An interview with Klaus, Senior Consultant and Developer at QualityMinds

Klaus has a lot of experience with remote work, as he has been working 100% from home for 5 years and is a big fan of this working model. He occasionally visits customers or spends a few weeks on site for projects such as setting up and testing production lines. He currently works part-time four days a week and has Fridays off. Read here what he particularly likes about working from home and why used to sit in a suit at his working desk in his early home office days.

What originally drew you to Quality Minds and what is your current role?

Klaus: I decided to join QualityMinds after being introduced to the corporate culture. I particularly appreciate the flexibility of working from home and the support I receive for my professional development. I was looking for a balanced way of working and flexible models such as the part-time model that QualityMinds now offers me.

I started as a team leader for DevAgile. Now I am a Senior Consultant and Developer and work mainly on various customer projects. My focus is on customer consulting and the development of special test architectures, strategies and concepts as well as some test automation.

What advantages do you see in working from home and what made you choose this working model?

Klaus: I’m very happy working from home because I can immerse myself in my work in peace and quiet and no one takes me out of my flow. This is also reflected in my work performance, which has improved for me since I’ve been working from home. I have a lot of meetings every day, which would require me to retreat to a separate room in the office every time.

I’ve also had a project with a high level of confidentiality where it was agreed that no people from outside the project should listen in on important meetings. This is much easier to manage when working from home. In addition, working from home gives me the flexibility to organise my working hours freely and adapt to the time differences in international projects. In my last projects, for example, I had to deal with customers from overseas. Because of the time difference, I had a few hours off in the afternoon, was able to spend this time at home and then had another meeting with the customer in the evening when they were back at work.

Working from home has many other advantages for me. I can organise the background noise at my workplace at home however I want and don’t have to take anyone into consideration. For example, I need background noise to concentrate on my work, so I always have music playing on the side.

I also save myself two hours of commuting time every day and eat more healthily, as I can take more time for meals and watch what I eat. Thanks to my flexible part-time model, I can enjoy an extended weekend with a Friday off.

How do you organise communication with colleagues and customers from your home office?

Klaus: Despite the physical distance, personal dialogue and small talk don’t fall by the wayside. I always enjoy chatting about personal and non-work-related things in meetings with colleagues or we sometimes have a coffee huddle via Slack. Digital communication in remote mode requires a more structured approach, but it works very well with the digital communication tools like Slack that we use at QualityMinds.

I also find the communication and exchange with colleagues in the home office more organised. I can organise my working day more efficiently if I know in advance when I have a meeting with colleagues or customers. I prefer that to someone dropping by the office unannounced. It’s nice to meet colleagues in the office, but you’re always distracted, which has a negative effect on my productivity and concentration. Working from home, I can minimise distractions and maintain my focus for longer than in the office.

Were there any challenges that you encountered with regard to working from home and remotely?

Klaus: When I started working from home, my family first had to get used to me working from home. My children sometimes asked me for help with their homework, but I realised that such distractions were taking my attention away from my work. That’s why I came up with a little trick to send a visible signal to my family and myself that I’m working now. Every morning I dressed up in a suit and tie, even though I don’t really like this kind of outfit. But it helped because it signaled to my family that I wasn’t available for other things during my working hours and it was also a clear sign for me to switch into work mode now. But I no longer do that because my family has now understood when I work from home.

How do you structure your working day?

Klaus: I have lunch with my wife at a fixed time every day. I also try not to get distracted during my working hours, for example I don’t run to the door when someone rings or make private phone calls. It’s important for me to keep my private and professional lives separate and to maintain periods of concentration.

After work, I switch off my work laptop and leave it switched off – even urgent things can sometimes wait until tomorrow. You have to discipline yourself to keep to your working hours and not let yourself be tempted to do something else for work after work. If something is very important, I can always be reached via an ‘emergency channel’. To reduce this feeling of constant availability, it also helps me, for example, not to have our digital communication tool ‘Slack’ installed on my mobile phone.

You also talk about training programmes and personal development. What does Quality Minds offer you in this area?

Klaus: I plan to obtain further certifications in my area of expertise, such as the ‘ISTQB certification for testers’. I also enjoy using QualityMinds’ agile learning coaching, which encourages and supports me to learn on my own and also checks whether I have achieved my learning goals. These opportunities for personal and professional development are a great added value that QualityMinds offers me.

Conclusion

Klaus: Working from home allows me to concentrate on my work, have an organised exchange and more time for things that are good for me, which is why I am very happy with this working model.

Over the years of working from home, I’ve learnt to draw a clear line between work and private life, which allows me to work efficiently and with focus while still being there for my family. As soon as I finish work, I’m available for other things again.

You would like to learn more about the flexible working models at QualityMinds? Read the interviews with our colleagues Mario, Katja, Tobias, Richard and Lukas here.