"The pajama times at the computer are over" - Hanna Hellenbroich-Schrader (Human Resources Management actori) in conversation with Katharina Pachta-Reyhofen.

 

Dear Katharina, you have been with actori for three years now, and a lot has changed in that time. You started as an intern in strategy consulting ... Now you are a consultant. What has changed since you started working for actori?
When I think about it, quite a lot - where do I start? First of all, actori has developed further in terms of its service areas. We are now increasingly advising in the areas of digitalisation and cultural real estate, for example. With the new areas, actori has also grown in terms of personnel, which is always nice because each new employee brings his or her personal experience to the team. In addition, actori has been increasingly implementing the topic of sustainability within the company since last year, which makes me personally particularly happy. Apart from that, I have of course learned a lot myself in the last few years.

Of course, every job likes to hear that. Do you think you were able to develop personally at actori? Tell me about it!
Absolutely! I have worked on a large number of projects in the last few years and no two issues or even institutions have been the same. For example, I have already advised museums, theatres, congress centres, festivals and even a monastery, each with its own unique challenges and issues. With each new project, I got to know new "tools" and was able to expand my skills. I am currently working with my team on a cultural plan for the Lusatian region. The project is a mixture of strategic analyses and a large participation process with a large number of actors from Lusatia. I am by nature an open-minded and cheerful person, so I am particularly pleased that I get to interact a lot with very different groups in the project and that I am taking over the complete moderation of some of the workshops.

That sounds exciting. I can imagine that in times of the pandemic, it's not all that easy with primarily digital moderation.
What does modern work mean to you in this context?
Let's put it this way, you have to change your mindset from analogue to digital and master the challenges that come with it. [Especially with such a multi-layered participation process as cultural development planning, online moderation must also be interactive. That's why at actori we work with modern online tools such as Mentimeter or Miro and use them to introduce participatory elements into large-scale events and facilitate joint work in the workshops. For me, modern working also means simply remaining flexible, always checking whether there are simpler solutions to actively involve participants in the joint work.

Surely it is not always easy to lead through an event without being able to read the gestures and facial expressions of the other people, is it?
That's true! But you have to trust in yourself and in the technology at that moment, and if Miro does go on strike, that's no drama either, but provides a short breather. In my experience, our customers are open to new digital "features" and motivated to learn something "new" - in the end, you always like to have your finger on the pulse.

Dear Katharina, I can see that the days of wearing pyjamas on the computer are over, but we will certainly be hearing from you at actori when it comes to moderation and participation! Thank you for the personal insight and good to have you with us.
My pleasure.

 

Team