Up and down the country, digitization by administrative buildings, authorities and small and medium-sized companies is haunting a new panacea. Because they all suffer from the same deficiency disease: too few workers.
Let me first clarify what I mean by digitization. Because the term is often used in the same breath as automation. But digitization is not about Industry 4.0 or automating production processes. Digitalization means the intelligent use of digital tools to create space for new things. Digitalization is not a megatrend, according to the Zukunftsinstitut, but has points of contact with all currently observable megatrends.
What I observe in discussions with managers about strategy consulting: Virtually no company lacks digital tools. There is a lack of adjustment of processes and interfaces. In this way, clever digital solutions are simply superimposed on existing analog processes in companies. The benefits of digitization are therefore only partially skimmed off.
What would actually contribute to alleviating labour shortages? I think we need two things:
Let's start with managers: Here I want fearless people who can inspire their employees to work in new ways. Living digitization goes hand in hand with learning the possibilities and limits of digital tools. In our closely timed working environment, this means creating time windows and spaces for such learning and trying things out. And not just when introducing digital tools, but continuously, because digitization continues to develop at a rapid pace.
However, digitization also means questioning and perhaps dissolving cherished structures and amenities (such as positions in the company). Functioning digitization goes hand in hand with fewer hierarchies, fewer departmental “silos,” more personal responsibility, greater scope of action for each individual and more tolerance for errors.
Dramatic changes are met with shared reactions among employees: on the one hand, fears of new things, on the other hand, interest and enthusiasm, because space is created for more interesting, in the best case, more fulfilling tasks and changing career paths. You also have to keep an eye on this and buffer it.
I would not like to conceal two other obstacles at this point: On the one hand, the widespread skepticism, especially in Germany, especially of new people. Sentences such as “We've always done it this way”, “It was better the way it used to be”, “Why should we change something, it works! “are the biggest enemies of successful digitization. On the other hand, the habit of immediately filling the free spaces created by digitization with new tasks. This concentration and intensification of work slows down the willingness of many employees to engage constructively with digitization.
Anyone who wants to successfully digitize processes in their company is forced to question a lot of familiar things and shake up some of the structures they love because they are convenient. I would be happy to discuss with you in person which tools you can use as a top decision maker. You can find the right frame here.
You are also welcome to a webinar visit that I am June 15, 2023 at 4:30 PM hold. Further information and the option to register can be found here.
