Seven questions to our Human Resource Manager, Lena

Get to know Lena Kiehnle (Human Resource Specialist, Cologne office), written by Katharina Schlüter

Lena has been part of our HR team since November 2014 and she is the first point of contact for our employees. Time for a short interview – time for seven questions to our Avenga colleague!

Lena, what does a human resources specialist actually do?

First thing in the morning is to check the emails! There are always a few questions from colleagues, be it about payroll, vacation, or just general questions, which I answer first. Then it all depends on what I have on my calendar. My daily business includes many administrative tasks, keeping statistics and working closely with finance, controlling and our team leaders

In addition, we regularly have individual projects, such as the optimization of our onboarding process and our Welcome Day. We are expanding and have increasingly more new hires every month. So, we’d like to be able to properly welcome new colleagues. In the meantime, we have acquired a team of trainers who introduce new colleagues to the company on Welcome Day and show them what we do at Avenga. We also have a little “survival training” where we go through all the things you need to do every day – from applying for a holiday to operating our video conference system.

Colorful Berlin, cheeky Cologne, vibrant Frankfurt – and in the middle of it all is Avenga Germany. How would you describe our team?

We are definitely a motivated, open and young team, and always at the forefront of technology! We have a great team awareness. We like to work together as well as celebrate or do things together. There is also a lot going on within the individual teams. You can play table football or table tennis in between and go for a beer together in the evening. And then we have our joint lunch break groups: The noodle group, the kebab day and the fryday.

Benefits, Goodies & Co.: What do you like best?

I am totally excited about our gym! Although, I must admit that I was a slow starter trying it out. In the meantime, I get on the ergometer almost every day, at the lunch break, or just in between to get the blood circulation going again!

What shouldn’t be missing on your desk?

A cup of tea, fresh fruit, an inexhaustible assortment of notepads, and headphones with music.

What do you like doing most in your free time?

To be honest, I love being at home, on the little Icelandic horse farm where we live. Out in nature, with the animals – this clears the mind and is good for my soul. But of course, I also like being out with friends. We are also involved in the refugee center in the village. We regularly collect donations and organize excursions for the kids. This could be a day at the Cologne Zoo with a cable car ride, a day with ponies and picnic, a handicraft afternoon baking waffles, a Christmas party, or a day in the climbing hall.

Rock or pop?

Rock in all its variations – be it punk or indie rock. At the moment, Broilers and Kettcar are at the top of my playlist. The lyrics are mostly political and often speak from my soul. Going to concerts is a regular part of my schedule. There are some tickets for 2018 stuck on our fridge, including Kettcar, Broilers, and the Foo Fighters, of course.