“I make sure that the apprentices are fit for all challenges”

With hindsight today the now 63-year-old can say, “In my career I often achieved what was seen as ‘impossible’ at the time. Above all, moving between different functions – from Controlling to Marketing to finally Human Resources in Personnel Development. Cross-functional moves like these, which are often required today, were considered highly unusual back then. I’ve always been driven by curiosity and my desire to develop further. For my generation I was considered a ‘rare bird’ at the time – and it was a completely different age, also in social terms. For instance, when I started my career, I was asked if I wanted to be addressed as ‘bachelor Miss’ Bendix. And it was definitely unusual for a woman to study Business Administration at an international elite university or to go abroad,” she says, looking back on her career.

After several years as Head of Personnel Development, following a reorganization in the HR Area Daniela made her definitive internal sidestep at Beiersdorf: “I was given the opportunity to become Head of Vocational Training and so I switched to this position – a job I still thoroughly enjoy today, because helping people develop has always strongly appealed to me. It is a great enrichment for me to watch the development of apprentices over the three years of their training, and it is really enormous for some of them – this spurs me on and is deeply gratifying. Guiding people on their career path is one of the greatest jobs ever for me!”

For Daniela, it is important to develop herself and to promote development in others. “Along the way,” she has therefore continued to develop her skills for this over the past few years: “I’ve qualified as a Business Coach and Mediator, studied Theology at night school and also work as a Mindfulness and Meditation Trainer at Beiersdorf.” Through personal experience she developed an interest in mindfulness very early on. For her, it helps address the question of “What can I do as a person to cope with life’s many and varied challenges? In answering this, I find meditation to be an extremely valuable tool.” 

Daniela also passes on her experience and personal tips to every year’s fresh intake of apprentices whom she and her Vocational Team prepare for professional life year in, year out. Daniela always has new ideas up her sleeve, whether it’s mindfulness exercises or special taekwondo training. “Young people are very receptive to mindfulness elements. I believe that this topic is becoming increasingly important, especially in today’s increasingly fast-paced world. Companies are subject to constant change,” she adds, “and our job is to get the apprentices fit for the company, its transformation and all the challenges that the future may hold. With my experience I can pass on a lot to them in this respect.”

“I am convinced that we have achieved a genuinely high quality level with our vocational training. We train according to Beiersdorf’s needs and give people with diverse backgrounds or ‘less-than-perfect’ CVs a chance. In our selection of apprentices we also pay close attention to ensuring a good fit with our company culture and this delivers very good final examination results – every year we are pleased to receive top honors from the Chamber of Commerce. We also have very high employment rates after they complete training.” Additionally, she and her team see it as vital to stay up to date with regard to identifying the right professions to support the strategic orientation of the company, the most effective training methods and how to best approach future apprentices: “In Vocational Training Marketing today, almost everything is digital. We are wherever our target group is – for example on TikTok, Jodel, Snapchat and Pinterest – and every year there are new channels where our target group is active. Even though I might not maintain a personal profile on all these, I use them to communicate my interest topics and offer potential apprentices a taste of Beiersdorf.” If anyone thinks that nothing in vocational training has changed and that the same process is repeated year after year, Daniela is quick to counter this illusion: “New minds always mean new challenges too. What’s more, we always keep our finger on the pulse with our offers. For example, a year ago we added the new ‘degree-integrating’ training model to our program: This enables our apprentices to complete a combination of vocational training and Bachelor’s Degree – so far a unique and highly contemporary approach, in my opinion. And the response is really good!”