cbs has over 22 locations internationally and this offers the opportunity for a flexible work-life globally. cbs employee Franziska Hempel took this offer and moved from Heidelberg to Finland without any hesitation. Franziska told us about her impressions and experiences that she gained from her time in Finland.
Franziska recently celebrated her 15th anniversary as a consultant at cbs. Before that, she completed her bachelor’s degree in business administration at the DHBW in Karlsruhe. During her studies she worked for a company as a sales assistant. There she was able to make her first contacts in her current field, including as a project manager for the introduction of a Customer Relationship Management system. During this implementation, she accompanied projects from beginning to end, from training the employees to the completion of the project. She enjoyed the subject so much that after graduating she started researching what else could be done with what she had learned. During this process she came across the cbs trainee program, which she then applied, and was ultimately accepted. Franziska completed her trainee program in 2008 in Heidelberg in CRM and the Sales & Distribution department. As a consultant, she supports customers in the areas of e-invoicing and rollout, as well as product development for e-invoicing. She has always been assigned to the Heidelberg office and is now based in Berlin.
Finland lives the Power of Orange
In 2021, she finally decided to move to Finland. There she wanted to gain further experience abroad in a small and new cbs branch and, among other things, “bring the cbs spirit to Finland”.
As Franziska moved to Finland in 2021, COVID-19 still had a significant impact on the office culture there. That’s why she mainly stayed in her home at the beginning and occasionally met with colleagues at the office. They tried to organize regular meetings there. Once the coronavirus situation had improved, it was agreed to come to the office twice a week, if possible, for a better exchange.
Mainly large international projects
The tasks themselves have basically not changed for Franziska in Finland. One reason for this is that there are still no purely Finnish projects on site. Instead, they were mostly large and international projects, or projects that had started in Germany. In addition, Franziska was already for the most part focused on her own projects and was able to continue them without any problems. During this she continued to focus on her tasks in the SD area and e-invoicing.
Franziska says that she had a great time in Finland. From her experience she can summarize that her stay abroad in Finland was very worthwhile as it is always great to be able to discover new places, try something new, and also get to know a new culture. What’s more, the nature there is simply amazing and beautiful. That’s why, apart from work, she also tried to travel around the country as much as possible. What stood out the most to her during her stay in Finland are the Finnish huts called “Mökki”. These are small cabins, usually made of wood, that you can book for your vacation. She herself traveled mostly in the Helsinki area to take in as much of the landscape as possible.
From Helsinki via Heidelberg to Berlin
After two years abroad in Finland, Franziska has now returned to Germany and moved to Berlin in March this year to be with her husband. She has been able to take home an incredible experience, along with the beautiful nature of Finland, and is grateful to have been on this journey.
