It is increasingly important for medium-sized companies to meet sustainability criteria and to make this visible. In the overall economic structure, they are always part of a larger supply chain and thus bound by the sustainability requirements of other stakeholders. Demands on SMEs also come from banks and insurance companies. This is because the ESG criteria that a company implements are playing an increasingly important role in the financial sector against the backdrop of sustainable finance and are important when lending to an SME. In addition, the expectations of customers and employees are becoming increasingly concrete. But how specifically does an SME go about thinking, acting, and deciding in terms of sustainability? The topic of sustainability is complex. There are 20 important sustainability criteria, which include, for example, “innovation and product management”, “resource management” or “employee rights”. Therefore, the key question is: Where is the topic of sustainability relevant in the company at all?
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People and nature are among the most sensitive areas in a company’s sphere of influence. After all, life and health are at stake here. Violations can have serious consequences. The liability risks arising from occupational health and safety and environmental protection law are correspondingly high. Of course, the basic obligations towards employees or other persons and the environment are known to every entrepreneur and compliance is not a new topic in these areas. Every company will consciously or unconsciously implement compliance measures in this area. However, the topic has become very much the focus of the authorities – and the focus of the public.
The world of work is changing dramatically and is challenging HR managers. Whether it’s the shortage of skilled workers, succession management or digitalization: there’s a lack of personnel here, a lack of sufficient skills there. These dynamics have led to an increasing professionalization of HR management. State-of-the-art planning of personnel requirements forms an important and valid basis here.
It’s the combination that makes the difference! Different skills, practical experience and solid expertise are the basis for our business. As diverse as our team is, our common basis is our affinity for medium-sized businesses and for the people who shape them.
Our Consultant Jennifer Augustin
When „I“ is replaced by „We” even illness becomes wellness. – Malcolm X
Jennifer Augustin is a consultant at THE MAK`ED TEAM and at home in different cultures. Haiti, Canada, the United States of America and the cooperation with people from different countries of this world span a wide range of inter-national and intercultural experience.
She has a high level of expertise in building organizations with professional structures and processes. She also has a lot of experience in building teams and developing people. She also focuses on managing training organizations and business development in Africa. She is our contact person for projects on the African continent and brings with her strong language skills – she is fluent in English, French and Haitian Creole – and her high cultural competencies the best prerequisites for this.
She herself is at home in many worlds with a varied curriculum vitae: Jennifer Augustin was born in Haiti, grew up in Canada and completed her studies in the USA. With a Bachelor’s degree in Management & Supervision and a Bachelor’s degree in Organizational Communication, she was able to acquire a broad knowledge base. She then further enhanced her versatile skills with a Master of Science in Human Resource Management. After graduation, she pursued her passion for developing and organizing people in practice, and her career paths led her back to her home country. During this time she also became a partner of THE MAK’ED TEAM Haiti.
Today Jennifer Augustin lives in Florida. Her vast international experience and her hands-on, open nature make her a very valued team member and we look forward to many more international projects with her.
The shortage of skilled workers continues to worsen. New employees are desperately sought across all industries, and it has never been more important for companies to retain their employees. At the same time, many transformation processes are changing the demands on employees, work models and corporate processes.
It is well known how difficult the current framework conditions are for the HR sector.
Those responsible are responding to all these hurdles by rethinking HR management. An appreciative work culture among employees and positive interaction are crucial to success and are top priorities for contemporary HR managers. After all, only companies that stand out from the competition with particularly attractive working conditions and a positive employer image, that successfully implement important transformation processes and establish forward-looking HR models and new ways of working have a chance of attracting good personnel.
We don’t like to paint the devil on the wall. Rather, we think that part of risk management is to ensure the ability of an owner or a partner to act even if the person is unable to act himself at the moment. Illness and accidents are just two examples. The roles that an entrepreneur has as owner, managing director or partner must also be fulfilled in this situation – but by whom and on what basis? This is where the entrepreneurial power of attorney helps.
Strategy, liquidity, earnings: a company crisis can have various causes. Well-established crisis compliance shows the right steps to take in the individual situation. The risk of a crisis has increased significantly in recent years and more recently against the backdrop of the pandemic and the Ukraine war – even for seasoned companies. Moreover, in times of numerous high-profile corporate scandals, the liability claims of boards for misconduct have come into focus. Against this background, crisis compliance management is currently experiencing a strong upswing.
The war in Ukraine is hitting large parts of the economy with full force. There is hardly a company that is not directly or indirectly affected by the consequences. “Cash is king” is especially true in crisis situations, and liquidity management is a vital instrument for making liquidity bottlenecks transparent or averting insolvency if possible. […]
Delivery problems, staff shortages, trade relations: The war in Ukraine is having an impact on small and medium-sized businesses, and every company is affected differently. How strongly this war will affect the economy is hardly predictable and depends, among other things, on how long the war will continue and how far the situation will deteriorate.
Our office – a mini-campus for a few hours: We were delighted to welcome five students and their course director Professor Dr. Stäudner from the Mannheim University of Applied Sciences for Management (HdWM) to our Karlsruhe location on Thursday, 3 February 2022. The occasion was the presentation of a project that the students had worked out according to the task of THE MAK`ED TEAM.
