“I want my children to develop a respect for nature”

As CMO at the Serviceplan Group, Felix Bartels is responsible for global marketing and sales. But when he’s not at work, you can find him digging, composting and harvesting in his own organic garden near Munich. In an interview, he tells us how much he and his family get out of his garden project, why he sometimes sits in trees with chickens and how having his own garden has given him a new perspective on his job and life in general.

You grow organic vegetables, keep chickens, make your own sausages and tend to a family garden – can you tell us how this came about?

It’s something I’ve had in me since I was a child, but it only bubbled up to the surface again recently. I grew up in a Bavarian village with four siblings and always had a close bond with nature and our animals. We had dogs, cats, horses and poultry, which really had an impact on me. When I moved back to the countryside with my wife after living in Munich for 10 years, I realized that this connection with nature and digging outside in the dirt was something that I’d really been missing! The final push to start growing our own vegetables came when our first daughter was born.    

Is that because you want to teach your children the same values that shaped you?

I have this somewhat romantic idea that it will give them a better understanding of the relationship between nature and the food we eat. The fact that food doesn’t actually come ready packaged and perfectly formed from a supermarket shelf, that you should have respect for nature and that having fresh vegetables on the table every day is something we should never take for granted. But also, that apples or cucumbers with a few brown marks, dents or blemishes are absolutely fine to eat, even if the birds have already had a little peck or if their shape doesn’t correspond to the norm. I think they can develop a better understanding if they get to experience all that for themselves and aren’t just hearing it from me. There are years when hail, frost or pests destroy the harvest partially or completely. And almost every year a goshawk will attack one of our hens, which I then have to put out of its misery. You need a lot of patience and, when growing crops, you also need to be able to come to terms with losses. 

But there are also those wonderful moments when everything goes to plan and the kids can eat the tomatoes straight off the vine, or the berries straight from the bush. And they also have so much fun with the animals. They give the chickens new names almost every day and try to train them – but to no avail so far! Only when we get to experience something like that for ourselves do we learn that it takes effort and also a bit of luck to have a good harvest, and that nature and how we treat it really matters. It’s also very important to me that my three children learn how much effort it takes to produce food, even just for a few salads or meals, and that the changing of the seasons means that we don’t normally have access to every type of fruit and vegetable all year round. 

In big cities in particular, fewer and fewer children really understand where their food comes from.

We should be educating children more about these issues, especially in today’s consumer society. A lot of kids these days don’t get to see how plants grow or even know that we need bees to pollinate flowers so fruits can grow from them. They don’t know that tomatoes don’t grow here in winter, or that it takes a lot of effort and patience to grow fruit and vegetables and keep animals. When I’m in the garden with my kids, I’ll often say: “Hey, look over there! There’s a bee on that flower, just wait and see what happens.’ And a few weeks later we’ll go and observe a new little fruit growing on it.

So, your garden project is obviously bearing fruits…

We definitely have a better understanding of the life cycle of nature and the significance of every single living creature, not just the children but our whole family. My son helps to shift the soil with his little wheelbarrow, and my daughter gets the manure from the horses’ stable to use as fertilizer. My youngest only gets to enjoy the actual fruits for now! But they all get to see what’s happening in nature with their own eyes. They now know where their food comes from and are learning a lot about nature and what they eat. It makes me so happy to see that they’re gradually managing to recognize the different species of plants, even when they aren’t bearing fruit, and also starting to take responsibility for the animals. 

Despite the experience you gained during your childhood, was the garden a new learning process for you too? 

Fortunately, it’s a constant learning process. And it’s also a challenge – sometimes it’s hard work, and sometimes it’s a real laugh! Like for example, when my first chickens refused to go into their coop at night and would hide in a tree. After getting home from work I would have to put on my headlamp and clamber up it to bring them down – much to the amusement of my next-door neighbor! The guy with the torch up the tree was soon the talk of the village! But that’s exactly what I like about it, the unpredictability of it all. Anything you do in nature is never going to go exactly to plan.

Does this close connection with nature also help you to see your work with different eyes?

