FiNiFuchs asks
In an exchange with Kerstin Grifka from HOGGI about responsibility, attitude and the future of providing aids for children.
" On the whole
I want to make people happy with
happy with my work.
For me, all people are equal
and everyone should be able to
be able to participate in life. "
1. who are you?
Please introduce yourself briefly: Who are you - beyond your title and function?
I'm Kerstin Grifka, mom to three children, love going for walks in the forest with our furry friend or lacing up my running shoes. In addition to my job at HOGGI and as a mom, I also work 1-2 times a week as a gymnastics instructor in the gym.
How did you get into the world of children's aids?
My dad is the founder of HOGGI and as he was already working in the rehabilitation sector before that, I "grew up" in the industry from an early age.
After the birth of our second child, I ended up working in marketing at HOGGI, first as a mini-job and later as a permanent employee 😊
2. your path & your motivation
Why do you do what you do?
What specifically motivates you in your everyday life to develop products for children with disabilities?
When someone asks me whether I enjoy my job, I can only say that I am grateful to have such a varied job that can make everyday life easier for so many people. Although I'm not directly responsible for the products in marketing and therefore for the perfect care of children, in recent years we have been trying to respond more directly to the wishes and needs of families. Apart from the technical innovations that our developers are responsible for, our aim is to make our aids "pretty", modern and stylish. When parents visit us at trade fairs, for example, and are delighted with the new upholstery colors because the rehab buggy no longer looks so much like a rehab buggy, or when a child proudly presents their new spoke protector to me, beaming with joy, then I know exactly what I'm doing it for.
What values guide you in your work?
I would say empathy, respect and care. On the whole, I want to make people happy with my work. For me, all people are equal and everyone should be able to participate in life to the best of their ability. To achieve this, it's important to respect differences and take responsibility for each other.
3. behind the scenes of development
How do you create a new aid - from the initial idea to the finished product?
Who is involved in this process?
New products or ideas for new products are created in collaboration between our colleagues in the sales force, the developers and our product management.
When it is clear which gap in the market we want to close with a new product or in which area there is potential for improvement, our developers work on an optimal solution.
What do you attach particular importance to in development and production?
A high standard of quality is very important to us.
Once the technical side has been designed and completed, we look for optical components or "innovations" in marketing. Are there new upholstery colors for the product, different frame colors?
Is there anything that would surprise parents if they could see how your products are made?
The people we show through our production facilities are usually particularly surprised by the fact that so much manual work goes into every single product, that all HOGGI products are built in our production facility in the Westerwald and that we mostly work with regional partners as suppliers.
Briefly asked:
Gut feeling or plan?
Gut feeling!
Calm or speed?
Speed!
Tinkering or listening?
A bit of both 😉
4. your team & your philosophy
What makes your team special?
Our marketing team is small but mighty. Four of us work on different topics, with each of us having our own "specialties". We work on the majority of marketing-related topics in-house, which gives us a very diverse range of work. That's what makes it so varied and exciting.
How do you work together - is it more creative and chaotic or structured and technical?
I think that I often cause creative chaos with my way of quickly getting excited about things. However, it's not unusual for great projects to emerge from this in subsequent teamwork. So I would say we complement each other very well in terms of structure and creative chaos.
What do you laugh about in everyday life?
We laugh about all sorts of things, which is probably because the four of us get on well and can also laugh at ourselves 😊.
5. personal view
Do you have a favorite tool from your product world? Why this one in particular?
My favorite tools are our BINGO Evolution Trendline (in green) and the CRUISER. I think the Trendline is simply stylish and would almost say that it can compete with normal lifestyle baby carriages. I find the CRUISER simply "cuddly" (especially of course in the very small size).
Can you remember a family or a child for whom this aid has made a difference?
When I think of the CRUISER, I immediately think of our model Anton, with whom we had so much fun shooting a video in November and who whizzed around the hall in our CRUISER before taking it home with him.
When you think about the families who use your products: What do you wish them?
My heartfelt wish for the families who use our products is that we make everyday life easier with our aids, that the children become more mobile and can actively participate in life. Whether at home, at the facility or on vacation.
That's why we are always open to suggestions, ideas for improvement and requests.
6. looking forward & conclusion
How do you see the future of children's aids?
I think that we increasingly need individual rather than standardized solutions for children. Aids that grow with the child and can be adapted to their body.
The focus of care should move away from pure "deficits" towards participation and quality of life. There should be a greater focus on children's independence and self-efficacy.
And more emphasis should definitely be placed on design and aesthetics. An aid does not have to look like an aid.
Thank you, dear Kerstin,
for your openness
and the honest insights into your work
and the attitude and values
that HOGGI stands for.
🧡