Start and end meetings well

* 5 min. time to start and 2 min. to end meeting
* An opening question and a closing question
* A meeting 🙂

* Colleagues:inside who are willing to give it a try.

Many spend a large portion of their time in meetings. Check-in and check-out are two simple habits that can change the way we interact and our meeting culture.
It's very simple: When we come together as a group, we start by asking each other a question, which each person then answers in turn. At the end of the meeting, we repeat the ritual with another question.

I have already experienced in many appointments how a short check-in has created a different atmosphere and I have learned new things about the others. The check-out is suitable to find a round and satisfying conclusion for the moment.

Sample questions for the start (depending on desire and assessment "dose")
How are you / are you there right now?
How am I doing today?
With what thoughts and feelings am I here?
Which animal are you right now?

Sample questions for the conclusion
How do you / are you going out now?
How was the meeting for me?
What do I take with me into the rest of the day?

Check-in and check-out is already useful for 2 people or more. Once a routine has been established, the meeting participants may even "demand" the check-in. I have often experienced this after the meeting had almost started informally, one or the other person joined, and then the request came: "Shall we check in now?" This is how a good common starting point succeeds.
There is typically not much time for a check-out - meetings are often stretched to the last minute... Nevertheless, it is worth celebrating a short joint conclusion. Often a "hashtag check-out" is suitable: Everyone says only one word. This goes really fast and is worthwhile for a round conclusion.


Have fun cooking!

Anyone who has tried or modified the recipe, feel free to comment!





This recipe is from Kerstin Seeger

Let's talk about money

* Interested parties from the organization
* Financial Officer:n
* ermin to reflect

* Courage to set out


How we handle money in our organization says a lot about our work culture and values. If money concerns everyone, it can become a tool with which we can shape the organization of tomorrow that we want to be.
We can set out together in the company, meet first, simply ask the following guiding questions (or a selection of them) and answer them in a circle.
The important thing here is the attitude: It is a matter of setting out on the path and reflecting first. Those responsible for finance should also not feel "backed into a corner," but rather expressed appreciation for the work done so far.

GUIDELINES
on how to handle money in an organization:

+ Do you know how much turnover / profit your organization makes?
+ Would you know where to look it up?
+ Who has access to important financial documents or financial planning?
+ Do you know what happens to profits that your organization generates?
+ Do you know what is the highest and lowest salary paid in your organization?
+ What does pricing look like in the company? Have you already dealt with the external costs of your services? Are these included?
+ Are social-ecological criteria taken into account when purchasing services/products?

These questions are simply answered honestly. Perhaps / probably this will result in a follow-up appointment 🙂 Then you can consider what answers you would like to see for your organization and where you would like to start concrete changes.


Have fun cooking!

Anyone who has tried or modified the recipe, feel free to comment!





This recipe is from Kerstin Seeger

Spring feelings

* one or more colleagues
* Appointment
* Topic

* Suitable route
* suitable shoes



In Aristotle's school, a walkway is said to have been used for philosophizing while walking. The philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau wrote: "I can only think while walking. If I stop, my thoughts do the same. And WirtschaftsWoche writes: "Walking not only gets the body going, it also helps the mind get going - and makes the employee meeting a whole new experience." There are now also studies on the fact that cognitive performance is stimulated when walking.

I have already experienced it during a feedback walk or staff meeting - it feels good to walk a round together and to discuss things.

Try it out: Giving / taking feedback works very well as a feedback walk. But also other questions (review-outlook) can be discussed well during a walk.
Constellations of 2 or 3 have proven themselves, so that you can walk side by side and everyone understands each other.
Think about a question beforehand and agree on a specific duration. So that one person does not monologue, blocks can be set. (10 minutes person 1 and 10 minutes person 2 - for example during a feedback walk). Or you speak "only" one thought at a time and then the other person takes their turn.
Also, be sure to have appropriate documentation, such as photo, or / and a summary at the end that is written up in the office.
A thematic walk also works in a team if the constellation is reshuffled after a set time. At the end, the "harvest" can be shared in a larger circle (pay attention to acoustics) or in the office.