Absolutely. On the one hand, the garden is an important sanctuary for me. Whenever my job gets stressful, or I get myself worked up about something, I just think to myself: get yourself out into the garden and you’ll soon have a different perspective on whatever is going on in your head. On the other hand, the garden is like a second workplace where I can calm my mind and achieve something with my own hands. I try to do everything myself and have built a collection tank for rainwater, raised beds and even our own chicken coop. Gardening work has reminded me to give things time. That’s also an important lesson in my job.

So, the garden has also taught you lessons that you can apply to your career?

Growing vegetables and keeping animals requires you to think long term and be patient, but also to just have a go at things and learn and improve all the time. It’s also about seeing things from different perspectives. Now I have a better understanding, for example, of farmers because their existence also depends on predators, pests and crop yields, as well as how they respect and treat nature. These principles can also be applied to managing a company. My job involves stakeholder management and discussions, also on an international level. I have to be flexible and adapt to unexpected changes, but without losing focus of the long-term goal. That’s also something that my garden teaches me. And I think it’s also a good thing for the brilliant people I work with that I have the garden and that it provides me with the work-life balance I need!

What would you advise someone who wants to follow in your footsteps and start growing their own vegetables?

If you want to keep animals, you need to make sure you’re well prepared and not just have the romantic idea that it will all work out, but also consider the practical aspects. You need to make sure that the conditions are right and that you have enough space. And check with your neighbors and also your partner so everyone is on the same page – is there a plan in place, for example, for the animals when you go on holiday or aren’t around one weekend? 

And as far as growing vegetables is concerned: get started and try it out for yourself! Just having a go at something, without being too fixated on the outcome, makes a very fulfilling change.

Thank you for talking to us, Felix!

“As soon as we take to the stage, we can sense a special kind of hype in the audience”

The House of Communication Vienna has its own special sound – thanks to Bence (aka Ben) Gerencsér, Business Development Manager, Facility Manager, drummer and founder of the Vienna HoC Band. In an interview he tells us which hurdles they are still having to overcome and what it’s like performing on stage for fellow colleagues.

Ben, you’ve put together a HoC band! Tell us more – how did it all come about?

I’ve been making music for 18 years, but when I started working at Serviceplan in 2018, I wasn’t playing in a regular band. The idea to form my own came about once I gradually found out who else in our Vienna team was into making music and interested in putting something together. Ideally, I would have liked to perform with a Serviceplan band at the next Christmas party, but we couldn’t make it happen that quickly. We made our debut at the first Christmas party after the pandemic – which, by the way, was a surprise performance because back then no one knew that the band even existed or who the members were...

And how did people react?

Fortunately, the feedback was really good, and since then we’ve alternated with the Munich Serviceplan Band to perform on the huge stage at our CICC OFF event. And we also performed at another two Christmas parties in Vienna. All our gigs have been fantastic, but the most memorable one is the last Christmas party on a boat on the Danube Canal in Vienna – it was such an amazing atmosphere, and the setting was so unique. 

How would you describe your sound? What style of music do you play?

Our band is made up of two lead singers, one man and one woman – which is great because that means we can cover a wider repertoire – along with a guitarist, bass player, keyboarder and myself, the drummer! To begin with, we focused more on rock and punk, but these days we also throw in a bit of pop. Since we formed the band, our line-up has more or less stayed the same so we’re definitely a tried-and-tested ensemble by now.

Would you describe yourselves as a classic cover band?

A cover band, yes, but I wouldn’t use the word classic because we put our own twist on the songs. Our style is funky and rocky. One thing we’ve learnt when choosing the songs we perform is to appeal more to the partygoers in the audience rather than just playing our own favorites. As a result, we’ve also added hits by the Backstreet Boys, MGMT and The Weeknd to our set list because a lot of people know them well and they’re perfect for parties. And that turned out to be a good idea because they’re all brilliantly produced tracks. If someone had told me a few years ago that I’d be playing songs by Britney Spears one day, I probably would have laughed to be honest. But it’s definitely been worth leaving my comfort zone. Basically, I cover a huge bandwidth of styles because as well as the HoC Band, I’m involved in another two music projects as a drummer, producer and multi-instrumentalist and we play everything from rock to electro.

