05.06.2026
Sabrina Ludwig
2

Find out how KIKXXL has eased the burden on Familienservice managers and reduced absenteeism through the EAP program offered by pme Familienservice .

Profile: Lina Duwenda, Assistant HR Manager, KIKXXL

At pme Familienservice , we firmly Familienservice that mental health is one of the most important factors in building strong teams. The HR department at KIKXXL shares this view. As a nationwide service provider, they know that high-quality external EAP support takes the pressure off employees , managers, and the HR department. 

Lina Duwendag is the Deputy HR Manager at KIKXXL. In this case study, she explains why the partnership with pme Familienservice is Familienservice win-win situation for everyone and how it helps the company effectively engage with and support the younger generation. 

Company Overview

Company Name:KIKXXL GmbH

Industry: Services (Contact Center) 

Company size: Over 3,300 employees at 12 locations (6 in Germany)

Interviewee: Lina Duwendag, Assistant HR Manager

Challenge

High demand for internal counseling, overwhelmed managers, growing family-related stress, and external services that are difficult to access. 

Solution

A readily available, low-threshold EAP counseling service (offered digitally and by phone) that covers a wide range of topics, providing employees with direct, confidential, and professional initial support while alleviating the burden on managers. 


 

Since May 2024, pme Familienservice has been supporting Familienservice with EAP services and the pme Academy. What prompted the decision to invest more heavily in employee mental health? 

Lina Duwendag: There wasn't a single trigger; rather, there were several factors that led us to expand our offerings.  

One factor was that our internally trained staff providing debt counseling were very well received by employees. At the same time, employee and BEM meetings revealed that managers and the HR department often reached their limits when employees asked for support with additional challenges.  

This is not just about mental health in the narrow sense, but about a wide range of family-related issues. Topics such as caring for family members are becoming increasingly common. Information on the internet is often confusing in this area, and employees need concrete, reliable guidance and checklists.  

That’s why we looked for a way to offer employees quick and easily accessible first aid and support—without major obstacles or long wait times. 

All of this has shown that a professional EAP program is a worthwhile investment. Of course, part of the goal is also to reduce the number of sick days. After all, when employees receive prompt and effective support, they are naturally able to work with greater peace of mind.  

What have you appreciated so far about working with pme Familienservice? 

The prompt assistance with all issues. And the open and honest collaboration. 

"Our employees' families also benefit from the EAP program: they can use the 24/7 Expertline as well to get support."

Which employee groups benefit most from these programs? 

Everyone! Internal HR, managers, and employees: Because no matter what concerns you may have right now—whether mental or physical—they are fully Familienservice by the EAP and Academy programs offered by pme Familienservice .  

Our employees' families also benefit from the EAP program: they can use the 24/7 Expertline as well to get support. 

Which benefits are particularly popular among your employees? 

Life situation coaching is most commonly used as part of EAP counseling —specifically, the 24/7 Expertline, where employees can receive quick, psychosocial, and confidential assistance. However, the seminars and coaching sessions offered by the pme Academy are also well-attended and frequently booked. These are primarily designed to be preventive in nature. 

We’ve recently started using the Mindance app from pme Familienservice—but we’ve only just begun rolling it out. I can’t say anything about it yet, but I’m really looking forward to the feedback. 

Was there any specific feedback or an example from your day-to-day work that you'd like to share?  

Just yesterday, an employee received help from the pme Familienservice s Employee Assistance Program (EAP) Familienservice has a concrete plan in hand, as well as a first appointment at a local counseling center. 

"I recommended the Mindance app to our HR professionals because it offers a wide range of easily accessible resources: mental exercises, one-on-one coaching sessions, and peer-to-peer exchanges with other HR professionals and managers."

Which service best supports you as an HR professional and manager? 

I recommended the Mindance app to our HR team because I really like it myself and enjoy using it, and because it offers a wide range of easily accessible resources: mental exercises, one-on-one coaching, and peer-to-peer exchanges with other HR professionals and managers. 

I also really like the courses and seminars offered by the pme Academy. Just recently, I took a course through the app on how to recognize mental health issues in employees and how to support them. I’ve also completed a course on the topic of “Chronic Illness in the Workplace.” 

How did your collaboration with pme Familienservice get started?  

We’re very tech-savvy. We have our own app and an intranet. That’s where we posted information about the EAP and the Academy’s offerings. Right at the start, we also held a live video conference with our pme contact, Rebecca Redlich, who introduced the program to all employees. 

We also received flyers from pme and have displayed them in poster frames at all our locations. We like to bring these flyers with us when we have performance reviews, and the works council also distributes them when they have confidential discussions with employees and are asked for advice. 

There are now posters in the restrooms advertising the Mindance app, complete with a QR code that can be scanned directly with a cell phone. 

"Mental health will continue to gain importance."

What HR trends do you foresee over the next 5 to 10 years—including those related to Gen Z and young talent? 

I would say that mental health will continue to gain importance. Older generations tended to put their own well-being on the back burner. But that has definitely changed. 

That’s why I’m really curious to see how the Mindance app will be used, because I think it will help us better connect with our younger employees. The majority of our workforce is under 30, and the younger generation is more hesitant to make phone calls.  

What advice would you give to other companies that want to make mental health a higher strategic priority?  

