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09.12.2020

Voices from throughout the company

Good collaboration is possible, even when times are tough. In the following article, employees from the plants, farm and company describe what’s going on where they work and how everything’s working out in practice

Eliza Borsos

lawyer, Group General Counsel, DMK Bremen

“The DMK Group is as varied as the legal topics we deal with from all the departments, subsidiaries and the parent company. In my department, on one hand, we’re all very different, but on the other, we’re pretty similar. We work together very closely which always helps us find better solutions. Exchanging arguments makes us sharper and makes us feel stronger in negotiations – that’s something we’ve learned from the few court cases the DMK Group has had. Another good example of teamwork is our annual get-together with lawyers from outside the company, where we share lots of ideas. And together with teams from agriculture and corporate communications, we recently held the first virtual meeting of DMK’s Representatives, ensuring it was legally compliant. One thing I think is really important is working together with colleagues beyond your own immediate area of work. And whether young or old, new or experienced, there’s such a diverse range of employees at the DMK Group. Junior staff bring new perspectives, and that’s balanced out by staff who have been here longer, who can share their experience. Together, we find new, and good solutions. We might have done things in a particular way for years, but sometimes, taking a fresh look helps everyone to get a better view of the bigger picture.”

Silke de Kaste

GGBS, Team Coordinator, Accounts Payable Department

“I’m responsible for processing, booking and paying incoming invoices, we receive about 1,000 a day and they need to be processed. DMK’s restructuring changed the financial accounting department a lot, as we’ve been split up into two areas, COE and GBS. Everything we do was assessed and then reallocated. Many of our staff have been with the company for 10 years or longer, so it was a big change at first, suddenly being divided into these two areas, and having different managers. For accounts payable, I can say we’ve really grown into a solid team. What’s important is to make sure you consider and include new colleagues right from the outset. They tend to have lots of questions, particularly at the start, about processes, workflows and who they should get in touch with. We’ve had four new staff members over the past two years, and have seen again and again the importance of training them well. In our area, newcomers are allocated a sponsor who’s their main point of contact and that system has worked really well! Good teamwork is really important to us, and communicating openly. We have a weekly team meeting – right now, we do that through MS Teams – and that keeps everyone up to date with the latest news and what’s happening. After that, everyone shares what’s been going on for them during the past week. We can also discuss any problems. We also have a team chat and that’s another way we can easily share work information.”

Moutaz Alsbeini

Production, DMK Zeven plant

“I came here at the age of 15 as a refugee from Damascus, Syria, fleeing war. That was a tough journey. We went to Greece in a rubber dinghy, then took the bus and walked through Macedonia, Slovenia, Croatia and Austria, to reach Germany and settle in a home for refugees. I attended German classes for a year, then applied for a job. Indirectly, I found my way to DMK in Zeven, working as an assistant in the cream cheese dairy. The first days were really tough – I didn’t know anyone, I couldn’t convey what I wanted to say and I felt overwhelmed. Luckily, that’s changed! Despite my difficulties at first, I now really feel part of the team. My colleagues say that, too. They and my direct manager helped me get a permanent job in DMK’s production. Without them, it would have been much harder. Now, I’m a real team player. I enjoy the work and the challenges help me grow. I can now afford a car and can even put some money aside to help my family in Syria. I miss them a lot. I haven’t seen them in five years.”

Kevin op de Weegh

Product Manager, DOC Dairy Partners, Hoogeveen

“I’m a product manager at the Hoogeveen plant, and right now, I’m working from home. I make sure that our customers get products that meet all of their expectations. To do that, I need to have a complete overview of the production processes for cheese, recipes, packaging, quality, information and planning. I’m always looking for ways to improve our products. I’m also responsible for changing our packaging to make it more sustainable. New synergies are helping anchor the change process underway at our company, for example we have a contract with Jumbo, a Dutch supermarket chain and number two in the retail trade. Our sales department has signed a multi-year contract for grated cheese and the budget allows us to produce the cheese at several plants, at the Georgmarienhütte and Kaatsheuvel sites, so we profit from working together with our colleagues in Germany. When it comes to teamwork, all I can say is that we managed to solve a software problem in SAP that was causing problems in several areas. It just took a video conference with a colleague to fix it, quickly and easily. That’s true teamwork – fast and direct.”

