“Every new employee takes part in a so-called value workshop as part of the onboarding process. Together, the co-workers focus on corporate values and draw up an analysis of strengths and weaknesses,” said Legeland and points to a big list of values on the wall with a caption underneath reading “Make Mistakes”. Legeland explained: “Allow yourself to make mistakes. Ideas have to be tried out, even if they don’t work.” The prototyping days allow plenty of time for errors and regularly lead to a three-day emergency at Xing when small teams of employees zone in on their ideas for projects. This has helped target universities and students, who are not often members of Xing, and develop the first products. Prizes are awarded for the best ideas. “Our employees value being able to contribute and develop their own ideas at work,” he added.
Dr. Max Neufeind, a Berlin-based new work expert, is also in favour of such a culture of innovation and noted: “The cultural and technological development of our society has become intertwined. Original achievements by staff in the era of artificial intelligence are increasingly important. Just following orders is not enough. Employees must want and be able to contribute fully – with their personalities, intuition, empathy and creativity.” On social days, staff at Xing have an opportunity to do social work and give something back to society. In the past, they have come up with an app that shows where sellers of “Hinz&Kunz” magazine for homeless people in Hamburg can be found.
