Susanne Weller is not a typical IT employee. “There are brains who are much happier with little social contact,” she says. What she means by this is that some developers are fulfilling an old cliché: They are proficient in programming languages, work at night, in a quiet room and even before Corona they reduced their contacts to the bare minimum. Although she has a wide range of programming experience, Susanne Weller says with a laugh: “I will never get to their level. I also like to talk. ”That makes the Tübingen-based translator a good translator: on the one hand the customers with their requirements and wishes for the software, on the other hand the programmers who are supposed to translate everything into zeros and ones. This is one of your tasks as a "Product Owner":Constantly improving a product with your team and thus increasing its value.

Susanne Weller got into programming indirectly through her pregnancy. As a biologist, she was no longer allowed to go to the laboratory and therefore wrote her doctorate on a theoretical topic, which is why she learned to program. She then founded a start-up with four colleagues in Oxford, led a team of 15 and, supported by a mentor, had many customer meetings. She learned how to make programs as simple as possible, for example for a social association whose clientele has hardly any computer skills. Or for UNICEF, for whom she developed an app in Nigeria that shows how vaccines can be effectively delivered to people. “It is becoming more and more important that software is customer-friendly. This includes clarity, design or colors, ”she says. The more comfortable users feel,the more motivating it is to start using new software or to use it regularly. This is called user experience in IT slang.

The image of the lonely nerd

She decided on the Swabian company IT Design a year ago for two reasons: Above all, she wanted to further develop an existing product in contact with customers. The company offers her the possibility with the cloud product "Meisterplan", with which customers can manage their project portfolio with a lean software solution. She is also enthusiastic about the corporate culture of the people of Tübingen: As a single parent, she can pursue her goals in her hometown with an above-average family-friendly company. Your six developers on the team are men. "Unusual for a company that has many trained female programmers," says Susanne Weller. “They also like to communicate.” That is why she feels comfortable with her colleagues and talks to customers with them.The image of the developer as a lonely nerd fits less and less into everyday work, she thinks.

Bee Andersen's way of working also contradicts the prejudices against their guild. While others are still dreaming of it, the insurance advisor turned her back on Germany in 2011. First in Thailand, now in Cyprus, she stayed true to her job and German customers. “While video or telephone advice was not common in the beginning, this is what most people want today,” says the 49-year-old, who used to drive around 40,000 kilometers per year in the car. Again and again she sat in strange people's living rooms on evenings to sell policies. “You often noticed that the clients didn't like it that I sat on the sofa and wanted to talk about health insurance while the kids romped around, the TV was on and dinner was on the stove.“Today, customers and consultants can schedule online advice in such a way that they have time and peace of mind.

"Classic prejudices no longer work"

Some interlocutors even switch off the camera during the presentation in order to protect their privacy.

So nowadays nobody has to travel to get competent advice.

“The job as an insurance broker has changed completely.

Classic prejudices no longer apply, ”says Andersen.

She appreciates working together in a network, online and regardless of location.

“This makes it possible that I only advise customers who are genuinely interested and whom I can help quickly and in a targeted manner.” Also nice: She outsources the time-consuming and bureaucratic processing of contracts to a joint back office.

She works with the specialist center for finance in Lippstadt. Owner Dieter Homburg is known in the health insurance industry. Because many interested parties approach Andersen on their own initiative, they do not have to deal with traditional cold calling or cleaning the door. A real gain in life and quality of life. And also financially lucrative: "Since I now only advise customers who come to us with a specific concern, the completion rate and, accordingly, the income is much higher than before." "In addition to the material gain, there is also personal appreciation and exchange colleagues share a currency that pays for their performance, ”says Homburg.