Keeping the Team in Focus

Carmen Schwarzenberg has been the Inbound Team Leader in our Group’s Customer Service team since 1 November 2022. As a talented coordinator, she is responsible for ensuring that day-to-day operations run smoothly and that colleagues have ideal working conditions.

Carmen Schwarzenberg embarked on her professional career by training as a technical assistant in the IT sector. She then worked for 22 years in customer service in the logistics sector and as a client advisor. “For the last 10 years, I have been a group leader in customer service for various providers in the healthcare, automotive, energy, banking and (online) retail sectors, coordinating up to 200 people. This included various operational tasks and staff appraisals,” reports the 45-year-old.

After working in most of the company’s departments, she wanted to take on new challenges. “Customer service is my passion. I come from a ‘Bob the Builder’ family, my sister works in the trades, so I was always familiar with Schlau Crafts Markets and Hammer Speciality Stores. Communication both within the team and with customers is very important to me, which is what motivated me to apply to the Brueder Schlau Group of Companies.”

Responsible for the comprehensive coordination

“I have to make sure that everyone
in the team is always up-to-date and
has all the information they need
to provide customers with the best
possible service.”

Ms Schwarzenberg is now responsible for the comprehensive coordination of all matters relating to her team and establishing interfaces with the respective departments. “I have to make sure that everyone in the team is always up-to-date and has all the information they need to provide customers with the best possible service.” In addition to daily management, shift planning and ensuring that the service hotline is always staffed, good interpersonal relationships are also important. “We are scattered all over Germany, so it’s imperative that we can speak openly with each other and create a good working atmosphere, even from a distance,” she says.

Challenging and interesting

She particularly enjoys being involved in shaping processes, working together in a motivated team and further expanding customer service. “I like challenging and encouraging my colleagues. I respond to each individual. That’s important, especially because everything happens digitally and you don’t see each other much in person.” She cites team events, joint activities and digital team games as good opportunities to get to know each other better. Her extensive professional experience, particularly as a manager, has benefited her in her dealings within the team and was essential for the further expansion of customer service.

As team leader, Carmen highlights the employees in a particularly positive light. She felt well integrated right from the start and speaks of the warm and friendly working atmosphere. “The potpourri of so many different people I work with makes the whole thing particularly challenging and interesting. It motivates me every day anew to network with everyone and to achieve something as part of a team.