Interview ISG Training & Development, Part 1
Mag. Alfred Schaider – Trainer, Team developer, Coach
, +43 664 856 42 33
Alfred Schaider has been a trainer, team developer and coach at ISG Training & Development for 15 years.
In the first part of our interview series, he talks about the impact an early experience in a securities department has had on his career and to what extent the motto
‘Let’s make it happen’ is practiced within the department.
Mr. Schaider, please tell us something about your career.
My professional career began in the securities department of a bank. In this job I was responsible for counting old securities in a security vault. Some of my colleagues were quite unmotivated spending 8 hours a day in a basement room while our friends enjoyed the summer days in the swimming pool.
Through this job I realized that I had a different plan for my future work, especially considering I will spend almost a third of my life doing a job.
Therefore, my upcoming job should definitely make me happier and more satisfied. In the end, this position left a lasting mark on me and it was also the beginning of my coaching career.
Furthermore, I was active in management roles from an early age, for example as a team leader or in project management positions, including voluntary organizations. During my business administration studies, numbers were of secondary importance to me – I was concentrating on topics such as leadership, personnel development, international management, etc. In the course of time, further training followed, such as trainer, coaching, moderation, life counseling etc. 20 years ago I started working part-time, later full-time as a trainer, and in the meantime, I worked both independently and in a training center. In 2006 I discovered an ISG job ad on Jobpilot.
So, you came to ISG through a job ad?
Exactly. By the way, it is the only job I have ever applied for through an ad (laughs). A position as a team developer was advertised in the job advertisement. I applied and was invited to an interview with the managing director of the ISG Training & Development department, Herbert Steinhauser. After the first interview, I was allowed to complete an assessment center, where I had to prove my abilities and skills, from presentation to moderation. In the end, it worked for both sides, as the team trusted in my potential and experience. I am now part of a team that works together closely and exchanges ideas, which I am very happy about.
A trainer has to take part in an assessment center as well?
Yes, that is how we have been doing it. If you want to join the team, you have to prove your skills first. Of course, great attention is paid to how the respective candidate fits into the team.
The ISG has changed a lot since I have joined in 2006. At that time we had 70 employees worldwide with 7 trainers, today we are over 700 employees with 25 trainers in Austria and trainers in Germany, Switzerland and Hungary.
What do you like most about being part of ISG Training & Development?
I think that these aspects do not solely apply to ISG Training & Development, but to the entire ISG.
ISG is a dynamic and growing company and I personally like the fact that it is still managed by the owner. There are short ways within the group instead of corporate structures. The employees are trusted and we as trainers in particular have a lot of freedom to design.
It is all very straightforward and both the cross-departmental and cross-border collaboration works flawlessly. In addition, a professional but relaxed culture is cultivated.
Due to the way we work, we also work very closely within the coaching team. We sometimes look after our customers together and handle larger projects as a team, hence you must also know your colleagues very well. There is a continuous exchange of knowledge in which you always learn. I do not know any other institute that works like our department. Thanks to the permanent team, we also have the opportunity to plan overarching projects, for example with the personnel consultancy.
Since our focus is on the customer, we are always in contact with them. As a result, individual services can be offered: we pay attention to what the objective of our customer is, where the customer’s employees are and offer practice-oriented cooperation and training. ISG Training & Development pursues a very pragmatic approach. Our motto ‘Let’s make it happen’ can be implemented and brings sustainable benefits for our customers. This is reflected in our work and also in the feedback from our customers.
In the next part of the interview, Mr. Schaider talks about the changes that have gone hand in hand with the COVID-19 pandemic in the area of training & development and which new opportunities have been created in the process.