For this purpose, the route must be well communicated and appropriate intermediate meeting points must be established.

Plan a suitable route and off you go!


Have fun cooking!

Anyone who has tried or modified the recipe, feel free to comment!





This recipe is from Kerstin Seeger

A Date with Commitment - Corporate Volunteering

* Desire for new insights & skills
* social-ecological commitment
* Corporate culture characterized by participation & commitment
* Networking with community-based organizations

* Database for volunteering opportunities at the site.


Many spaces are empty outside of core business hours: be it large or small meeting rooms, or even event halls and gymnasiums. Both profit and non-profit organizations (such as church congregations or universities) often have rooms that are not used at certain times. At the same time, initiatives, associations, or yoga teachers, for example, are often looking for handi

Corporate volunteering programs help motivate employees, build team spirit, promote community involvement in the immediate environment, and enhance a company's reputation for corporate citizenship. It has long been clear to most companies that investing in corporate social responsibility (CSR) supports their business goals in the long term.

So why not introduce a corporate volunteering program, whereby employees can contribute a certain number of hours per month for the common good?
All employees can be involved in the search for local public welfare organizations: Who already has contacts? Which areas would employees like to get a taste of?

Create a list of local organizations of interest.
Contact the organizations / initiatives and simply ask if a volunteer assignment is desired and possible. Some need support at certain times or for certain actions (e.g. repainting the kindergarten, building raised beds or shoveling soil at the garden project).

There is some coordination work behind it, and also the consideration of how you account for or control the volunteer work in the internal time recording, if necessary. Perhaps there is a certificate for the commitment, which employees receive for the working time documentation?

Over time, volunteer work builds a local network with community-minded organizations, from which motivation, identification, and unimagined collaborations and opportunities can emerge....

For community management, it's a good idea to celebrate together sometimes - for example, at a joint summer party 🙂

Tip for getting started
If an account assignment project (hourly quota per month / per year) seems too extensive for you, why not start with a joint "Corporate Volunteering Day" as an introduction?

Have fun cooking!

Anyone who has tried or modified the recipe, feel free to comment!





This recipe is from Pia & Janina from sneep e.V. - student network for ethics in economics and practice

Share spaces - share joy

* temporarily unused, vacant rooms/buildings
* Communication/contact with seeking stakeholders.
* Desire for "life in the booth" and synergy building
* Arrangements or booking calendar

* Second key, or similar.
* If applicable, contract and insurance check for the advanced
Space utilization


Many spaces are empty outside of core business hours: be it large or small meeting rooms, or even event halls and gymnasiums. Both profit and non-profit organizations (such as church congregations or universities) often have rooms that are not used at certain times. At the same time, initiatives, associations or e.g. yoga teachers are often desperately looking for cheap or free rooms for meetings, workshops or yoga classes (mostly in the evening or on weekends). ...actually a win-win situation!?
So if you feel like socializing, bringing people from the outside into your space, possibly forming synergies, or at least gaining some benevolent publicity, why not share your temporarily unused space!

1.
Identify appropriate spaces and appropriate times.

2.
Clarify legal requirements and check insurances if necessary.

3.
Get the OK from decision makers in your organization.

4.
Ensure internal coordination (Who is the contact person? You yourself? Where is the room sharing registered? If necessary, involve janitors, cleaning staff)

5.
Communication to employees & invitation to share the offer

6.
Public communication, if necessary, via website or other platforms (depending on the size of the company)

7.
Conclude agreement with room sharers (e.g. regarding keys, regular leaving of the room, occurrence of a damage case)

8.
Share spaces - share joy!


Room sharing can initially be tried out as an "experiment" on a small scale. Perhaps your colleagues have a need? In this way, the company can also support its employees in their voluntary or part-time work.

Have fun cooking!

Anyone who has tried or modified the recipe, feel free to comment!





