In our leadership team’s Monday meetings, we always have «employees» as an agenda item. That's when we bring up our observations – who might be feeling overburdened at the moment? Where are potentially difficult situations emerging? In short, what action needs to be taken? Once we’ve established that, someone from the leadership team takes care of the matter in hand and tries to engage in dialogue.

We almost always spend our morning and afternoon coffee breaks all together. They are a fixture at our company. I see it as an opportunity to “listen in” on the mood and note whether any questions or issues are cropping up. This enables me to respond in good time and work together with those involved to find solutions.

I regularly go cycling with friends in leadership positions. This has become a little cycling group. On these occasions, we often discuss work-related matters. Nowadays, we deliberately use these group activities as a resource to support one another.

We have many employees with many years of experience. When allocating workspaces, we make sure to achieve a good mix and put experienced staff alongside new colleagues. This makes it easier to learn from one another and get help.

We aim to design and use our workplace in a way that allows for a good work-life balance. For example, we have provided a roof terrace and employees have organised yoga classes, which are open to all colleagues. We’ve set up the meeting rooms with movable partition walls and a bar so that, in the blink of an eye, they can be transformed into somewhere for us to enjoy a drink together.

Our events are important highlights in the calendar at TGS Architekten. As well as the three-day team event in winter, we also organise group activities in summer and autumn. These occasions give us the chance to get to know each other better and build trust. This trust provides a basis for finding constructive solutions together in difficult situations.

Architects swapped drawing boards for computers a long time ago. But the digitalisation of communication presents a new challenge which we have been keen to actively manage. One of our colleagues worked with external specialists to set up the processes, and all employees were given training. We want to take advantage of digital tools to help us work together more efficiently – and not to create more stress.