The Consileon Group: Alone good, together world class
In our series “The Consileon Group: Alone good, together world class” we turn the spotlight on our subsidiary companies and present their qualities and strengths. Today we present the consulting company aye4fin and its philosophy.
The 15-member Cologne-based team is passionate about payments, e-commerce and marketplaces and enjoys turning the complexity of today’s payments into business opportunities.
The new motto of aye4fin is “Create positive commerce experiences”. Behind this is more than just a catchy claim. Here, aye4fin CEO Thomas Tittelbach explains why the phrase also works as a corporate philosophy, why customers and employees benefit from it in the long term and which skills are particularly well suited to landing a job with the “Positive Commerce Team”.
Thomas, what do you want to convey with your claim “Create positive commerce experiences”?
On the one hand, we support companies in driving innovations into the market, and on the other hand, we help them optimise their existing processes with our expert knowledge. At some point we asked ourselves: Why do we actually do this? What is our purpose?
On the surface, we do it so that companies are more successful, make more turnover or have lower costs. Money, however, is a rather banal reason. But there is something quite different behind it: we make a contribution so that everyone involved is happy!
The managing director, for example, is happy that he can make new, innovative offers with which he wants to expand his market position. The treasury manager is happy that costs are reduced by our solutions. And at the end of the day, the end customer is happy too, because now he can buy better and use nicer services.
The essence of everything we do?
We enable positive shopping experiences – “positive commerce experiences”.
Why are feelings important in a purchase action?
Everyone knows the satisfied feeling when you buy something you like. And everyone has been annoyed at times because the queue at the checkout was endlessly long or the ordering process on the internet was far too complicated. There are always feelings involved.
As payment experts, we observe with everyone involved and with every commercial transaction: everyone has a certain problem with speed and simplicity and access to relevant information at the right time. We stand up for getting a grip on these problems and ensuring positive feelings.
That is, you would rather promise happiness than profit?
Profit and growth are undoubtedly important goals for companies and start-ups. But it’s not always about making the biggest possible profit – and then having no money to develop employees, drive innovation or finance marketing campaigns.
If it’s always about the lowest possible costs and big profit, at the end of the day only a few people in the company are happy. That’s why we say: Profit is important. But happy employees are much more important in the long run. You have to reconcile both.
Is this a philosophy that is also lived at aye4fin?
Absolutely. Of course, our claim also has something to do with us. We love positive feelings and attach great importance to a positive atmosphere at aye4fin. Our goal is not to maximise profits. It is not about working better and better, faster and more efficiently. In the process, employees often fall by the wayside. In the long run, this helps neither the company nor the people. We want sustainable satisfaction for everyone. For our clients and for our team.
What values does aye4fin want to convey here?
Our common thread is always positive feelings. That is our core philosophy. All other values such as transparency, team spirit and authenticity revolve around this core.
We always communicate openly and honestly what it’s all about. Even when there are problems. We don’t just want to sell customers the biggest possible contract package, but find solutions that suit them individually and in the long term.
Internally, too, we always seek to talk to our colleagues at eye level. Everyone is given the opportunity to contribute new ideas, to make mistakes and to let off steam. We create an environment of trust and respect. Everything is okay as long as you deal with it openly and constructively. Ideas from new staff bring a breath of fresh air to old ways of thinking. Mistakes show courage to try something out and always bring good insights. Frustration should never be bottled up, as it harms oneself, one’s own motivation and performance. No one can want that.
So what do you need to bring with you to get a job at aye4fin?
We are proven payment experts and yet we prefer to hire people who have no relevant professional experience from the payment or banking environment. Why? Because we believe that employees with an unbiased view from the outside can make a more constructive contribution. They don’t say “Yes, yes, all right. I get it,” but ask “Why do you do it that way? Does it have to be like this? Isn’t there another way?” That’s what keeps us going.
That’s why we are looking for ambitious people whose expertise actually lies elsewhere, but who are keen to broaden their horizons. We have had very good experience with this approach and are growing continuously. At the moment we are a team of 15 people. By the end of 2023, it will probably be around 20. We are looking forward to that.