This recipe is from 3 people from sneep e.V. - student network for ethics in economics and practice

Simply switch off for a while - install a timer

* Desire to save electricity and money
* Set time frame for power shutdown
* Facility Manager:in / Technical Officer:r
* Central control system

* Timer

Do you also know that devices at the workplace are often constantly on standby or the light is permanently on? This doesn't have to be the case in order to conserve resources. Rising electricity prices make it another strong argument in favor of a Timer.

1.
Grab the facility manager (or similar expert or decision maker) and together set a time frame for when the power can be turned off (e.g., 10-6 p.m., depending on the building's hours of operation or core business hours).

2.
IMPORTANT: Clarify whether there are certain devices and areas in your company that must not be disconnected from the power grid. (This includes certain servers, emergency lighting or, if applicable, the refrigerator in the coffee kitchen, etc.) For this purpose, a small survey with announcement of the project can be useful.

3.
Install the timer yourself or have it installed by a craftsman. (If necessary, it makes sense to do this via the central control, or on main lines for individual building branches).

4.
Inform all employees - according to the motto: "Do good and talk about it."

TIP
Start small and install a timer right at your own workstation.

Have fun cooking!

Anyone who has tried or modified the recipe, feel free to comment!





This recipe is from Pia & Janina from sneep e.V. - student network for ethics in economics and practice

Frugality in the company

* Strategic considerations
* Strategy discussions or workshops
* A new unique selling proposition


An ECONOMY is not necessarily about maximizing profit. Entrepreneurial ideas are realized for their own sake, because entrepreneurs and employees follow their calling. With such a motivational situation, frugality can be considered in the company. As a self-determined strategy, in order not to lose the view for the substantial, and to keep the original motivation for the enterprise. Quite incidentally one receives thereby also a unique selling proposition!

Six examples of frugality strategies.
(so-called "sufficiency strategies").1

- Output limitation allows a stronger focus on quality improvement and creates freedom in terms of content and time.
- Limiting the number of employees can increase the attractiveness of jobs and improve communication and processes due to the company's manageable structure.
- By narrowing the geographical radius of action, value creation can be strengthened in the region and more individual customer advice can be offered.
- Those who limit profit put the original purpose of the company in the foreground. Decisions are based on meaning, on (product) quality, and not on profit.
- If the entrepreneur's wage is limited, the owners are guided by the conviction that their own work is not worth disproportionately more than that of the employees and therefore pay themselves the same or minimally higher hourly wage. This can lead to employees identifying more strongly with the company than in companies with high wage differentials.
- A limitation in terms of fossil mobility puts the focus on transport that is as emission-free as possible - also in the supply chain.

Could such aspects also be relevant for your company?



1) To be read in "Beseelte UnternehmerInnen" by Christel Maurer

Anyone who has tried or modified the recipe, feel free to comment!





This recipe is from
Kerstin Seeger

Financial strategy: Review and realign investments

* current investments or money to invest
* Financial responsibility or discussions with the financial officers:n
* Communication

* the feeling of promoting the right thing with invested money


Does my company own a Eurofighter or support the exploitation of people and nature? Very few of us want that, and yet we may be putting our company's money into investment products that support exactly that. In the end, we own a Eurofighter or support bad working conditions and the destruction of nature. All things that do not let our economy grow.
That's why it's a good idea to review investments and "de-invest" if necessary. "Deinvestment" or "divestment" is the opposite of investment. It means that unethical stocks, bonds or mutual funds are divested. Thereupon, investments can be made in other assets. But in which ones?

In the meantime, the first guidelines for sustainable investments have been developed. The ESG criteria are recognized sustainability standards in the financial world. E" (Environment) stands for ecological characteristics, "S" (Social) for social commitment and "G" (Governance) for sustainable corporate management. Further guidance is provided by seals and rating platforms, for example these:

* The FNG seal from the Sustainable Investment Forum was developed together with financial experts and experts from social and environmental organizations to verify funds by independent auditors.

* Climetrics is a climate rating for funds. It rates funds based on
of the climate impact of the stocks in its portfolio. Climetrics is backed by international climate experts such as the Non-profit organization CDP (Carbon Disclosure Project).

