"Tolerance is a basic attitude that values diversity"
Bianca Gasser, Head of HR at Basler & Hofmann, is committed to the development of people, teams and organizations. In this interview, she explains why "tolerance" plays a major role in our engineering, planning and consulting company, not just in technical terms, but also in human terms.
Bianca, have you experienced tolerance recently?
I experience tolerance every day. I also experienced it during my own recruitment. I had my first job interview at Basler & Hofmann four weeks after the birth of my daughter. My current line manager knew about the birth - and thought it was wonderful. He didn't draw any conclusions about my career from my motherhood. He didn't share this information with anyone else so that I could tell my story myself. I am also personally committed to this: People should not be stereotyped based on their circumstances.
What role does tolerance play in the corporate culture?
Tolerance means being open to other perspectives. In a company, it is a basic attitude that values diversity. Diversity is crucial to the success of a company. Innovation is only possible if the exchange of different perspectives is valued and encouraged. This requires an environment in which people feel psychologically safe.
What do you mean by psychological safety?
The term comes from the US researcher Amy Edmondson. It's about people in a team or a company feeling safe to express their opinions. Or to ask questions, admit mistakes, contribute new ideas. And without fear of rejection, ridicule or negative consequences. Edmondson has shown that psychological safety is a key factor for successful teams.
So is tolerance strategically relevant?
Yes, I think so. It plays a major role in business psychology, where tolerance is understood not only as a moral value, but also as strategically relevant behavior that is reflected in the way people work together and their ability to deal with conflict and innovation. Diversity and openness are central to an engineering, planning and consulting company like ours: our job is to solve problems. This includes examining them from different perspectives.
How do you get technically oriented professionals to engage with values such as tolerance?
Issues such as tolerance and cooperation cannot be measured like the load-bearing capacity of a bridge, but they can be felt by all employees. They shape the success of every project. Technical expert witness is one thing; how we work together is just as crucial to the success of a project. We all quickly sense how people treat each other in a team. On the HR side, we address such issues in internal training courses such as the "Developing employees - tapping into potential" module or with exchange events such as the networking event for project management.
Is tolerance a leadership strength?
Yes, practising tolerance and creating an appropriate environment is a leadership strength. Being tolerant does not mean tolerating everything or agreeing with everything. On the contrary, it also means taking a clear stance against unacceptable behavior. This is the only way to shape a culture in which we can feel comfortable and thrive.
What role does tolerance play in recruitment?
We attach great importance to recruiting people who share our core values. This is challenging, especially in view of the shortage of skilled workers. Nevertheless, new employees have to fit in with us not only professionally, but also personally. When vacancies arise, we always look at the team constellation and pay attention to diversity and interdisciplinarity.
What is the best form of tolerance?
The best form of tolerance is one that recognizes diversity as a true enrichment. And this applies not least to individual people. We should not reduce people to individual strengths and weaknesses, but see and appreciate them in their entirety.