Kathrin Finn works in the Consulting area as Director Product Consulting easysquare. In this interview, she introduces herself and her tasks.

Interview

Hello Kathrin! Can you start by describing Product Management at PROMOS?

Kathrin: easysquare stands for the cloud service, and thus for all mobile applications from PROMOS. The Product Management team is part of easysquare. We take care of the constant expansion and the improvement of product standards in the existing mobile solutions. We develop solutions as part of customer projects and place them strategically in a way that works. In addition, we view ourselves as the innovation driver in the real-estate industry. We are continuously expanding our product portfolio with new mobile applications and functions. This requires a great deal of market research and knowledge about customer requirements. As a result, we can impress our customers on the market with new products and reach new target groups.

What character traits should people who want a job in your field have?

Kathrin: They should certainly be very inventive. Be it in the project business or in product development, we are constantly trying to improve and expand our products. And since such a project is not designed and developed in a vacuum, interaction with developers, consultants and the Sales team is essential. You should enjoy sharing your product idea with other colleagues and with customers and getting them to share your enthusiasm. It is very important to us that our employees proactively confront problems and develop an independent sense of initiative. And because even new colleagues at PROMOS are quickly given responsibility, you should enjoy getting to know new topics and areas.

What do you enjoy most about your job?

Kathrin: The fact that I am able to change something and receive encouragement and positive support in this.

How would you describe the working atmosphere at PROMOS?

Kathrin: We really are like one big family here. Everyone treats each other respectfully and we work as a team. Even when the workload is high, everyone is always available to listen anyone who needs help. And we simply get things done here. If somebody has a good idea, pursues it and is able to awaken others’ enthusiasm, then these things actually happen at PROMOS. Simply because every employee is not treated as a resource, but is a key cog in the PROMOS machinery.

Your department works with agile methods. Which advantages and special features are involved when working in this way? Does this change your day-to-day working life?

Kathrin: In Product Management, we have been working with the agile project method Scrum since 2019. We use this method to plan our resources and product and app features efficiently. The major advantage of this iterative and plannable procedure is that our communication with our customers and internally with our consultants, the Sales department and Marketing has become much more transparent. This procedure has changed our daily work in that Scrum works according to clear structures and rules. This took some getting used to at first, especially since product management is characterised by a high level of creativity and innovative strength. But despite everything, creative work does not fall by the wayside. We use other methods for creative work that take place outside of Scrum. Only once an idea has been evaluated and a concept developed do we implement it using Scrum.

Do you make use of the training options on offer at PROMOS?

Kathrin: Yes, I do. Eagerly, in fact. Especially when it allows me to broaden my horizons. PROMOS provides us with many opportunities for training. We can complete online courses on various platforms and there are regular in-house training sessions. I find it interesting to see how my colleagues work, which topics they have to deal with and which solutions they are working on. Only in this way can we identify synergies and improve for ourselves and our customers every single day. Managers also receive special manager training – this coaching supports all PROMOS employees with a responsibility for other staff with their continuing development. In the easysquare area, we initiated a knowledge transfer project at the start of 2020 that gives everyone the opportunity to present their product, so their work – in short, to pass on their knowledge. The goal is for them to arouse their colleagues’ curiosity and interest and, as a result, get them excited about an idea. And much to my delight, there are already plans to expand this knowledge transfer beyond the easysquare area to the entire company and make it available as a recording on our online platform so that the exchange can even take place across sites.

What advice do you have for applicants?

Kathrin: The Product Management team is very diverse, with everyone from real estate agents and student trainees in business administration to computer scientists and business engineers. In my view, an affinity for IT, an instinct for trends, the desire to watch things emerge and grow and follow them through to the end and, of course, the ability to address customer needs are the key to a good product manager. In short, the overall package of career path, experience and motivation must be right.

Thank you for taking the time for this interview. Have a great day at work.

Kathrin: Thank you.