The world of work is changing as a result of increasing digitalisation. In HR, for example, not only purely administrative tasks of applicant management can be automated in the future, but also processes and requirements with elementary strategic added value.

  • Communication with applicants and interviewing - through chatbots
  • Active sourcing - through providers that use algorithms to promise better matching and predict switching and relocation probabilities
  • Applicant (pre)selection and interview analysis - through artificial intelligence Programm

Of Course, not every program will pay off for small or mid-sized companies. This is true in HR as well as in other functions. Additionally, it is important to note that automation does not per se lead to better results. Faster does not have to mean better quality. To stay with the recruiting example: There are programs that create a personality profile from a photo or handwriting. But this does not improve the selection of applicants. It is just automated nonsense.

HR professionals not only have to stay up-to-date with digitalisation in their own core activities. They are also asked to support change processes and should be able to identify resistance and success factors.
What drives employees when they are confronted with digitalisation in their working lives? In a recent employee survey, those affected saw more than twice as many risks as opportunities. Is this typical German risk avoidance or even a worrywart attitude? Or does the result represent a realistic assessment of employees with the realisation that many changes and "reforms" have not led to the better?

On the positive side, the opportunities of digitalisation are mentioned:

  • Paperless working
  • Faster work
  • Good IT and modern hardware (especially mobile. devices such as tablets and smartphones)
  • Automation and optimisation of processes
  • Mobile working and home office
  • Future orientation with good competitiveness and
  • democratisation in the company through transparency and better access to data

But the fears prevail. It is not only about the "how" of working in the future, but more generally about the "if". On the negative side, it is about the fear of control and continuous surveillance, the loss of jobs, excessive demands and stress. respondents worry about the new demands, increasing complexity, the increase in PC work and reduced personal communication.

In the future, it will be a matter of finding a reasonable balance between what is technically possible and the processes desired by employees, managers, customers, applicants and other stakeholders.
In this context, I recommend the current study Best Agers 2019 by the Augsburg University of Applied Sciences. The results show, for example, that every sixth professional and manager would like to have more face2face meetings again. Only 7% of the survey participants, on the other hand, would like to see more IT-supported, virtual meetings. The results of the survey can be found online at https://www.hs-augsburg.de/Wirtschaft/Personalmanagement.html.