the right qualifications.
Fortunately, we have one or two colleagues who only want to work part-time, so we can cover peak times in the summer very well. In addition to a good working atmosphere, pay definitely plays an important role: we make sure that we pay a reasonable wage and decent bonuses at weekends, at night and for any overtime. I have always campaigned for this.
Another area that has become increasingly relevant in HR work in recent years is the compatibility of private and professional life. In the administrative area, we have a sensible home office arrangement so that employees can also work from home if necessary. In other areas, such as the parking control centre, this is only possible to a limited extent. Although our McParking hotline largely works from home, at least one employee is always on site. Here, we pay particular attention to the needs of our colleagues when creating duty rosters and are characterised by a high degree of flexibility.
And finally, our classic question: where do you like to go on holiday?
As I said, I like to go on cruises and take the opportunity to see lots of places in a short space of time, but in between I like to relax on the water.
I would love to do more long-distance holidays, but that's difficult to do at the moment between work and family. Let's see what the future holds! Until then, I'm happy to welcome our customers who always bring a bit of long-distance air with them.
Why don't you describe yourself, where are you from and what do you do in your free time?
I live in the south of Brandenburg and enjoy the beautiful natural surroundings with our 3 children. We spend a lot of time on and by the water.
Maybe that's where my love of the sea, the bigger "water", comes from. My husband Tino, Operations Manager at McParking, and I are passionate about cruises - when time allows.
I think it's great to be connected to the big wide world through our customers, even while I'm at work.
Back to McParking, HR & accounting, that sounds quite dry at first, is it?
I believe that people have to work in their vocation, their passion - then they always find fulfilment and are really good at what they do. That applies to me and my work, but also with regard to our staff and ensuring that McParking runs like clockwork - it wouldn't be possible without staff and accounting. It gives me great pleasure to play my part in this.
What looks dry to people from other professions is usually only the view from the outside: someone is sitting at a desk (although I also walk and drive around a lot ?) but the desk and PC are just the tools to fill a task and a company with life - and I really enjoy that!