At Aalberts advanced mechatronics, we work in a fast-moving market where people need to constantly look for ways to work smarter and more efficiently. One of our employees who embodies our love of continuous improvement is Irina Fischbach, Head of Purchasing Scheduling at IDE.
a good starting point
Irina had a technical education focused on automotive and industrial engineering. After she finished studying, she wanted to find a job that was near home and focused on project management, since she’s good at organizing and creating structure. She applied for a project management role at IDE, not suspecting that 11 years later she would still call IDE home.
Project management was a good starting point, but after a while Irina was ready for a new challenge. “I wanted a more varied role and to get more involved in our processes,” she explains. She moved into production planning, which she did for two years, then last year a manager invited her to lead the newly created tactical purchasing team. “I’d never considered purchasing, but it involved adding structure and I’d been thinking it would be nice to lead my own team, so I decided to give it a go.”
overcoming challenges
Irina’s new role didn’t get off to the easiest start. “Last year multiple people left and at one point this team had only one person,” she explains. “This disrupted the ordering process and as a result we had a lot of problems with material availability. It also seriously negatively impacted the reputation of our department.” Her first focus areas have therefore been restructuring their processes and rebuilding the team, which has now grown to six people.
Making these changes has sometimes been extra challenging, since as a woman and as someone coming from a different department, Irina is bringing a different way of doing things to the factory. “I always have a good overview, which helps me see things clearly,” she says. “I have seen that when we try out my approach, we often find errors and resolve issues earlier.”
able to make an impact
This ability to make an impact is Irina’s favorite part of her job. “One of my strengths is improving things,” she explains. “I like that I don’t need to ask for permission every time I want to do something or follow a rigid process. I can do what I think is best, not only because I’m in a leadership position, but also because here we think every single employee can stand up and say if something needs to be changed.”
To increase that impact, Irina is building a team focused on getting things done. “My team tends to work in the background to make things better, rather than demand attention,” she says. “I see it as my role to secure them and make sure that everyone feels comfortable and heard. We therefore meet regularly, one-on-one and as a group, to discuss our issues and priorities.”
finally in a good place
Irina is confident that her team is finally in a good place. “We’ve come out of a chaotic situation, but now everything will change,” she explains. “I hope that this year we will meet our targets and that everyone will be happy with the way my team is working and the characters in my team, that they see that this is the right way to work and these are the right people to do it.”
On a personal level, Irina hopes to keep growing into her role as a leader. “I’m enjoying it so far and our team is already getting good results,” she says. “However, I’m still not great at showing that to others. Communication and self promotion are not my strong suits. I’d like to follow a training to learn to communicate more confidently, then move on to an even bigger challenge.”
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