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Competence management is important in a company to ensure that employee resources are used optimally. Through competence management, the skills and competences of employees can be developed and used in a focused way. Competence management is a demanding task. How does the company know what competencies a person has outside their field of work? And how can these competences be used professionally?

In order to solve these and many other challenges in competence management without spending a lot of time and personnel, the use of skill management tools can be a useful method: The right tools ensure that skills management can be implemented efficiently. Digital tools can be used for every step along the employee life cycle and significantly improve the results. The tools start at different points along the employee’s career path. Which tool or mix of tools a company needs depends entirely on individual needs. All-in-one solutions are often very powerful for SMEs. The key question in the selection process is: What requirements should be met by the competence management system?

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Public funding supports small and medium-sized enterprises in their development. But which funding programmes are suitable for your own company? And how can the right funding be identified, or several funding programmes be combined? Entrepreneurs who deal with this topic quickly realise that getting an overview and making the right choice for their own company is a task that cannot be accomplished in passing. Finding one’s way through the funding jungle is not always easy.

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Comply with regulations, implement ethical standards: Compliance is crucial for SMEs in the highly competitive business environment. Medium-sized companies that decide to professionalise their compliance can make their compliance management processes lean, efficient and transparent on the basis of certification standards. Once a solid compliance basis has been developed according to certification standards, the company is optimally equipped for active compliance management.

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E-commerce, customer relationship management, data analysis, chatbots: even today, sales without technology is unthinkable and digital developments are advancing in leaps and bounds. If sales is digitalised, routine activities are automated, processes are made more efficient and adapted to customer needs.  This can significantly improve the entire sales process from planning to execution and control. The new technologies can also support sales at all levels in finding, winning and retaining customers and ultimately increase turnover. Digitisation of sales offers great opportunities for medium-sized companies. Read more

The African continent is in a constant economic upswing and digitisation is advancing in leaps and bounds. This can be a real springboard for small and medium-sized enterprises that are thinking about internationalising their business, further developing their international locations and expanding their networks. In our guest article, which appeared in the 1/2023 issue of the BVMW foreign trade magazine “AfrikaContact”, we discuss the various aspects, advantages and opportunities that Africa’s digital transformation offers German SMEs. Be it online trade, supply chain management or the qualification and further training of skilled workers – the conditions for SMEs have improved significantly in recent years and are better today than ever before. We are convinced that now is the right time for many SMEs pursuing internationalisation plans to look into Africa. Read more

In the current economic situation, which is challenging for most companies, we will be devoting ourselves intensively to the question of what makes medium-sized companies resilient at our Event & Dialogue on 19 April 2023. In cooperation with the employee consultancy stg, THE MAK`ED TEAM invites managing directors, executives and HR managers to a joint evening above the rooftops of Nuremberg, which will be dedicated to professional exchange and dialogue. The focus will be on many practical topics related to resilience management. THE MAK`ED TEAM will give an overview of organisational resilience: How can a company develop the right balance between stability and flexibility? We will show management approaches and discuss resilience strategies suitable for SMEs. stg will again look at individual resilience: What can the company do to strengthen the resilience of its employees? The Event & Dialogue “Robust, adaptable, strong: Resilience Management in Practice” offers an intensive professional exchange. The agenda includes:

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“What happens to my customers when energy becomes more expensive?”. How will the high material costs affect my prices or my procurement market? These and other pressing questions are currently being asked by many SMEs. Questions raised by economic crises and changes in many influencing factors. Questions that should be answered at an early stage. Only then does the company have the best possible chance of averting potential risks and crises. This requires transparency in the relevant areas of the company, which can be created by an early warning system.

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Many people first think of environmental protection, climate protection and decarbonisation when they hear the word “sustainability”. But sustainability is much more than that. The wide range is reflected in the ESG criteria. ESG stands for “Environment”, “Social” and “Governance”. It is not only about the “E”, but also about the “S” and “G”. It is only through the interaction of the three areas of environment, social affairs and corporate governance that a sustainable corporate orientation unfolds, which improves growth opportunities and financing advantages and makes the company more resilient. The individual weighting of the three areas differs depending on the sector and size of the company. For example, the area of “environment” can have a much higher relevance for an industrial company than for a service provider.

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“Financial communication” – many SMEs see it primarily as a task of listed companies. But it is of great importance, especially for small and medium-sized enterprises. Especially when a company is in a difficult economic situation. Companies that proactively implement transparent bank communication and thus build up a good relationship with their bank (creditor relationship) have a much better standing with their bank. Targeted financial communication with regular reporting improves capital access and conditions. It strengthens the bank’s confidence in its own company and can pave the way for better support overall.

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Finding staff, retaining staff: What used to be an everyday routine is now a supreme discipline in management and HR departments. More than ever, staff retention is an important key to corporate success. And in the highly competitive labour market, it is a real challenge, especially for small and medium-sized enterprises. Attractive and transparent development paths play a key role in employee retention.

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