IT SME sector continues to grow

In the recently presented ‘IT-Mittelstandsbericht’ of the digital association Bitkom, the implications of digitization show their positive effects. In the past fiscal year, German IT SMEs recorded a 9 percent increase in sales and an increase of around 30,000 jobs.
“IT SMEs are the growth driver of the digital economy. Medium-sized companies are the fastest growing companies in the bitcom industry. It is particularly medium-sized companies that drive the economy with great agility and dynamism, create new jobs and strengthen Germany as a business location,"says Bitkom Chairman Dirk Röhrborn.
The nearly 10,000 medium-sized German companies are responsible for about 35 percent of the total industry turnover.
However, the two issues of a shortage of skilled workers and company succession pose major challenges in this area in particular, in order to further drive corporate growth. “In the IT sector alone, there are 14,500 vacancies for IT experts. It is particularly difficult for medium-sized companies to win the race for the best and brightest minds," says Röhrborn.

The shortage of skilled and managerial staff is becoming increasingly threatening for German SMEs and is also costing massive growth. Never before has it been so difficult for companies to find suitable candidates for their vacancies. In order to counteract this shortage of specialist and managerial staff, companies – especially SMEs – must come up with some ideas. However, there is no panacea to meet the demand for skilled labour for companies. Various instruments are available for the successful recruitment of specialists and managers. An underestimated point is the perceived attractiveness of employers, the so-called employer branding, in order to both recruit qualified employees and retain them in the long term. In addition to salary, the attractiveness features include management and corporate culture, career and development opportunities as well as work-life balance. Another evaluation factor is the exploitation and promotion of one’s own employee potential, as well as the flexibility and agility of the working models. For employees and the company itself, it is important to offer new work perspectives – and models. In addition to a healthy degree of creativity, it is also indispensable here to know the requirements and needs of the sought-after personalities and – depending on the company and industry – to make them available in suitable ways and to advertise them profitably.
“Many medium-sized companies are often not perceived by potential candidates in the prevailing labour market. Employer branding can be successfully positioned here with the help of external supporters who draw attention to the company’s advantages as a neutral entity.
The current trend in the IT midmarket confirms and shows that IT is now categorized as a value-added factor and no longer just a cost factor.
Generally speaking, we do not recommend our customers to look for suitable minds at short notice, but rather to bring on board qualified know-how with strategic foresight," says Martin Krill, Managing Director of Hager Unternehmensberatung.

Authors:
Martin Krill has been working for Hager Unternehmensberatung for more than fifteen years and was made a managing partner in 2004. He fills top sales and management positions in the technology industry as well as a number of other sectors.