As recruiting new staff becomes increasingly difficult, Kräuter Mix bucks the trend with its long-serving employees
“For the entire 43 years I’ve worked here, I’ve always enjoyed what I do,” says Anita Zwinkau, summarizing her experience at the company. Zwinkau, who worked in the Packing & Technical Center, is now retiring, joining the ranks of hardworking employees like logistics manager Thomas Zehnder and electrician Thomas Stiele who have remained loyal to Abtswind-based Kräuter Mix for some four decades or more. However, it’s not just at retirement that Kräuter Mix recognizes its long-serving employees.
Every month, the company makes a point of recognizing employees who have been with the manufacturer of air-dried herbs, vegetables and spices for 10, 20, 25 or more years. Employees like Tina Kautler, who has been responsible for marketing at Kräuter Mix for 20 years. To this day, she values “the family atmosphere and the trust the company places in me and my work.” In fact, “on average, our employees have been with us for 11 years,” explains Sabrina Klinger, head of HR at Kräuter Mix. Considering the company’s considerable growth over the last ten years, including a 45 percent increase in staff to around 480 employees, and that many new hires have been made, the average length of service carries even more weight at over a decade.
Tina Kautler (centre) has been responsible for marketing at Kräuter Mix for 20 years; Silke Wurlitzer (left) from the Kräuter Mix management team and HR Manager Sabrina Klinger (right) join in the toast to her company anniversary.
Employee development and appreciation
So how is Kräuter Mix bucking the current trend of high employee turnover? “Here in the HR team, alongside our efforts to recruit new skilled workers, our current focus is employee retention and development” explains Sabrina Klinger. “We have a loyal workforce who benefit from outstanding benefits, such as 40 percent tax-free night shift bonuses, cycle to work schemes, fitness options and joint activities. We place huge value on employee development, both personally and professionally, which is why the company’s own in-house training platform, Mix Campus, is playing an increasingly important role.”
Kräuter Mix also has some 25 trainees and dual work-study students, who enjoy strong prospects from the start: the company retention rate is usually around 90 percent. This gives not only young career starters but also those reskilling the chance to join the company or make a fresh start. This is the case, for example, for Rüdiger Holdren, who is back in the classroom at the age of 45. Since 2023 he has been retraining as an electrician with the support of Kräuter Mix.
Getting stuck in and doing a ‘man’s job’
After originally working in herb drying in the 1980s, Anita Zwinkau switched to the packing and sorting station, where she had to handle some weighty sacks. “I was used to hard work and enjoyed working the three-shift system with my male colleagues,” recalls Zwinkau, looking back with a touch of nostalgia. She remembers how she had to get used to working in the Packing & Technical Center where the teams were predominantly made up of women.
What remained true until the very end was that she always pitched in wherever she was needed: in packing, on the bag forming, filling and sealing machine or sorting by hand. This quality soon earned Zwinkau the recognition and respect of her colleagues and managers. Even in retirement, she admits she’s isn’t planning a much slower pace of life, and thanks to her qualifications in agricultural housekeeping, she always finds something to do!
