Attractive employer in times of Industry 4.0

Germany never had more people in employment: in 2016 this figure was over 39 million! That is great – but it is makes it increasingly difficult to find skilled staff and talented potential employees, and to bind them to the company long-term. These employees are needed if we are to achieve the planned further growth. The Kurtz Ersa Group therefore presents itself as an attractive employer, with an offer which makes us stand out from competitors. The building blocks are flexible, family-friendly working time models, success premiums, fringe benefits, scope for personal development and an extensive range of training and professional advancement programmes. In this way, the owner-run family company gains new employees and fully exploits the existing potential.

Company’s own knowledge platform

Without doubt, one important building block is the HAMMER ACADEMY, which has already had over 3,000 registrations for upwards of 300 courses and seminars. The company’s own platform, officially opened in February 2016, is the place where the knowledge gained in the over 235-year company tradition blends with the current expertise in the global markets. In times of increasing interconnectedness, employees are needed who identify closely with their company and react to changes in the market flexibly, competently and with a high degree of motivation. They obtain the necessary tools in the HAMMER ACADEMY. A unique offer for the medium-sized company Kurtz Ersa, with around 1,300 staff – and one that deserves to be highlighted. With ads. And at least as important: digitally.

Since August 2015, Kurtz Ersa has been represented on the business platforms Xing and kununu. Due to the very good ratings, it was distinguished directly as a TOP COMPANY and OPEN COMPANY – both seals of approval were achieved again in 2016 on the basis of the very good ratings from employees. In addition to the advertising channels, the central personnel department publishes vacant positions in the Kurtz Ersa Group on Xing – at present, the D-A-CH region numbers eight million members. It has already been possible to gain a number of new employees in this way.

Award-winning training company

As a training company too, Kurtz Ersa has been extremely active for many years and has been constantly certified as a training company over recent years by the IHK, the Chamber of Industry and Commerce. In 2015 and 2016, Kurtz Ersa was the first company in Bavaria to receive the seal of approval “Outstanding Training Company”, based on a survey on their apprenticeship carried out anonymously among the Kurtz Ersa trainees. As a result, Kurtz Ersa’s great dedication to vocational training can also be seen outside the company – evident, among other things, in the high ratio of apprentices in the workforce which, for years, has remained above ten percent. In addition, the Kurtz Ersa team in the central personnel department has been able to celebrate being shortlisted for the HR Excellence Award 2016 in the category “Knowledge Management: Learning and Development (SMB)” – the winner had not yet been announced at the time of going to press.

Best personnel work among medium-sized companies

Last, but not least, in November, Kurtz Ersa received the bi-annual “BestPersAward” in the category Personnel Recruitment for its personnel work as a medium-sized company. To participate in the competition run by the Institute of Management Competence (IMK) at Saarland University, Kurtz Ersa staff completed an extensive questionnaire and provided further information material. In the subsequent video interview, they had to answer critical questions from the jury – in the end, the award went to companies who have been practicing modern personnel work in an exemplary way. “We are proud to be able to call ourselves BestPersAward Winners – it confirms that our hard work has borne fruit and that we have been able to gain the right candidates for Kurtz Ersa. We promise to continue expanding our groundbreaking personnel concept and implementing it in an exemplary fashion!,” said Kurtz Ersa Personnel Manager Günther Bartschat.

First place for Kurtz Ersa in the Future Prize

In the 2016 Future Prize of the Business Development Council of the Main-Tauber District, the Kurtz Ersa Group lands in first place! 25 enterprises had applied for the award. From the applications, all of which were very good, three enterprises were given an award for their work in apprenticeships – three awards with a total of 5,000 Euros in prize money. As the first placed company, Kurtz Ersa receives 3,000 Euro, which is used for purposes of apprenticeships. “We are very pleased about this future prize, which can be ascribed to the commitment of our team of trainers and the Human Resources Central Area”, was the emphasis by Kurtz Ersa CEO Rainer Kurtz after the award ceremony.