I could go on and on about a comprehensive workplace wellness plan. That’s a very, very broad question. Maybe Familienservice with the pme Familienservice as a first step, since they’ll walk you through the process and give you a solid introduction to the topic. 

Would you Familienservice pme Familienservice —and why? 

I think you can tell: we’re extremely satisfied. We’re taking advantage of the program, and our employees are too. And that takes some of the pressure off the HR department. We can refer our employees to a professional service where they can receive first aid—and that’s especially important for our younger workforce. We have a large number of employees with a wide variety of life stories and challenges; this program is perfectly suited to that diversity. 

zero How ILB makes employees crisis-proof

The ILB building in Potsdam
Leadership & HR
04.11.2024 Isabel Hempel 7386

Strengthening team resilience: How ILB makes employees crisis-proof

In this interview, Kathleen Wiesener, HR Development Officer at the Investitionsbank des Landes Brandenburg (ILB), sheds light on the importance of a strong team spirit and how targeted measures such as coaching, feedback culture and external moderation help to strengthen employees. She explains which strategies ILB uses to create a resilient working environment in which employees receive the support they need to be successful in crisis situations.

What does ILB mean by team resilience and why is it particularly important for the company?

For us, team resilience means the ability of a team to overcome challenges, crises or stressful situations together and emerge stronger. This includes cohesion, mutual support, good communication and trust within the group. A resilient team can adapt quickly to new circumstances and remains productive even in difficult times.

What specific challenges do you face in strengthening the resilience of your teams?

Digitalization presents our employees with considerable adjustment requirements. In addition, there are frequent reorganizations, for example due to new guidelines or efficiency measures. There is also a high workload in many areas due to sickness absences or unfilled expert positions as a result of the shortage of specialists.

How have you anchored the topic of team resilience in your organization?

ILB recognized team cohesion and resilience as key issues many years ago. We offer our employees systematic support from coaches and trainers from the pme Academy. We have succeeded in raising awareness among managers that good team dynamics promote well-being. This leads to fewer conflicts and less sickness-related absences and strengthens the team's performance.

How does the cooperation with the pme Academy work?

The pme Academy supports us in the organization of team meetings and the moderation of larger workshops - ranging from small teams of 4 people to entire areas with 80 participants. We also work together with their conflict moderators. Managers are part of the system and therefore cannot mediate neutrally, which is why external support is very valuable. There are also preventative offers that enable managers and employees to address conflicts and provide feedback.

Unleash the full potential of your managers and teams now.

Our trainers and coaches at the pme Academy support you in difficult transformation and change processes or analyze together how you can make even better use of your team's strengths. 

More information on the seminars and training courses: pme Academy

What effect do these offers have on your employees?

Our employees find these offers very helpful. They appreciate being able to talk about team spirit away from the daily work routine. Since the coronavirus pandemic, many have been working from home, which has led to fewer informal meetings and more social distancing. Hybrid or digital meetings are often very business-oriented, but personal interaction is crucial to strengthen bonds and a sense of community.

How do managers specifically support their teams in difficult times and ensure a resilient working environment?

We promote a sense of unity in a variety of ways in order to strengthen cooperation. Together with the workforce, we have developed guidelines for transparent, constructive communication, a lively feedback culture and cross-divisional collaboration.
Not only managers but also employees are responsible for regularly discussing and reflecting on these values. Regular team events offer the opportunity to maintain personal connections despite hybrid working models and to discuss common interests beyond work content.

What measures do you take to ensure that employees dare to speak openly about challenges or mistakes?

Dealing constructively with mistakes and challenges is firmly anchored in our vision of a learning organization. We promote transparency and encourage our managers to support their employees and adopt a solution-oriented approach instead of looking for someone to blame.

How does this work in practice? Are there tools and techniques for systematically talking about setbacks and mistakes?

We systematically integrate the topic of feedback into our annual appraisals and thus repeatedly raise awareness of its importance. There have also been campaigns on how to give constructive feedback, with newsletters, postcard campaigns and training measures.

What programs, training or resources do you offer to continuously promote the resilience of teams and individuals?

In addition to various communication training courses, such as conflict management, we offer teams the opportunity to call in external mediators or moderators for team building in times of crisis. The pme Familienservice is an important partner here.
In addition, all managers have the opportunity to choose a coach to support them in challenging situations. In day-to-day work, it's often all about the "what" and less about the "how". When a team is reassembled or a new manager is appointed, we support the process with targeted guidance.

How do you ensure that employees are not overwhelmed in stressful phases and remain productive?

Stress management is a key issue that we support through training for both our employees and managers. It is an essential part of management development so that they can protect themselves and their teams from overload and manage crises in a targeted manner. We also offer social counseling and practical support in difficult private and professional situations via an external partner.

We are currently experiencing a very strong polarization in society. Is this also noticeable in your teams? Are the conflicts growing?

My perception is that we are very reluctant to talk about politics, possibly to avoid conflict. I can only speak for my team here: It is very important to us to treat each other with respect, and that includes respecting different opinions. One example was the vaccination debate during the coronavirus pandemic, where there were both supporters and opponents. I experienced a lot of tolerance. Good cooperation is important to us and helps us to overcome crises together.