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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Planning, controlling, monitoring – ERP systems are becoming increasingly important in the course of digitalisation in medium-sized companies. ERP solutions are at the heart of the digital transformation in the company and have an impact on all business processes. At the same time, ERP transformation projects present companies with numerous challenges.
ERP – what does that even mean? Behind the acronym is “Enterprise Resource Planning”, which can be translated as “operational resource planning”. ERP stands for software that is used in companies to digitalise all relevant business processes from A to Z and thus to manage and control the multitude of business transactions. Be it in logistics, sales or purchasing. Here, the right preselection, the professional system check and the correct configuration are decisive for the success and profitability of the ERP systems.
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
In recent years, rating portals have become increasingly important for a company’s image – especially as an employer. How employees, former employees and applicants have rated a company as an employer has become an indispensable source of information for potential applicants. The ratings can be submitted anonymously and free of charge and can be accessed worldwide and permanently. Rating portals thus create enormous market transparency and have a considerable influence on whether and how a company is perceived as an attractive employer. The ratings of one’s own company on the various online platforms have a strong signal effect in the environment of potential applicants and customers. Read more
Bianca Selzer is a consultant at THE MAK`ED TEAM. With her focus on HR management, corporate learning and organisational development, she supports both smaller and larger medium-sized companies in their transformation processes. What are her experiences as a woman in the male-dominated consulting industry? Does she perceive inequalities and does she have a vision for the future of the role of women in consulting?
In an interview with consutling.de, she talks about her personal professional experiences as a woman in the consulting industry and provides exciting insights.
Click here for the interview … “In meinen Augen ist die Branche (noch) nicht sehr divers” | CONSULTING.de
From Florida to Germany to THE MAK`ED TEAM, from there to the Côte D`Ivoir – and back to Florida: this was the varied itinerary of our consultant Jennifer Augustin in April 2023. Our Africa expert travelled to the Ivory Coast for THE MAK`ED TEAM in order to further expand our local network. The Republic of Côte D’Ivoir is economically extremely attractive and an interesting location for medium-sized companies: It provides access to a region with 110 million people and has around 29 million inhabitants itself. With annual economic growth of 8% since 2012, it is one of the fastest growing economies in the world. And many other African countries, especially in West Africa, are also experiencing economic upswings. That is why we are convinced that internationally active medium-sized companies should take a closer look at the continent. There is a lot to be said for it: Africa is young, has many valuable raw materials and offers SMEs a wide range of opportunities. Let’s take a closer look at the economic strengths of the Ivory Coast:
Handing over one’s own business is a challenging topic. Many entrepreneurs find succession difficult. Even if, like one of our clients, they deal with it at an early stage: Frank S., a medium-sized entrepreneur in his early sixties, had started to deal with the issue of succession in his mid-50s. So, he was well on time. It was clear early on that his only son would not take over the company. So how to proceed? Sell the company? In order to get this complex decision right, Frank S. called in an expert.
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.
On 16 December 2022, the Whistleblower Protection Act (HinSchG) was passed in the Federal Parliament. Based on the Whistleblower Directive, it guarantees whistleblowers better protection in their professional environment against reprisals such as dismissal or defamation. The next plenary session of the Bundesrat is on 10 February 2023. If it approves the HinSchG, the law can be promulgated in February. Since a law comes into force three months after promulgation, in this case it would probably be the end of May. In the first stage, the law will apply to all companies with 250 or more employees and, from 17 December 2023 to all companies with at least 50 employees.
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The corporate world is changing dynamically and with it the challenges for leadership and management. Managers are constantly confronted with new tasks as a result of the permanent changes. In order to successfully cope with change, focused further development is essential. Structured development of executives is best achieved using an individually designed development model. It ensures that leaders are best equipped for current and future business tasks and challenges.
Systematic development of executives in medium-sized companies is currently the exception rather than the rule. Leadership development therefore offers many companies a great, previously untapped opportunity to strengthen their team, find new talent and successfully move the company forward even in phases of major change.
Supervisors play a Key Role in Employee Retention
The structured development of managers is an important basis for the company’s future – and for staff retention. According to a recent Personio study*, 46% of employees in small and medium-sized companies across Europe are planning to change jobs in the near future. One of the most important reasons cited for this is a lack of appreciation. Leadership style, social skills, empathy and corporate culture are key factors in determining how much employees identify with the company and feel comfortable there. This means that supervisors play a particularly important role in the onboarding process.
Success is no coincidence
Reflecting on oneself, deepening one’s own competencies, learning, networking, motivating … In times of such rapid and major changes, a modern manager is characterized above all by the willingness and ability to develop further. This applies to younger managers as well as to experienced ones. The concrete design of the personal development model depends on many individual factors such as the management level, the area of responsibility or the personal experience values. A younger manager who wants to prepare optimally for taking on greater management responsibility will set completely different priorities in his development model than an experienced manager who wants to drive major change processes in the company. The earlier a development model for leadership and management is implemented at all levels, the more promising the results. After all, developing leaders systematically takes time and is an ongoing process.
Leadership Development with Structure, Empathy and 360° View
How can a manager be developed in a goal-oriented manner? When implementing the development model, it is important to look at the individual framework conditions, corporate culture and goals and link them to the internal guidelines for managers. For this purpose, we develop an agile development model. First, the initial situation is analysed and relevant competencies as well as strengths and weaknesses of the executives are identified. On this basis, development areas and goals are defined, and an individual leadership development model is elaborated. The development model is tailored to the individual starting situation of the executive in order to ensure optimal learning and successful transfer to practice. It will initially be launched as a pilot project and, after the test phase, will be successively implemented as a professional infrastructure in the form of coaching, training, and learning-on-the-job elements. Managers can thus achieve their individual development goals in a targeted and efficient manner. The training effects are permanently evaluated and assessed to ensure the best possible development results.
THE MAK`ED TEAM sees leadership development as an essential part of successful business development. We develop agile leadership development models that are easy to implement and focused. Executives benefit from our high level of expertise in corporate business and our interdisciplinary, experienced team.
More about HR Development.
*Source: Personio study “The Great Value Shift”, 2022
