Kira Mauß

This month we would like to introduce you to Kira Mauß. She is HR Manager at envelio since October 2019.

Before joining envelio, Kira gained valuable experience in the areas of recruiting and talent management, which help her in her role at envelio. Kira enjoys traveling, practicing yoga and is also a yoga teacher herself in her spare time.

Kira’s tasks at envelio:

Kira’s tasks are very multifaceted. She is responsible for all strategic and operational HR processes. She also manages recruiting, HR development and supports change and development processes in the company.

She is constantly in close coordination with the management team, as the strategic corporate goals are always directly linked to the HR goals

We interviewed Kira to learn more about her experiences working in the tech industry:

Why are you a benefit for envelio and in general for the tech industry?
I feel completely at ease in our very fast-moving and volatile environment. I like to work efficiently and in a solution-oriented manner, focusing on people and their various strengths. We really get things moving in our industry, and that gives me great pleasure.

My previously gained experience and way of working help me to map the many different facets of my area of responsibility at envelio. I enjoy working strategically and conceptually, but at the same time I have the empathy and flair to identify individual needs in different situations. In my role in HR management, it is often necessary to represent the perspective of the management team and at the same time the perspective of the employees. My strength is understanding the interests of both sides and combining them in a profitable way.

I am convinced that diverse teams at all levels make organizations better. In my previous job in an international consulting firm, I was already committed to diversity and I’m looking forward to taking this further with very different challenges at envelio.

How would you describe a typical working day?
My working days are always very different: I have a lot of meetings and therefore need a certain structure for my own work. I always start at the same time in the morning, never without my coffee. I set myself time blocks for important strategy topics so that I can work in a focused manner. In the office, I particularly enjoy the conversations in between meetings. I often notice that in my position it is important to be present and to give space for conversation. I have missed that very much in the current situation since the beginning of the pandemic.

Why are you working in the tech industry?
My decision to work in the tech sector was rather random. However, I made a very conscious decision to work for a company that supports the energy transition. It was important for me to be able to identify with the product and to work for a company whose values I share.

How did you find envelio?
Looking for a new challenge, I made a conscious decision to leave my old job and initially gave myself time. I made a six-month trip through India, Southeast Asia and New Zealand and realized my dream of becoming a yoga teacher. I asked myself where I find meaningfulness for myself and how I can make a meaningful contribution. At envelio I can make a difference and I have the courage to contribute my own experiences and initiate changes.

How do you come into contact with technology in your position?
Since I started, I have learned a lot of new things about the energy industry and power grids from colleagues. Especially at the beginning, I benefited from the many interviews in recruiting. With every interview and every company presentation, I was able to learn a little more about our product from different experts at envelio.

In our work in recruiting, it is important to understand that tech employers need to position themselves much more strongly and promote themselves in a certain way to candidates. It is important for me to understand the activities and requirements of all roles at envelio in order to help shape development processes.

How would you describe the corporate culture at envelio?
Open, approachable and at the same time performance-oriented with the common vision of accelerating the energy transition with our platform. The motto “work hard, play hard” sums it up pretty well, because we also have a lot of fun together at work. I am proud that we have been able to increase the proportion of women at envelio, because each and every one of us contributes to making the interaction even more cordial.

How has the corporate culture changed?
Every company wins through better processes. In addition to our core competence in software engineering, more and more experts for various specialist areas have joined us over time and now enrich envelio on many levels. In the HR area, we have renewed or completely redesigned many processes since I joined the company and have placed a stronger focus on feedback, communication and development.

Why should women apply to envelio?
Diverse teams work more creatively and deliver better work results. At envelio, there are simply too few women to speak of a balanced ratio in our teams. You can expect an exciting work environment, a wonderful team and the opportunity to promote your own growth.

What were your challenges getting into tech?
Because of my position, I had a lot of interaction with different people from the various divisions right from the start. By listening carefully, asking questions and learning by doing, I have acquired a lot of knowledge. If I have questions, I ask them directly. In order to learn, it’s important to network and find the right people to talk to.

Where do you see challenges for women in tech?
In my view, the problem of the low proportion of women in tech is structurally anchored and historically grown. The distribution of students in STEM and tech degree programs clearly shows that the promotion of diverse competencies has received too little attention in our education system. Many young people (of all genders) receive too little support in developing their diversity of strengths.

In my opinion, it also plays a big role that certain gender roles and stereotypes are firmly anchored in our society. This should be talked about more. The most important thing is that everyone has the same opportunities.

In my opinion, the real challenge is attracting great female talent to young companies like us in the first place. Many companies have understood too late how to address different target groups with their needs. And here it’s explicitly not about speaking a particularly soft language or choosing different hues, but about taking women seriously in their competencies.