With a sustainable financial strategy, our companies can support ecological, ethical and social enterprises and projects. We could be rewarded with a "double dividend": a financial one and a happy one!
Also inform all colleagues or employees about the realignment of your financial strategy and pass on the know-how.

Variation
The financial check can of course also be applied in private life.

Anyone who has tried or modified the recipe, feel free to comment!





This recipe is from
Kerstin Seeger

Bye, bye IT – where to put old equipment?

* Appreciation of raw materials
* Desire to connect with local initiatives
* Thinking beyond depreciation cycles

* Some coordination effort
* Consultation with financial expert:in
* Save disposal fee


Does your company also discard IT technology after a defined period of time (usually a depreciation cycle) and replace it with new products, even though it is still functional?
Apart from the fact that one should critically question this circumstance, we can already do something in the meantime until the fundamental phenomenon is combated.

I recently agreed with a company that their depreciated IT technology and some furniture would be given to a non-profit -. a win-win situation for everyone: the company does not have to have its products scrapped, the association and its various cooperation partners receive functioning products.

Be on the lookout for local initiatives / organizations and ask if anything is needed, and if so, how the collection is reliably arranged. You have the small effort to list the products and, if necessary, to photograph them in order to hand them over to new hands. In addition, you should talk to your financial expert(s) about how the action can be reflected in the accounting system. So there is some coordination involved, although you would also have to coordinate and pay for the disposal of the equipment.

Should you not find a buyer:in, there are also companies that specialize in making business IT fit again for inexpensive resale (so-called „refurbished IT“). Examples include: „AfB - social and green IT“ or „Green Panda“. There are many more providers.

If IT still has to be disposed of, remember to dispose of it properly so that valuable raw materials can be recycled. For cell phones in particular, there are now collection campaigns and collection boxes run by various companies and initiatives almost everywhere. In some campaigns, you can even send in the cell phones free of charge. All devices contain valuable raw materials such as gold or copper. These are too valuable to be left unused, also because the extraction of raw materials causes massive problems: The mining is usually associated with human rights violations, child labor and destruction of nature! This makes proper recycling all the more important, so that these raw materials can be recovered and illegal exports of e-waste can be avoided. IT equipment should therefore not simply end up in hazardous waste.

ModificationAsk your employees whether they need company equipment for private use. Here, too, attention must be paid to financial issues (imputed income).

Bye, bye IT? If you are faced with this question, try this recipe.
Anyone who has tried or modified the recipe, feel free to comment!





This recipe is from
Kerstin Seeger

A garden on the farm

* Interest in gardening
* Joy of experimentation
* Colleagues:inside, Team
* Balcony, roof terrace, courtyard, outdoor area in the company
* Procurement of materials and plants
* Persuasion time


Do you have a herb bed or other edible plants in your company? Why not, actually? How about basil and tomatoes in the summer? Add some delicious mozzarella and lunch is almost ready... Besides, such a planting bed is a wonderful team task (setting it up and also taking care of it) and promotes communication as well as the feel-good factor in the company. What more do you want?

Talk about your idea in the next team meeting: a raised bed can be built in a very small space. To get started, even a few converted flower boxes can be useful. It is best if one person puts on the responsible "gardener:in hat" and coordinates the setting up and planting. A small survey can also be started among the colleagues to find out which plants are desired. It is also nice if there is seating around the bed and thus a lively center is created. Plants stimulate many thoughts and conversations: about appreciation of plants and food, about nutrition, about one's own purchasing behavior, or simply about the beauty of nature. : )

Anyone who grows their own vegetables knows how proud and satisfied the harvest can make them, and how delicious it can be - no matter how small.
Ideally, you already have a few examples of how the planting bed could look like, and know what materials are needed.

Small tip
Maybe there is also an "urban gardening project" in your place. Just drop by there and find out about the bed possibilities.

We are very curious about the experience with this recipe.

Try this recipe right now.
Anyone who has tried or modified the recipe, feel free to comment!





This recipe is from
Kerstin Seeger