Alpinetrek has developed from a start-up to a permanent fixture within the European outdoor market. Around 650 employees now work in areas including marketing, customer service, logistics, IT, finance, HR, purchasing, legal and sustainability, and make a significant contribution to the company’s success with their ideas and talents. Constanze tells us what it’s like to work for Alpinetrek. She works for Alpinetrek as Team Lead in Customer Relationship Management, where she helps to ensure a good rapport between Alpinetrek and its customers through a variety of measures, both large and small. In this interview, she gives us an insight into the Alpinetrek work environment and reveals how she manages to balance her family and her job.
What made you decide to work at Alpinetrek? What was it like to start working there?
I had already shopped at Alpinetrek once or twice. I was very impressed by the expert advice I received on running shoes from one of the customer service advisors over the phone. But, I wasn’t sure if I would really feel comfortable at a purely online retailer. During the initial interviews, however, it became clear how important customer relationship management and customer loyalty are to Alpinetrek, and so one thing led to another. Apart from the professionally interesting position, another decisive factor for me was the fact that Alpinetrek has an active commitment to sustainability. This issue has become increasingly important to me, especially since the birth of my children – so it is great to work for a company that takes responsibility – both in terms of environmental and climate protection, as well as social and community issues. It was a really exciting time for me when I first started. Before joining Alpinetrek, I worked at a large company and therefore first had to get used to the relaxed and family-like atmosphere here at Alpinetrek. However, with the help of many friendly and outgoing colleagues, that happened quite quickly. I felt welcome here from day one – and that without being a professional climber (laughs). You just immediately find that you have a lot in common. Because what everybody at Alpinetrek shares is a passion for the outdoors.
The Covid-19 pandemic has changed the norms of the workplace, Alpinetrek included. Mobile working and hybrid team meetings are now standard. How do you organise your daily work and the cooperation with your team in light of this?
I highly value the hybrid working model at Alpinetrek. It really helps me to balance my family and work life. I work almost full time and have two small children. This actually works out well, because I always have the possibility to work from home. However, I also like to come to the office and exchange ideas with my colleagues on site. Since everybody in my team makes use of the hybrid working arrangement, we set aside a day for each other every month. Besides that, we try to see each other once a week in different groups. Due to our hybrid working model, we have to be more proactive in how we grow together as a team. But this is where Alpinetrek offers great opportunities: through cross-departmental forums, internal team meetings, as well as a pleasant, almost homely atmosphere in the office.
As a mother of two, time must be a scarce commodity. How do you manage to balance your family and your career? And how does Alpinetrek support you in this?
My husband is a great source of support here – we share the responsibility for childcare. Aside from that, Alpinetrek offers a great deal of flexibility. I can largely organise my working hours in a way that suits me best, so that I can successfully manage both childcare and work. In other words, this means that I can leave at 3:30 p.m. without anyone looking at me funny. This might sound like a given, but in my experience, it is not standard practice with every employer.
And to sum up, can you tell us in three sentences why you enjoy working for Alpinetrek?
Alpinetrek is really trying to change things for the better. This applies to the topic of sustainability, but also to their employees. Sure, it’s not always perfect, but basically everyone here does their best to act responsibly and promote a positive work environment.
