Gira kindergarten: on-site childcare support for employees

Gira brings family and career under one roof by making it possible for the Gira working parents to avail onsite childcare facility at the Gira location in Radevormwald.

Since 2014, the Gira Kita has been a part of our company headquarters in Radevormwald. It radiates an inviting atmosphere right from the outside, thanks to its large window front which extends over the entire length of the building. There is a lush green area for playing which has a slide, a large climbing frame, a sandbox and a spacious meadow for children to romp around, making it every child’s dream play area.

We cannot imagine our campus without this beautiful day-care centre now, especially because of its value, splendour and the fact that it is very well received by our employees.  

“The Gira Kita was set up to make it easier for new parents at Gira to return to work after parental leave and to support them in balancing family and career,” explains our personnel manager, Lisa Kotthaus, who is responsible for the area ‘Career & Family’ at Gira, among other things. From her own experience and dialogues with her Gira colleagues, she has come to know of another strength of the Gira Kita in addition to the proximity to the workplace, which is that “The Gira parents appreciate the professional and yet familiar atmosphere here”. 

This is ensured by nine nursery teachers, one apprentice, two housekeepers, and nursery director Jill Meshing. 45 children, ranging from infants to six-year-olds, are looked after within the 1,000 square metre facility, while the parents go about their day in the building behind the daycare centre. The Gira Kita is one of the several measures with which we would like to support our young parents. In addition, we also offer flexible work hours, corresponding counselling services and a sponsorship system for parental leave. And if that's not enough, we also find specific solutions to make it possible for each of us to effectively balance work and family life.

"My two children, Elli and Moritz, have been attending the nursery with great enthusiasm since they were just short of a year old," reports Vera Witte from IT Service Management. "The childcare facility directly on my doorstep has enabled me to return to full-time work quickly after the birth of both little ones. Gira also offers the flexibility that is necessary to balance family and work life well.

When asked what makes the Gira Kita special, our personnel manager can think of other good reasons. She says, “In addition to its location in the countryside in the immediate vicinity of the company and the above-average care, there is high-quality, age-appropriate equipment and plenty of space available”. Regular events are also held, such as the annual summer party, the lantern festival and regular grandparents' parties, along with special one-off celebrations, like the grand opening of the nursery extension and the introduction of the third kindergarten group in the summer of 2023. The organisation of the Gira Kita is taken care of by the sponsor, KitaConcept from Wuppertal, with whom we are constantly expanding the offerings of our daycare centre, such as the establishment of the pre-school children programme, ‘ResearchersGIRAffes’. It arranges excursions, for example to a zoo, a hospital, a bakery, a farm, and various real-life educational programmes, for example by the police, to help children understand everyday situations and professions.

We focused both on well-being and design while planning the Gira Kita building. Here, a modern exterior stands beautifully at the foot of hills while natural and sustainable materials contribute to the positive atmosphere inside. For a pleasant room temperature and natural lighting, the roof was greened over and the large window front was aligned to the north. As a result, the nursery is always bright without getting too heated due to the direct sunlight. We have also paid great attention to sound insulation. All built-in cupboards and ceilings are made of sound-absorbing materials. And for the children, the light-coloured wooden floor is perfect for playing.

When it comes to light switches and door communication, we naturally rely on our own products in the nursery, right from a video-supported door communication system to an automatic lighting control using presence detectors for maximum energy efficiency.

In 2020, the Gira Kita is already looking back on six years of its existence and is now ready to bid farewell to the first generation of pre-school children. Although the planned farewell party could not take place due to the Corona measures, an excursion to a farm and a treasure hunt with subsequent pizza party in the day-care centre took place instead. On the last day, the Gira parents of these pre-school children awaited them with balloons in front of the building.

As the Gira nursery celebrates its tenth anniversary in 2024, it also marks the graduation of its first generation of preschoolers. Indeed, since its opening in October 2014, the Gira nursery has experienced unwavering demand for childcare places, necessitating waitlists from the outset.

“A company's attractiveness as an employer is now heavily influenced by the support it provides to enable employees to strike a harmonious balance between work and family life,” emphasizes Sebastian Marz, Managing Director of the family-owned Gira company. “Alongside flexible working arrangements, our Gira daycare centre plays a pivotal role in achieving this goal. Since its inception in 2014, our nursery has served as a beacon of our commitment to employee well-being, becoming a cornerstone of our employer attractiveness, particularly in the competitive landscape for skilled professionals and managers.”

The Gira nursery stands as a living testament to how companies can not only support but actively promote work-life balance through targeted measures. With its holistic approach and continuous expansion of services, Gira demonstrates that prioritizing the needs of its employees and their families is at the heart of its entrepreneurial success.