Selling paint, wallpaper or screws - in Turkish, Romanian, Albanian or Japanese? No problem at the Toom Baumarkt DIY store in Griesheim. More than half of the 58 employees have roots outside Germany - there are more than 20 nationalities in the store. This is not only helpful for customers from all over the world. The diversity is also a major benefit for the colleagues at the store.
What is it like to work together in such a nationally and culturally diverse environment? Semi Bourigua (30), store manager at the Toom Baumarkt DIY store in Griesheim, and Maximilian Singh (32), technical team leader, told us.
one: Semi and Maximilian, 20 nations with 60 employees in a single Toom store - that sounds like a record. What does that mean for working with your customers?
Semi Bourigua : Our language skills are worth their weight in gold in our store. We speak Turkish, Arabic, Romanian, Albanian, English, Japanese, and to some extent Thai, Italian, Greek and Spanish... There's hardly a customer who can't be understood!
Maximilian Singh: We see the world from many angles and can therefore better cater to our customers with different nationalities. Thanks to our international team, we are able to understand many of our customers' ways of thinking and idiosyncrasies. They sense this, feel safe and understood by us and sometimes share personal stories. This allows us to deal with cultural and social aspects. This is always enriching, but of course sometimes sad or thought-provoking.
one: Why "sad" - do you have an example?
Maximilian Singh: For example, when customers tell us that broken German is sometimes still a major barrier at public offices and doctors, and help is sometimes even refused.
one: You say that customers benefit from the multinationality of your market - and vice versa?
Semi Bourigua: Conversely, we as a market also benefit from it, of course, because customers like to come back - and maybe even bring new customers with them.
one: What does your internationality mean for teamwork?
Semi Bourigua: We see our diversity as a great asset to the team. We learn a lot about our different cultural backgrounds by talking to each other, including about private topics and experiences. And also about the culinary highlights: Every now and then, someone brings a home-made sweet or dish - totally exciting and usually very tasty!
Maximilian Singh: It's also important for us in the team to be considerate of each other. Whether it's a colleague who is fasting and therefore works a little slower or needs more support on hot days. We also always try to find a good solution for everyone when it comes to family matters, which are more important in other cultures than in ours and may involve more absences. We integrate our colleagues and don't leave them out. Everyone has their own value and is important.
