Personal reports

What do you think is special about Roto?

"First and foremost, products that are totally future-proof and that I can really get behind.

As an employee in Corporate Development, I deal with a range of different tasks and issues which contribute towards the continued strategic development of Roto. From the very beginning, I felt that other staff had a great deal of confidence in my work and I learned that my opinion counts at Roto. This isn’t a matter of course elsewhere and it enormously helps my further development, both in my professional and personal endeavours. In addition, I find regular feedback meetings with a fair, constructive and open atmosphere to be extremely helpful.

There isn’t one single point that makes Roto special. Instead, I think what makes Roto special is the way in which the aforementioned points come together, as well as the unbelievably friendly atmosphere."

What are your day-to-day tasks?

"At Roto, my role is to develop hardware products for aluminium windows. My tasks range from optimising existing products to developing new products.

As a design engineer, I am involved throughout the entire product development process. I am involved in interesting tasks, from coming up with ideas, to prototype production and development testing, right through to the launch of the series-produced product.
As developers, we are like the parents of our products. From birth onwards, we look after our “babies”, caring for them, supporting them and ultimately ensuring that they can stand on their own two feet. And we are only satisfied once we have achieved this aim.

As the mother of two children, I know that this entails a great deal of work. However, successful completion of product development also gives a huge sense of achievement and a certain pride at having contributed to and put your knowledge into practice with a product."

How has your career at Roto developed?

"My career at Roto began in September 2003 when I started my training to become an industrial mechanic. In three and a half years, all necessary technical knowledge was passed on to me at the company so that I was ideally prepared for the world of work.
During prototype production in sample construction, I was able to put what I had learned into practice and use all standard production processes to realise ideas for development.

After my part-time continued training to become a state-certified engineer, my path took me to the Roto ITC (International Technology Centre, Roto’s accredited test centre for component, window and door tests), where our products are put through their paces.
I currently work there as a sub-process manager for development verification and, together with my team, I ensure that Roto’s quality standards are met, taking account of all laws and standards."

What has your career path been like at Roto to date?

"Varied and rewarding in all aspects!

After successfully completing my dual studies course at Roto, I had the opportunity to get to grips with many tasks and projects in the Sales department. I am now Sales Manager for Germany and Austria.

Just like on my very first day at Roto, I value the team spirit, the constant new challenges, the feeling of celebrating success and, last but not least, the confidence the company shows in my personal ability to make Roto sales as sustainable as possible."

What was your first impression as an intern at Roto?

"I have nice, knowledgeable supervisors in the various process areas. Thanks to the well-organised structure and collaboration in the individual processes, I quickly gained an overview of the company and my introductory training went smoothly.

All in all, I feel that I am in really good hands and even in the first week, I was given small projects to take charge of on my own. This meant that I was involved in what was going on straight away.

I think that regular shop floor meetings for communication and passing on information are great because they mean that everyone is at the same level. Clearly structured workspaces (ROS) help me in my day-to-day work and I can always find the right person to contact on the intranet whenever I have any questions."

What was your experience of your internship at Roto?

„The application: the first impression was very positive. I received feedback on my application very quickly and had an enjoyable interview.
Onboarding: well organised and structured with a clear, well-thought-out induction plan.
Working together: a complete sense of camaraderie, including after-work activities. There was a lot of contact both on the phone and in person, and you quickly get to know people from different specialist processes, especially in HR.
My duties: I was assigned a range of duties. I had direct involvement, and was able to make contributions. Colleagues and superiors gave me freedom, but also support, and were very helpful.

Conclusion: it was the right decision. Highly recommended!"

What do you particularly like about your vocational training?

"I particularly appreciate the outstanding supervision and support that we get both in the training process and in the specialist processes.

You feel like you have a lot of support thanks to the arrangements that are in place, such as a structured training plan, fixed contacts in the specialist process, defined educational content and much more.
I am also impressed by the great confidence that is shown in the trainees.

Even from the very first day, we have the opportunity to take charge of our own projects and are directly involved in important decision-making processes.
This shows me that I can have a great impact and that my work is appreciated."

What is your experience of job-sharing?

"We have been involved in the job-sharing experiment since 1st May 2019, and have been on a steady learning curve ever since. We both have children and work part-time. This model allows us to combine a family with a management position – a successful balancing act. Mutual trust and great openness are absolutely vital for this.

In return, this model allows us to make more balanced decisions, as we constantly have someone else to bounce ideas off. This means we can complement each other well, utilising our own strengths, prior professional experiences, and areas of interest.
If possible, we try to make sure our regular communication with the team and our higher management is done jointly, to ensure we are both equally visible and accessible.

We are both fully behind this way of working and are grateful to Roto for this enriching job-sharing opportunity."