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Since 2023, Boels Austria has had three branches with women running the show. The branch in Imst was the first in 2020 with Lisa Lechleitner. Since March 2023, a second female-run branch has been added in Klagenfurt with Branch Manager Eva-Maria Ferlic, and most recently even a third in Wiener Neudorf with Monika Kiraly at the helm.
There are entire library sections devoted to explaining why diversity at the workplace leads to more productivity. It’s a mindset that we are proud to give further shape to in Austria. Speaking of diversity… We have an impressive 13 different nationalities working together!
Ambitious diversity goals
This view is confirmed by Carmen ten Berge, sustainability specialist at Boels. “We don’t have very many women in operational roles at Boels yet, which is partly due to the limited awareness of the opportunities we offer and the industry we operate in. However, we are taking a strong approach here with employer branding and a newly created ‘diversity’ project team. Carmen explains that the board has set ambitious targets. “By 2025, we want to have 17% women in operations; we are now at 10%. For management roles, that bar has been set even higher at 25% by 2025, where we are now at 11%. Sure, there is still a lot of work to do in that area, but I have high hopes that it will succeed.”
We also take facilities for women into consideration when building new branches in Austria.” Currently, of the one hundred and thirty Austrian colleagues, ten are women. Boels Austria’s ambition is to get this number up to twenty. “Now it’s just a matter of finding them. It won’t be down to salary and facilities.”
“A customer came in the other day who was, shall I say, stubborn. We normally explain how a machine works. No, I don’t need any help! After 15 minutes, he hadn’t moved the machine one centimetre but he still refused to ask us. “
Branch Manager at Imst, Lisa Lechleitner (24), and her assistant Tamara Dobler (28) support this view. “We really love the work we do. The personal attention as well as the extras we receive on our birthdays or at Christmas is quite unique. And we haven’t even started on the variety in the work we do.”
Trust
Lisa believes that trust is very important for success. “I was given this from the start. I am someone who can work independently. I come from a farm where I taught myself how to operate machinery. It was déjà vu when I joined Boels.”
In Tamara Dobler’s view, good listening skills and empathy are typical traits a woman brings to the table. “We tend to listen better and give room for other views. Men often know everything better, and that’s how we end up doing it! But that’s not always the best way.”
Can-do attitude
The women in Imst can really hold their own. Last summer, Lisa and Tamara were on their own for several weeks without a technician. “We did everything we could then. Yes, we can do a lot and are quite handy.” This can-do attitude, which is so characteristic at Boels, is absolutely apparent in Imst, too.
Where’s the manager?
Despite this mindset, both women sometimes still have to prove their worth. “Especially the older generation isn’t open to being told how things work by a woman. They walk into our depot and the first thing they ask is: Where’s the manager? Or they walk straight to a man in the workshop.” But these women aren’t easily discouraged.
“A customer came in the other day who was, shall I say, stubborn. We normally explain how a machine works. No, I don’t need any help! After 15 minutes, he hadn’t moved the machine one centimetre but he still refused to ask us. So we let him sweat a bit more and then finally gave him some assistance. Luckily, most people are different and think it’s pretty cool what we can do and what we know.”
