Employee story

Thorsten

An anniversary is always something special! However, celebrating a “silver wedding anniversary” with a company is a whole different ball game! Our colleague Thorsten has become an integral part of ESE and can tell the story of ESE like no other. We congratulate Thorsten on his 25th anniversary of service and say thank you for 25 years of collegial friendship, advice and his multifaceted commitment!

25 years of ESE, a long time! Can you still remember how it all began?

The company existed, there were three managing directors and 10 employees who worked on projects at our customer’s premises. My job interview took place in the hotel restaurant and I handed in the signed contract to Mr. Haun at home. That was in 1999.

And what tasks did you take on at the beginning?

Until 2015, like most of my other colleagues, I also worked on projects for our customers. Over the years, I have also increasingly taken on internal tasks and built up and managed the internal IT together with my colleague, the other Thorsten. As the number of employees grew, it became clear that it was necessary to continue working on IT as a team of two, to work on topics on an equal footing and to be able to replace each other.

A lot has happened in 25 years. Are there any particular highlights that you remember fondly?

One highlight was the summer party at Ölber Castle. The entire workforce, including families and children, were invited. We celebrated a colorful summer party with over 200 people.

What makes working at ESE special for you?

From the very beginning, ESE was and still is a family-run company with flat hierarchies and an immediate “on a first-name basis” with the managing directors across all levels. Despite our current size, we are a family company and our employees feel responsible for the company – some of them are less aware of this and some are so aware that you sometimes have to say “please think about your working hours” [laughs].

And then there is the great leap of faith. The trust that managers have in their employees is very high. It’s not the case that everything is always dictated “from above” and the employees just have to run. Instead, everyone has their own area in which they can actively shape the company and the project on their own responsibility.

Despite our current size, we are a family business and the employees feel responsible for the company – for some you notice this less and for some so intensely that you sometimes have to say “please think about your working hours” [laughs].

What else makes ESE special for you?

What we never wanted from the outset was real end customer business with products, i.e. not to develop software that we sell on to end customers. ESE didn’t want to take that risk, but always wanted to support large companies in their tasks as a supplier in the background. And ESE is doing quite well with that.

Today, especially in the younger generations, it is almost common practice to change employers frequently. Why was that never an issue for you?

I am rooted in the region, and there weren’t that many companies back then that I could have gone to. Today, the portfolio is somewhat larger. However, I feel quite at home here at ESE, and I’m not someone who spontaneously looks to see where there’s more money and where I can move on after another three years. I’m just not that kind of person.
I had takeover offers from our customers, which I turned down in each case. At ESE, the project business gives us the opportunity to move into completely different areas of responsibility after 1–2 years, depending on the project duration, or to get to know a different industry.

And that is still decisive for you now, even if you are deployed internally?

Yes, variety is still a big issue. ESE’s field of activity is constantly adapting dynamically, and so is IT. This is because the environment is not static there either, but has to adapt to new requirements.

Are there things that you, as an old hand and the longest-standing employee at ESE, would like to pass on to younger colleagues? As advice from the older ones?

I think it is important that knowledge is acquired permanently. Nowadays, the younger generations tend to relegate the actual acquisition of knowledge to the background thanks to Google. That’s my impression. In the past, when there was no internet or it was not yet so extensive, we had to acquire knowledge from books and implement and deepen it accordingly. That’s why we “older employees” perhaps have a much deeper basic understanding of issues than younger employees.

What are you particularly looking forward to in your anniversary year?

I’m most looking forward to the move and moving into the new premises. The move itself will probably be stressful, but afterward we will have an even nicer office environment than we already have. And we’ll all be back together in one location, which will allow us to intensify our contacts and communication.

What would you like to give ESE for the next 25 years?

I hope that ESE continues to cultivate its working atmosphere and image, does not grow too much, and tries to continue to develop independently.

Inside ESE

No one could give a better insight into our everyday life than those who experience it every day. Therefore, we asked some of our colleagues from the various departments to describe their everyday lives and careers at ESE in more detail. This way, everyone can get a first impression of us and our diverse work.

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