What a career path at the DS Group looks like

As a medium-sized group of companies, we offer stability, long-term perspectives and a special relationship with our employees

Based in Bremen, the DS Group is active in energy, chemicals and young business. We are always on the outlook for new employees who want to develop their careers. Unlike in the highly specialized departments of large corporations, our employees gain valuable experience at all levels thanks to our broadly positioned business units. As a medium-sized group of companies, we have flexible structures that ensure a viable work/life balance. We are committed to performance-oriented work on an equal footing combined with mutual respect. If you would like to know more about why many of our employees have been with us for decades, you have come to the right place.

Career prospects
Numerous practical examples show outstanding development paths within our group of companies - both for employees trained by us and for new colleagues.

Health management
Health is the most important good. In addition to adequate flexibility in private appointments with doctors, we support our employees with sports activities such as corporate fitness and bicycle leasing, health advice, vaccination appointments, fruit baskets, etc.

Working Climate / DS Family
DS is a family-owned company. Not only the shareholder family but all employees are part of the common whole. Everyone contributes their share to the further development of the group. That welds them together in good and challenging times. 

Training opportunities
"Imagine we train our employees and then they leave us." ... "Now imagine that we don't train them and they stay ..."

Sustainable businesses
In our traditional businesses, we are growing both organically and through acquisitions. We see market changes as an opportunity. We are also breaking new ground and investing in young companies with good prospects.

Hanseatic homeland
We are closely connected to our "anchor point" Bremen, even though the group of companies is now nationally and internationally positioned. Proven merchant qualities such as courage, willingness to perform and reliability carry our business.

DS DNA
"Business is done between people." A relationship based on trust with our business partners and an appreciative approach within the company are the cornerstones of our DNA.

The right balance
Working hours and leisure time are becoming increasingly intertwined. It is precisely for this reason that we pay particular attention to ensuring that our employees are able to reconcile their professional and private interests.

"Studies have shown that the working climate is the most important factor for productivity on the job. So, it’s a win-win situation."

Michael Hohmann, Head of Human Resources, Diersch & Schröder

A corporate culture in which we meet on an equal footing makes us better together.

The DS Group embodies the traditions of the German SME sector. This is expressed not only directly in economic terms, but also in the way we work together. Job applicants frequently already notice this during the few metres from the reception to our HR manager’s office: people from  management to the trainee know each other and meet on an equal footing. This pleasant atmosphere is the result of a long development. The DS Group is almost 100 years old and has always strived for improvement – the combination of economic success and an appreciative and respectful corporate culture is the guarantee of its sustainable corporate development.

We are proud of our shared long-term performance

Continuity is one of our major success factors and is also expressed in our long-standing employment relationships. We run the marathon to become “better together” in a team, motivating each other again and again by providing the best possible performance. This reciprocal motivation creates security and trust.

Markets change, yet we remain stable. This is also because the highest esteem for commitment and responsibility is a guiding principle of the DS Group

Changes are par for the course in all our business areas, no matter whether it is energy, chemicals or young business. We are and always will be a company that needs to earn money. But we do this in a respectful manner towards all employees and partners and do not maximise profits for their own sake. We are therefore seeking eager, new talents who share our mindset and are willing to share our enthusiasm for the activities in our sector.

We follow the approach of lifelong learning

We can tell if our employees have even more potential than they are currently exhibiting. That’s why we seek to encourage life-long learning for eager career beginners as well as for “old hands” who have been with us for 30 years. We do not offer standardised weekend seminars for large groups, but respond individually to the needs of our employees.

From trainee to instructor ...

After I was able to experience a very good and comprehensive training myself, it was a direct opportunity for me to pass on the knowledge I had acquired. My door is always open, not only for questions about the training, but also beyond. The feel-good factor in our company is high, and I always look at the trainees with full enthusiasm.
They particularly appreciate the insight into all business areas and the direct involvement in the respective departments. The high level of commitment and personal initiative makes an instructor proud to see how the knowledge gained is applied in practice. It is a give and take!

Nadine Brammer, training officer DS card+drive WESER-PR

The great trust that we place in our employees also means that everyone is accountable for their own work as an autonomous member of the DS team. This approach is a prerequisite for an agile corporate structure and culture. For this reason, we are always delighted by the highly motivated colleagues who have identified closely with the DS Group for decades and are proud of their work.

At the DS Group, everyone is encouraged and expected to contribute new ideas and impetus.

Ignoring expert opinions runs the risk of overlooking opportunities. We must work as an agile team, constantly questioning ourselves, optimising processes and becoming better. To this end, we practice a high degree of teamwork and direct communication at all levels of the holding company. We discuss procedures and processes and employees can and should openly express their own opinions. This provides new perspectives, a breath of fresh air and ultimately the flexibility and pragmatism that characterise all small and medium-sized businesses.

Vertriebmitarbeiter
Additives
Professionals
Motivated employees who identify with DS are the driving force behind quality, efficiency and growth.

"Apprentices at DS are motivated and supporting them is simply fun. It is great to see how the trainees develop and apply the knowledge they have acquired."

Michael Ohlms, training officer WESER-PETROL

We encourage a viable work/life balance

Reconciling career and family is a challenge for many people today. And we are doing everything we can to keep this challenge as manageable as possible for DS Group employees. We comprehensively support our subsidiaries in helping their employees to achieve the right balance between work and life on the basis of their own corporate philosophy:

  • We arrange individually coordinated home office times wherever possible.
  • We provide a childcare allowance for children under the age of three to cover the costs of a childminder or crèche.
  • We arrange and subsidise holiday childcare for children up to 14 years of age. It is completely up to the parents to select their preferred association or day care centre.
  • We take nursing-care requirements in the family very seriously. We are patient and provide advice. In acute emergencies, we give our employees the time they need to make the necessary arrangements, look for care facilities and carry out official errands.

The cross-generation employees at the DS Group show us that working here is fun and can be a calling and that our employees are in it for the long haul.

For us, the joy of our own career and the pride in our own achievements are natural parts of our career prospects.

For us, work and good health go hand in hand

We also benefit if our employees stay healthy and fit. That's why we do more than just place a basket of fruit in the office and organise hikes:

  • Many employees use tax-privileged company bicycles and e-Bikes.
  • We have a cooperation with a company fitness provider. Therefore, our employees can use a large selection of gyms, climbing gyms, swimming pools and much more throughout Germany.
  • We support the coordination of company sports groups: Our subsidiaries have also formed various sports groups. These groups regularly pursue sports such as bowling, golf or football.
  • We offer company social counselling. Here employees can find individual and confidential advice on topics such as the optimum work-life balance or health at work.
Zwei DS-Mitarbeiter machen einen Sprung während eines Laufes

The maxim “Better together” means responsibility, motivation for employees to perform their own duties and team spirit on the part of every DS Group employee. We follow the traditions established by the German small and mid-size companies and, firmly rooted as we are in Bremen, live by many Hanseatic values, such as honesty, pragmatism and concentrating on what we can do best while remaining open to new things. If you’re like this too, we should talk. We always welcome unsolicited applications.

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