Digitalisation in HR Management News | People | 18.06.2025

Interview with Alessandra Echter

Our team successfully introduced Personio in a very short space of time. Alessandra Echter took over the project management - and mastered her first major project with flying colours:
 

The Personio kick-off is over, having taken only five months of preparation. 
How do you feel as the project manager responsible for the digitalisation of HR management?
Alessandra Echter:
It was my first major project. Being given responsibility as the youngest member of the Financial Accounting team was a valuable learning experience. My conclusion is that planning is fun. 
It is crucial that the team works well together. Colleagues play a major role in achieving success. It is also important not to lose sight of the goal. Bottlenecks are inevitable. Everyone has to contribute, otherwise it won't work. 
The fact that the Head of Human Resources was scanning documents late into the night demonstrates the high level of commitment of everyone involved. 

What was the reaction of your in-house colleagues when you introduced the system?
Alessandra Echter:
Positive. Most people thought that being able to view your documents and data at any time was the most important innovation. The transition to in-house payroll accounting is ongoing. We are dependent on the help of the tax office here. Integrating Datev and Personio was not easy. We need someone who can explain the Datev side of things to us in detail.  

The learning curve is steepening for the team. There are special features every month, such as changes to salary classification or maternity leave. All of this has to be worked through once, with the support of a colleague from HR management. This ensures that everything is correct.
You realise that money is a more sensitive topic. The expectation is 100%. We want to live up to that expectation.