I bet it’s a great feeling being able to get your colleagues up dancing…

Of course – that’s the best feedback we can get as a band. As soon as we take to the stage, we can sense a special kind of hype in the audience because they know that, in our everyday lives, we are all part of the same company! And people often tell us that it’s much more exciting to see us up there rather than an unknown cover band that’s been hired for the evening. That also contributes to the great atmosphere at our gigs.

But you have a completely different role in your day job...

Oh yes, I started out as an Office Manager, but eventually ended up taking on more and more responsibilities. Together with a colleague, I am now part of the Client Development team, and I’m also a Facility Manager here in Vienna. Both divisions are working flat out and there are actually quite a few overlaps in that we need both creative solutions and strong teamwork. There are always new projects that I can get involved in, but it’s precisely this variety in my work that I enjoy – that’s what keeps the job challenging and varied.

Have you had any obstacles to overcome as a band?

We still do because our biggest challenge has been the whole-time management aspect. Two of our members are managers who obviously have very busy schedules. That’s also why we often start planning our rehearsals months in advance so we can find dates when all six of us can take part. We first discuss which songs we want to play and then we get together to rehearse once to twice a week. Recently we’ve only been managing to meet up in the evening after work because it’s difficult to get away for a few hours at lunch, even though it’s a lot of fun.

Does your passion for music influence your work in any way?

On a professional level, music has taught me over the years how important it is to be well prepared, something that also really helps me in my professional role. Music also teaches you to be creative and to work as part of a team. To achieve harmony in a band, all members have to be perfectly in tune with each other and contribute their own individual strengths. This is something that can also be applied to our professional collaboration and the development of new projects.

And are there any overlaps on a personal level?

I would say that combining music and work allows me to have a deeper relationship with my colleagues. We’re no longer just work colleagues – it has since developed into a real friendship. When you’re in a band together, you talk about totally different things and get to know the people behind their professional roles. We all work in very different positions and are from very different age groups, which is actually a really enriching experience. And where else can you have more fun with your colleagues than in rehearsals and on stage? That’s something I haven’t experienced in any other company.

Thanks for taking the time to talk to us, Ben!

We are thrilled to share some exciting news – our very own Christina Paulus made the Ironman Triathlon in Hawaii! Congratulations! You have surpassed yourself!

For those who may not be familiar, the Ironman Triathlon is one of the most grueling endurance races in the world, consisting of a 2.4-mile (3.86 km) swim, followed by a 112-mile (180.25 km) bike ride, and culminating with a full marathon run of 26.2 miles (42.20 km). It's an event that tests not only physical strength but also mental fortitude, resilience, and unwavering determination.

Christina embodies the true spirit of determination and persistence. Not once, not twice, but three times she faced the challenge of qualifying for the Ironman in Hawaii. And now, in the current year, her unyielding dedication has paid off as she secured her well-deserved place in the Ironman competition. She has been juggling her professional commitments with an intensive training regimen, demonstrating her remarkable time management skills and unwavering determination. Her dedication to both her work and her personal growth is truly inspiring.

Congrats, Christina - you did it!

Every Farewell is a New Beginning

After more than 20 years, Katy Röder-Pergelt is leaving the House of Communication Munich to take on a new challenge: actively supporting families of critically ill children. This career change is the result of a long personal journey

Dear Katy, since 2001 you have been an integral part of the Serviceplan Group. Surely, a lot has changed for you professionally and personally during this time?

You could say that. On one hand, because at Serviceplan I was responsible for everything in print production, anything you can print and touch. In my role, I managed projects and oversaw the execution of various print initiatives. This included everything from design and material selection to the final production of catalogs, promotional materials, and TWELVE magazine. This department has seen incredible changes over time, in terms of techniques, scopes, and materials. So, the learning never stopped. At the same time I raised two wonderful boys, and with my second husband, we are now a family of six with four children. A few years ago, I began volunteering at a hospice.

