Professional Women Power: Every day is a gift

published on 17. January 2023

In the context of our career blog “professional women power”, female colleagues introduce themselves,
talk about their career paths and day to day work at Rödl & Partner.

In this way, we would like to raise awareness of women as well as motivate female applicants and colleagues
to bravely pursue their individual career paths at Rödl & Partner.

„Life is far too precious and too short to sweat the small stuff.”

ANDREA MORGAN

Andrea Morgan worked in our international team from 2001-2004 and returned to Rödl & Partner in Nuremberg 10 years later, after 2 years in Dubai and over 7 years in Australia. The mother of three is Head of BPO International Marketing & Communications and works part-time

Andrea, how did your professional career start more than 30 years ago and how did you get to where you are now?

It was always my dream to travel and see a lot of the world. After my A-Levels I spent a year as an au pair in Dublin, then moved to Munich to train for hotel management at the Bayerischer Hof. I loved Ireland so much so I went back to Dublin to study marketing and work in another 5-star hotel, the Shelbourne. Afterwards, I got a taste of sea air and earned my "sea legs" as a purser on the Queen Elizabeth II. After about a year on the cruise ship, the cruise line Cunard moved me to their European office in Southampton/UK to work in their reservation centre, 2 years later I switched to business development and looked after travel agencies in the DACH countries, initially from Hamburg, later from Cologne and Regensburg, until an advertisement in the Süddeutsche newspaper caught my eye. At the time, Monika Rödl-Kastl was looking for a personal assistant, so I applied and immediately felt at home here.

However, my path was to lead abroad once again - my soon-to-be husband and I moved to Dubai, where I managed the marketing department of Siemens Dematic Middle East. This was followed by more than 7 years in my (now deceased) husband's country of origin Australia. During this time I worked in the tourism industry again and our three children (now 10, 12 and 15) were born. To improve their German language skills and strengthen cultural and family ties, we decided to move to Germany for a planned period of 5 years and I was more than happy to return to Rödl & Partner. It felt a bit like coming home not only in Germany but also at Rödl & Partner, I met so many "old colleagues" again, a tribute to our good work environment.

Imagine you had to explain your job to your grandma. What would you tell her?

I would tell her that I look forward to going into work every day. I truly enjoy working in an international team shoulder to shoulder with fascinating people from all over the world and being able to be creative. Our BPO service line handles tasks such as bookkeeping or salary payments for other companies, which we call clients. Most of our clients are German medium-sized businesses, so they are not too big, but not too small either. Many companies now have an office abroad and if they want to ensure that they comply with the current legal rules and tax regulations everywhere, they actually have to employ a (payroll) accountant in every country. In many cases, however, this is not profitable at all, so it is more convenient, cheaper and more transparent for them if we take over. And usually not only in one country, but in all countries where they have branches. This is easy for us because we have many experts and offices in 50 countries. In very simplified terms, it would be as if grandma bakes and sells bread and biscuits, but someone else takes care that the buyers also pay for them. This way, grandma can devote herself fully to what she loves doing most, namely baking.

What I appreciate most is that I can work in a very self-determined way thanks to my great boss Ulrich Schäfer (and he did not pay me to say so). My main task is to communicate about our service line both externally and internally. In order to so, I am networking with a team of creative minds all over the world and especially look forward to the personal meetings that usually take place twice a year at our Forum Global and our BPO Summit. About half of my work is in English, which also suits me very well.

And now let's be honest: How do you manage it all? What’s your secret?

My secret weapon is definitely my Mum! Sadly, my husband passed away in 2018 after a serious illness, I don't even want to imagine what things would have been like without the support of my parents, family, friends and neighbours. A large portion of optimism and my positive attitude and zest for life help me never to lose strength and courage. I draw the energy I need from small time-outs, e.g. during regular sports, while reading a book, during quality time with the kids and my new partner. Being able to work from home two days out of three is also a great relief. I do usually manage to balance family and work, which requires focus, cooperation and organisation, and I have learned that not everything always has to be perfect. Life is far too precious and too short to sweat the small stuff. Instead, I am grateful for every day, treat others with empathy and appreciation and appreciate the little moments of happiness.

Thank you Andrea for the interview. Your many professional stations as well as your private way have deeply impressed us!