Interview with MSM.digital: A good overview of the availability and skills of employees is extremely helpful during economic fluctuations

Unplanned changes in the economy cause fluctuations in personnel requirements. It is therefore important for companies to know at the click of a mouse who is currently working on which tasks and which skills are required. Missing information leads to wrong decisions and to suboptimal personnel deployment. Our user Maic Ungermann, member of the management board of the internationally active marketing agency MSM.digital and certified Project Management Professional (PMP) of the PMI, will tell you that it doesn't have to come to this and how to prepare yourself in time with digital solutions.

Why does a comprehensive overview of resources favor the flexibility and power of a company in uncertain times?

Maic: "Basically, it is good for project managers to know who is working on what and where employees are located. Availability and skills are the decisive, but also the limiting factor when it comes to planning projects and successfully implementing corporate strategies. Cloud-based planning tools enable flexible replanning if this becomes necessary, for example, when travel restrictions are imposed. You can see immediately who is still available - and where. This information can be decisive for the continuation of a project. In the best case, you also know where your employees have their strengths and can make optimal use of them depending on their skills and reschedule them more quickly. As the person responsible for a project, you should also always be able to provide information to inform customers and stakeholders about possible delays and their expected extent and, in the best case, show alternatives so that a project can be continued even in a crisis.

Can this "flexibility" also entail job cuts?

Maic: "A company has one primary objective: to operate profitably with the aim of guaranteeing its long-term economic survival. Consequently, in the event of an economic downturn, there are always natural layoffs, just as there are hiring during an economic upswing. In this context too, knowledge of the roles and skills of employees is valuable, as it helps companies both in defining dispensable roles and skills and in recruiting and training employees in line with requirements at an early stage in the event of an economic upturn".

Against this background, do you think that resource management will become more important in the near future?

Maic: "In any case, the ability to digitally control resource planning proves to be an added value, as companies can react flexibly to constraints - provided that an Internet connection is available. I therefore believe that knowledge of a company's resources and the skills of its employees and the cloud-based option of planning them is a key to economic survival and success".

Maic, thank you very much for the interview!