The Human at the Centre: Harald Epner

He is a member of the management board, leads sales and marketing at SRB, and wishes for an industry without elbows. Why the 'normal person' loves IT consulting and how he is involved in every billing of arrival and departure fees in Austria, you can learn in our (provisional) last episode of our employee series 'Inside SRB'.

Harald Epner is someone who pays close attention. Very close. As the head of sales & marketing at SRB, there is one phrase from the implementation and consulting corner that he hears repeatedly: 'We need to look at this in detail.' And that is exactly what he does. Preferably with and for customers.

Human at the Centre

‘The most beautiful moments in consulting are when you can accompany people from A to B, even though they never thought it possible,’ describes Harald. For him, IT is a wonderful catalyst to set and achieve goals together with people in a project.

‘Technology is exciting, but what is truly fascinating is always what you do with it, the work you create with it.’

It is no surprise that Harald loves the encounters and exchanges with the most diverse people the most about his job. Something that has developed and become increasingly important over the more than 30 years of his IT career.

In the past, for the experienced SAP consultant, who began his career in logistics consulting at the large Walldorf software company for 23 years before starting at SRB in 2015, it was quite exciting and relaxing to sit in his little room and write a few lines of code. Today, that is no longer enough for him. Variety is essential, and he gets that mainly from the people he interacts with day after day.

‘Being online works and was absolutely suitable as a COVID interim solution. Especially for technical coordination. However, the best Zoom call cannot replace human, emotional contact,’ Harald is convinced, which is why he is now also trying to intensify personal meetings again.

Balance in Life

The job at SRB also dictates his daily rhythm. His working hours depend on what the job requires. Although there are office hours, Harald continues, when deadlines for offers, presentations, or reports are looming, it can also happen that he spends some evenings working. For him, however, that is not a problem, as it goes hand in hand with the flexibility to organise his job at SRB as independently as possible to ensure the work is done to the best of his ability. A flexibility that Harald particularly appreciates.

To unwind outside of SRB and for inner balance, Harald is ‘classically’ engaged: cooking, DIY, reading, listening to music – these are his preferred hobbies. And with a slight grin, he adds: ‘I am probably not what one would describe as ‘exotic’.’

Sought-After Expertise

However, his influence on the Austrian IT scene is definitely remarkable. He fondly recalls a project from his long career: years ago, when it was about how arrival and departure fees in Austria should be processed and how to design, create, and digitally represent this, Harald was right in the middle of it. The idea and concept were originally based on one of his developments. Even though the technology used back then has long been replaced by newer components, Harald has left a lasting footprint, as the way billing is done is still the same.

At SRB, numerous other exciting, large, international projects in the SAP environment await him today. Harald's expertise is highly valued by clients. His goal: to bring joy to the customer with the new solution when it ultimately does exactly what it is supposed to do. The member of the SRB management board does not have grand personal visions, but he does have wishes. And here again, Harald brings the focus back to people: ‘I have been in the IT industry for a really long time, and it seems to me that the tone has become harsher in recent years. I would wish that we all rediscover more of the togetherness and ease off on the elbows.’

Inside SRB

Every month, we introduce one of our SRB employees in more detail here on the blog. We look behind the make-up, business outfit, and PowerPoint slides and want to bring you closer to the people who make up our SRB expertise. Together, we are SRB. For further reading: #1 – Manfred Scheiner #2 – Veronika Lomasow #3 – Yamen Albahesh #4 – Norbert Leimgruber #5 – Michael Henningerhttps://www.srb.at/blog/inside-srb/index.aspx?detail=94&hl=Ein%20Rechnungswesensleben%20mit%20vielen%20Facetten%3A%20Norbert%20Leimgruber