“The fact that I was allowed to take on responsibility so quickly and can look after around 300 employees autonomously makes me very proud.”
Julia Fried has been working in our Human Resources department since March 2018, where she looks after around 300 employees as a HR Business Partner.
In an interview with us, she explains why she swapped MAPAL in Aalen for Altenstadt and what she treasures about her work.
Julia, what do you like most about your work?
I really value the fact that I have a wide area of responsibility here at MILLER and my superiors trust me to be able to work autonomously. Due to the wide range of tasks, the role of a HR manager is highly multifaceted and varied. Working with people is another aspect that I really love. And, of course, it is also particularly exciting to play an active part in new trends and projects that also bring digitalisation to HR, for example.
What are the greatest challenges in your role?
I have to deal with very different characters every day. I definitely see adjusting to the different needs and idiosyncrasies of the employees as a great challenge. I also work in the area of tension between the interests of the employees and those of the employer and I am permitted to reconcile them. Sometimes you need a certain amount of pragmatism and to work in a solution-oriented manner.
What is your everyday work like?
As I mentioned, I look after the employees and help them with all aspects of HR management – from recruitment of employees and various topics during their employment with us through to their exit. In addition, I take care of cross-company projects, often in collaboration with MAPAL in Aalen. In that sense, it certainly helps that I have a lot of personal contacts there from my studies.
Is there something that you are particularly proud of?
The fact that I was allowed to take on responsibility so quickly and can look after around 300 employees autonomously makes me very proud.
How would you describe the working atmosphere at our company?
In my opinion, there is an open, pleasant working atmosphere here that often extends into the private domain. For me personally, of course it is also nice that there are a lot of young motivated employees my age. I really like that.
Overall, people are very friendly with one another here in Altenstadt. You can see that among employees as well as between managers and employees. The utmost importance is attached to mutual support and trust. That is worth a lot.
Why did you decide to join us from headquarters in Aalen?
I completed my combined work and study course with a focus on human resource management at MAPAL in Aalen. Then the opportunity arose to join the Accounts department there. It was very interesting because in that time I was allowed to help supervise a number of group-wide projects. But, of course, my goal was to work in human resource management. So I jumped at the opportunity when it came up at MILLER in March 2018. And it was definitely the right decision!
Julia, thank you for talking to us.
Julia Fried
Education
Baden-Württemberg Cooperative State University (Duale Hochschule Baden-Wuerttemberg) course with MAPAL Dr. Kress KG in Aalen:
Business Administration – Industrial Management with a focus on human resources
First job after qualification
Employee in Accounts at MAPAL
Current position
HR Business Partner at MILLER