Committed enterprises to secure tomorrow's experts

Every two years, the Business Development Council awards its future prices to particularly active communes and committed enterprises in the region, the motto for the 2016 competition being “Apprenticeship – careers at home”. At the festive award ceremony in Tauberbischofsheim, District Administrator Reinhard Frank made reference to the fact that the demographic development was making it increasingly more difficult to occupy apprenticeships and to secure tomorrow’s experts. The objective of the Business Development Council of the Main-Tauber District is therefore to keep young people in the region, he said.
 

Apprentices' quota constatnly above 10 percent

Kurtz Ersa has been doing this very well for years – the apprentices’ quota in the company is constantly above 10 percent. The 2016 apprenticeship year started with 38 trainees, a number of future experts never seen before. With exciting professional prospects and attractive social benefits, this family enterprise, which is growing dynamically, succeeds in gaining its young experts for the enterprise and in binding them in the long term. The central communication medium is the career portal on the Kurtz Ersa website, where all vocational topics – such as job offers, apprenticeship and studies – come together. “To find apprentices and to gain them for Kurtz Ersa, we advertise jobs online and in print, make use of social media and offer not only apprenticeships, but also all possible kinds of internships”, said Kurtz Ersa Head of Human Resources Günther Bartschat, who, with his entire human resources team, was very pleased about winning the future prize.

Interview – Azubi Felix Firmbach

Kurtz Ersa ist weiter auf Wachstumskurs – nicht nur in puncto Umsatz, auch die Belegschaft nimmt permanent zu. Allein in diesem Jahr kamen 90 Fachkräfte dazu und 37 Auszubildende, 23 Auszubildende wurden übernommen. Jede neue Kollegin und jeder neue Mitarbeiter durchläuft die zweitägige Onboardingschulung, um Geschäftsbereiche und Einzelunternehmen kennenzulernen. KEM hat Fachinformatik-Azubi Felix Firmbach nach seinen ersten Eindrücken im Unternehmen gefragt.

 

KEM: Hallo, wer bist du? Stell dich bitte kurz vor …

Felix: Ich bin Felix Firmbach, 1997 in San Francisco geboren, seit 2000 in Deutschland – wo auch meine Eltern herkommen. Ich wohne in Wertheim und habe dieses Jahr Abi am Friedrich-Bonhoeffer-Gymnasium gemacht. Seit 01. September bin ich Azubi für Fachinformatik bei Kurtz Ersa.

KEM: Kanntest du Kurtz Ersa schon vorher?
Felix: Natürlich, Kurtz Ersa zählt ja zu den größten Arbeitgebern in der Region. Deshalb stand das Unternehmen bei meiner Suche nach einem Ausbildungsplatz ganz oben auf der Liste – kurzer Arbeitsweg, das Unternehmen hat sich in den letzten Jahren positiv entwickelt und seinen Mitarbeitern und Azubis viel zu bieten.

KEM: Wie war der Start ins Unternehmen?
Felix: Es ging los mit zwei Tagen Onboardingschulung, um erst mal alle Geschäftsfelder kennenzulernen. Die einzelnen Unternehmen – Ersa GmbH, Kurtz GmbH und MBW Metallbearbeitung Wertheim GmbH – haben wir direkt besichtigt – spannend war auch die Kurtz Eisengießerei plus Besichtigung des historischen Eisenhammers. Insgesamt dauerte meine Einführungsphase zwei Wochen. Ich war positiv überrascht, wie gezielt und strukturiert das hier losging.

KEM: Wie schätzt du dein Unternehmen nach den ersten Wochen ein?
Felix: IT-seitig ist hier sehr viel geboten, hier kann ich sicher jede Menge lernen. Obwohl Azubi, arbeite ich schon direkt in konkreten Projekten mit – etwa bei der Virtualisierung von Maschinen für die Konstruktion oder der Implementierung eines Projekttools. Ich fühle mich hier bei der IT richtig wohl, das Angebot der Hammer Academy nehme ich demnächst wahr!