Voices from throughout the company

Good collaboration is possible, even when times are tough.

Silke de Kaste
GGBS, Team Coordinator, Accounts Payable Department

„For accounts payable, I can say we’ve really grown into a solid team. What’s important is to make sure you consider and include new colleagues right from the outset."

Kevin op de Weegh
Product Manager, DOC Dairy Partners, Hoogeveen

„When it comes to teamwork, all I can say is that we managed to solve a software problem in SAP that was causing problems in several areas. It just took a video conference with a colleague to fix it, quickly and easily. That’s true teamwork – fast and direct.“

Stephanie Behnen
farmer from Groß Berßen

“Good collaboration is really important in our operation. In a team, everyone can share their skills and abilities while simultaneously learning from others."

Auke Witteveen
head of wheyco project office, Hoogeveen

„If you look at the change of DVN to wheyco, you can see how well our new teamwork approach is going: We worked together with the marketing department so that all the logos in Hoogeveen say “wheyco” now!“

Wilfred Walstra
Senior Sales Manager Retail, DOC Dairy Partners

„In my opinion, cooperation means that we as a team are all pursuing the same goal. We can only achieve our goals as a company if we put our customer first. We can only do that by working together as a team.“

Lamee Houry
Dairy Laboratory Assistant

„People’s friendliness, staff and management alike, has done me a lot of good overall. Things were hard before I got here. I fled the war in Aleppo, Syria, in 2015, and reached Bonn 30 days later. Someone I knew helped me to attend a language course and then I got the job at DMK."

Stephanie Behnen

farmer from Groß Berßen

“Good collaboration is really important in our operation. In a team, everyone can share their skills and abilities while simultaneously learning from others. That support and collaboration optimizes operation and strengthens that sense of “we” while at the same time, each person can continue their development.”

Auke Witteveen

head of wheyco project office, Hoogeveen

“I coordinate a range of investment projects and ensure all the departments work together in harmony. It’s important that our projects are completed on time, within budget and at the highest quality level. We’re working together with the Altentreptow plant right now, and together, we’re reshaping working processes, for example advanced process engineering – we’re talking about that with our research and development colleagues in Hamburg. And at wheyco, we’re working on some potential innovations for the whey market. What’s important is that we need to keep an eye on investments in wheyco/DMK Group so we don’t run over budget and are sure to achieve our targets. If you look at the change of DVN to wheyco, you can see how well our new teamwork approach is going: We worked together with the marketing department so that all the logos in Hoogeveen say “wheyco” now!”

Wilfred Walstra

Senior Sales Manager Retail, DOC Dairy Partners

“My job is full of possibilities and challenges. As a sales manager, I focus on strategies to implement new processes, together with the company and our customers. When teams from throughout the company all work together, that’s a success. I’m always happy when I see the finished products on supermarket shelves, thanks to a successful launch. I find it’s really important to work together effectively with new colleagues, also outside my area of work. A good network really helps throughout the entire production chain. In my opinion, cooperation means that we as a team are all pursuing the same goal. We can only achieve our goals as a company if we put our customer first. We can only do that by working together as a team.”

Lamee Houry

Dairy Laboratory Assistant

“I started my second year as a trainee a few months ago. Before that, to qualify, I’d done an internship at DMK. I was really enthusiastic, and obviously did well enough that my supervisor asked whether I wanted to start training as a dairy industry laboratory technician. People’s friendliness, staff and management alike, has done me a lot of good overall. Things were hard before I got here. I fled the war in Aleppo, Syria, in 2015, and reached Bonn 30 days later. Someone I knew helped me to attend a language course and then I got the job at DMK. I felt insecure about my language skills at first but that’s no longer a problem, and I can have conversations in German without any major difficulties. And at work, I don’t feel as though I’m doing everything wrong any more. I do still miss my parents and my siblings, that won’t change. But it does me good to feel more and more like I’m part of the team at DMK.”

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