An involvement that has now guided your new career path. How did you get involved in this?

Long ago, I actually wanted to study medicine, but that wasn't possible for health reasons. Still, I've always felt a certain connection to the profession. When cancer became an issue in our family, and I realized how unsupported people feel in these existential situations, it became clear to me that I wanted to engage in this area. Later, I found out that a residential hospice was being built nearby. I volunteered and eventually completed my training in end-of-life care, which is required in Bavaria, in 2019.

Do you think that death gets too little attention in daily life because we prefer to run away rather than face the facts?

Oh yes, that's certainly the case. Death is neglected in our culture, and dealing with grief and loss often doesn't get the space it needs. Many people feel they have to quickly get back to functioning, whether after a serious illness or the loss of a loved one. Additionally, many don't know how to appropriately interact with those affected.

Is that also due to fear of the unknown?

Definitely. Fear causes people to turn away rather than towards. Yet, it would often be a great help just to be there and listen. The high pressure to perform and the expectation to keep functioning make it very difficult to deal with these existential issues. That's why I think it's important that we raise more awareness and show that death and grief are part of everyone's life.

Soon, you will ensure that this awareness gets more attention yourself, as you will soon be managing a Ronald McDonald House.

Exactly, so a farewell is also ahead for me, which, despite many wonderful years here, was a very conscious decision to combine my social commitment with my professional experience. At the Ronald McDonald Houses, families of critically ill children find a temporary home near the clinic. In my position as manager, I will ensure that families find a real retreat where they can experience support, comfort, and community. The top priority is to create an environment of trust and empathy, so they have the space to deal with the difficult situation as peacefully and dignified as possible. Part of the job will also involve fundraising, generating enough donations to keep the operation running, as the facilities are donation-funded.

Has your new career direction impacted your personal environment?

When I started the volunteer work, my younger son came to me and asked, “Mom, are you going to be sad often now?” So, it was important to explain in a child-friendly way that, despite the naturally sad experiences, a hospice can also be a place of life, love, and laughter. Fundamentally, this activity has made me more humble and reminded me of a very simple truth: those who are ill have only one wish, to be healthy again and live life. This perspective is something I try to pass on to my children.

Despite your conviction, does your work sometimes feel difficult?

Of course, I also sometimes feel afraid; that’s part of it, and I do shed tears over certain situations. The feeling of empathy is something I never want to lose or become desensitized to. I gain insight into very different circumstances, different families, different illnesses, everything is always different, and you have to adjust to each person anew. But that’s precisely what’s important: that families are cared for in a way that respects their situation and allows everyone to learn to accept life’s sad aspects from their individual perspective. The fear can be managed with the appropriate experience. This is something we, as a society, can also learn to do better in everyday life.

You have experienced firsthand what end-of-life care can look like at Serviceplan, with a dear colleague of ours who passed away a few years ago.

Caring for Uta, who was a close colleague and tragically fell ill with ALS at a young age, was indeed a profound experience for me. I supported her and her family, especially her two children, intensively over 18 months until Uta's death. I’m still in touch with her daughter, which makes me very happy. It shows that people can find real support in such times when some might turn away out of uncertainty. A hard part for me during this time was that, due to the pandemic, I couldn't say goodbye to Uta in the way I would have liked; nonetheless, this experience reinforced my desire to work in the social sector.

Are there any particular memories you carry with you from your long tenure at Serviceplan?

Looking back, the early days in the holding company were some of my favorite times because the company was much smaller and more familial. It's hard to imagine now, but back then, there were only about 350 of us. The community was close-knit, everyone knew each other, and there was a strong culture of learning and exchanging together. In my wish to end my career here and follow my calling, I was very supported, which was certainly not a given. Of course, I take many dear people from the past years here with me as true friendships, and I am incredibly grateful for the wonderful farewell emails I am receiving now.

And also at this point, thank you all for the fundraising campaign for the Ronald McDonald Houses in May – that touched me deeply!

Dear Katy, thank you for this candid conversation – we wish you all the best and much success in your new chapter! I know that we will stay in touch – please come and visit soon!