What makes working at Compart special for you?

Good values are extremely important to me when working for an employer. At Compart, I experience that the company values are not just written down somewhere on the intranet, but are lived out in a tangible way. One of Compart´s corporate values that I experience every day is "trust and respect". I greatly appreciate the trust that is placed in me by my superior, for example. From the very beginning, I have been directly involved in customer projects, but I also know that I am always supported with advice and that the doors are always open. Compart not only takes responsibility towards its employees, but also towards society. For example, when during the refugee crisis we offered German courses for refugees at our headquarters. During this time, the value of "responsibility" really became tangible for me. The values I lived by and the open corporate culture at Compart even led me to return to Compart after a short professional excursion to another employer. But the great team climate at Compart was certainly also a decisive factor.

You were Head of Internal IT at Compart for a long time and then changed your position internally to work as a project manager. What inspired you about this?

I had already spent many years in the customer project environment in my time before Compart and even then, I enjoyed implementing customer requirements. I wanted to pick up where I left off. I received support from all sides from Compart during my internal change. In addition, I got in shape for my new tasks through various product training courses, product management training and internal training courses at the Compart Academy. The topic itself was not new to me – but Compart products in this depth were. I had to familiarize myself with them first. When I was offered the position of project manager, I was eager to seize this opportunity. The nice side effect: I got to know Compart again through completely different glasses. I had already dealt with many colleagues in my previous position, but in a completely different context.

Your tips for further development at Compart?

Take advantage of the open doors and talk to your superiors to find out what individual possibilities there are. A good network with colleagues in other departments and a view beyond your own team is always an enrichment. Especially if you want to develop into a completely different area at Compart. By the way, regular participation in the training courses offered by the Compart Academy and external training courses are also a good way of keeping up to date and strengthening your own soft skills.

What is the biggest challenge in your job?

Finding the right balance between the requirements of my customers, the technical possibilities of our products and the workload of my consulting colleagues. So sometimes, it is a real art to balance the project schedule of my customers and the timeline of our development in a product roadmap that suits everyone. So it is good that we are all pulling in the same direction. Also the open corporate culture contributes to a quick and good solution of a lot of challenges. If I face a challenge, I can take the direct route to everyone without any bureaucratic hurdles. For example, if I had new customer requirements, I would go directly to one of the developers and get an initial feasibility opinion and expertise.

You are also committed to good teamwork at Compart beyond your working hours and have created the Compart Runners, for example. What motivates you?

First of all, I am an enthusiastic runner myself, and furthermore I enjoy inspiring other people for sports, as there is a lack of exercise, especially in our profession. In my opinion, the greatest accomplishments are achieved by those who have not done any or very little sport so far and then make it to the participation in a small run, such as the company run with 5 km.

"We all pull together in the same direction and everyone makes their contribution to customer satisfaction. This is especially noticeable when there are challenges in customer projects."

Michael, born 1979
Project Manager

Michael studied Business Informatics at the University of Cooperative Education in Stuttgart and subsequently began his professional career in the sales and consulting sector. In 2012, Michael joined Compart as IT project manager and was entrusted with the introduction of a new ERP system and other internal project coordination tasks. In 2014, he was given the opportunity to develop himself further as Head of Internal IT and take on management responsibility for the Internal IT team. He managed this department for four years and was responsible for three employees. After a brief professional excursion to another company, Michael returned to Compart in 2019. Today he is a project manager in the Professional Services area at Compart and is once again in direct contact with customers through the coordination of ongoing customer projects.