We visited the company Scout24 in their HQ in Berlin. The Scout24 Group runs very successfully digital companies.
Here is the interview – have a glance at the team and their nice office in Berlin.
YOUR BUSINESS
What is your core business?
The Scout24 Group is a leading innovator of digital marketplaces specialising in the real estate and automotive sectors in Germany and other selected European countries.
We operate two well-known and popular brands, ImmobilienScout24 and AutoScout24 and help people find a home and/or buy a car, two major events in everyone’s lives.
In addition, since 2017 we also bundle all services and offers relating to the search for cars or real estate in a third business area: Scout24 Consumer Services.
Part of the new business segment is also the digital marketer Scout24 Media. It offers advertisers usage-based online advertising on ImmobilienScout24 and AutoScout24.
How did you get to your business idea and when was your company established?
The company was founded in 1998/1999 by Beisheim Holding Schweiz AG. AutoScout24 and ImmobilienScout24 were active as the first digital marketplaces in 1999. In 2001, various other offices were set up, including in Italy and Spain. 
In which countries are you active?
With its digital marketplaces, Scout24 is represented in a total of eight countries (France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Austria, Belgium, Netherlands and Luxemburg). Furthermore, we operate websites in ten additional language versions.
Are you planning to expand your venture in other countries? And if – where?
A greenfield market entry is possible for Scout24 but not in our focus at this point of time. We are always looking for value-creating investment opportunities in our strategic core regions (Italy, Benelux, Austria and Germany.) However, should opportunities arise, we´re open to investigate new market entries across Europe. We are predominantly looking in the areas of cars, real estate and financing services.
Where do you see the company in 5 years?
We’re committed to turning our digital platforms to market networks in order to serve our consumers and customers even better. Ultimately, we want to extend into the larger property and cars ecosystem and life-cycle, bringing the offline world online and transparency to the entire marketplace.
Your Team
How many employees work at your company right now?
More than 1200 employees in Germany and across Europe work on offering value to our consumers and customers. ImmobilienScout24 is located in Berlin, AutoScout24 is based in our brand new office in Munich. Together, we build leading digital marketplaces in Europe.
What is the average age of your team members?
Our team’s average age is around 35.
What kind of attitude should new employees have to have in order to work at your company?
At Scout24, we are inspiring millions of people’s dreams and creating true value by connecting people, cars and homes. What we really look for are people that have a passion for what they do and know what they are interested in and that’s also shared with others. Bringing ideas to life and share that energy is very valued as it drives innovation.
We are aiming to build great products for our customers and consumers. Thus, we have structured our organization into market segments. Each market segment consists of a cross-functional team which is empowered to take their own decisions fast, based on the feedback of our customers or consumers.
This flexibility is key to us as and requires a very entrepreneurial mind-set. We are looking for people who base their decisions on our users’ feedback, who challenge the status quo and are brave enough to take some risks.
Change is a big part of being successful. Working in such a dynamic environment can be challenging at times. Embracing challenges as a chance and an opportunity to constantly learn is absolutely crucial.
We learn, we fail and we learn more. Or in other words, solving problems is part of our DNA. We are here to make things happen- together, we can.
Why is it fun to work at your company? Do you offer any employee benefits?
This is an interesting question and if you ask some Scouts, you would most likely get different answers. One key element though, that describes it best, is the culture we work in or in other words, the people we work with.
We value the diversity of our employees as much as our users’ individual life scripts. You find people from all over the world, more than 40 different nationalities and you will be surprised how many languages can be heard. Our doors are open for everyone and free of stereotyped thinking.
The power of our team grows with the variety of individual perspectives. Our culture embraces a workplace that fits in with your personal way of life. Some of the things we offer include:
- An environment that provides the opportunity for impact you would find in a start-up combined with the resources of a market leader
- Competitive salaries, an attractive company pension plan and personal benefits such as gym membership discount or shopping discounts as a start
- Great work-life balance, including flexible working hours, home office and 30 days of vacation annually
- A commitment to diversity and a positive environment where we are not just colleagues but teammates and friends
- Continuous development including skills training, language courses, and many other workshops and meet-ups
Do you offer new employees a relocation service or help to relocate?
Sure. Scout24’s relocation plans are designed to allow a new employee to “comfortably” relocate. Therefore, we are working with an external partner who helps our new employees to settle and get the support they need. There is no standard plan – each relocation package is effectively customized to meet the needs and priorities of each new hire.
Your Office
How big is your office?
Our office building in Berlin is approximately 14,000 m² with four floors for more than 500 employees. It’s located in the trendy neighbourhood Friedrichshain so we are close to everything. The building includes a company owned canteen and also an in-house coffee bar which is part of the popular coffee shop MilchHalle. We also have a lounge area where employees can take a break playing table tennis or soccer.
Did you get help from an interior designer by designing the office? And if who did you work together with?
We worked together with the architect company Artec that supported us in designing our premises.
Thank you scout24 Team for this interview & the photoshooting!
Location: Berlin, Germany Website: scout24
Photos: copyright by the photographer Andreas Lukoschek
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