24. February 2021

People @ Personio – Lea Gunkel, Junior Implementation Manager

You are currently a Junior Implementation Manager, how can somebody prepare for a role like this?

So, basically I have a background in HR and Customer Success and for me personally this is a really great combination.

1
What is your Junior Implementation Manager position all about?
2
Besides focussing on our value #CustomerEmpathy, how else do you live the Personio Code in your day-to-day work?
3
If you could work in any other position within Personio, for one day, what would it be?
4
What’s the difference between a good day and a great day at Personio?
5
What makes a teammate a great one?

In my apprenticeship and former roles, I learned a lot about the full employee lifecycle (from applicant to employee), customer success management, and all the administrative tasks related to recruiting.

Applying to Personio turned out to be the best decision, because I can combine everything I learned. The knowledge of HR allows me to understand the customer's processes, while the customer management experience helps me a lot in daily communications with customers.

In general, I think it is important to have fun in the day-to-day business with customers and to know how to manage different projects at the same time – everything else (Product Knowledge) will follow 🙂

What is your Junior Implementation Manager position all about?

My position is about making customers a real, and happy, ‘Personio Expert.’ After my dear colleagues from sales have acquired the customers, they join us within the Implementation Team.

Depending on the booked package, the implementation takes 4-8 weeks. Within this timeframe, I go through every function (digital personnel file, attendances and absences, salaries and preliminary payroll, recruiting, etc.) in Personio with the customers and tailor the software to their needs and wishes so that they can display their processes in the best possible way.

My goal is that, at the end of the process, they are very confident in the tool and do not regret the decision to use Personio.

What does a week in the life of a Junior Implementation Manager look like?

We start on Monday with our Implementation Weekly, where we exchange current information, best practices, and talk about open projects everyone is working on.

Basically, the weeks are similar, but they are also quite different. That sounds strange, but that’s just how it is 😉 Every week is characterized by customer appointments, and that’s what makes them so unique! Every customer is different, and they all have different needs.

In addition to the customer meetings and the support via email, there are also projects to be worked on. For example, I help our Content Team create new tutorial videos for our Help Center to provide customers with the information they need. All in all, I can say that I personally like the mix of structure and variety.

Besides focussing on our value #CustomerEmpathy, how else do you live the Personio Code in your day-to-day work?

We constantly #SeekToImprove and challenge the status quo whenever possible, whether that’s implementing new tools or finding another and easier way for an "old" process.

When in contact with customers #CommunicationIsKey, truly, because you have to set a clear structure within your calls and define the shared goal you’re working toward.

Furthermore, we really live the #Teamspirit and support our colleagues cross department with their projects and tasks.

If you could work in any other position within Personio, for one day, what would it be?

If I could choose, I would like to work in the Employer Branding Team for a day. I really like how they are constantly developing new formats, presenting Personio as an employer to the outside world, strengthening our brand, and also always making sure that we are doing well internally.

Whether with a Virtual Health Week or various other events (joint cooking session, etc.), the focus is always on the employee. At this point a very big thank you to the whole team, you rock!

What’s the difference between a good day and a great day at Personio?

Due to Covid, I started in a remote set up and have only been to the office a few times, but I’d say a great office day would be filled with a lot of laughter (in person, not only remote), a lunch break with aaaalll the teammates and lots of fun.

In addition to that, a day that is nicely balanced between meetings, customer appointments, and coffee breaks with colleagues.

At the moment, all of that has to happen remotely. But, I am very much looking forward to more great in-office days ahead!

What makes a teammate a great one?

All my teammates are great, so I guess I’ll just describe their behavior and manners 😉

A great teammate is friendly, supportive, and ready to help at any time. That is basically the entire implementation team, so I am very happy and thankful for that. Work doesn’t feel like work with the right people, and that’s really the way it is at Personio.