Where is the digital competence?

Can we Homo Sapiens also claim from ourselves that our digital intelligence is getting better and better? Not really. According to a recent study by Bitkom, the digital competence of applicants and employees in Germany is rather mediocre. This makes it difficult for companies that want to introduce CI-controlled solutions to find the best of the best in an empty labour market. Because one thing applies to all companies: Even in a digital environment, nothing works without employees. Or who should introduce digital processes and AI?

On the one hand, the demands on digital skills are increasing, on the other hand it is necessary to recruit suitable employees, to keep them on board or – if they are already on board – to give them relevant skills for the future digital journey.

If many top talents are to be found, nothing is possible without appropriate incentives. Companies must not only think in monetary terms, but must also create an adapted corporate culture in which digital maturity is also feasible. This can be a turn in established Org charts – it can also be to put supposedly good processes ad acta. In the age of digital upheaval, the old wisdom is that those who can adapt best will survive. Charles Darwin once said: "Neither the strongest nor the most intelligent species will survive, but the one that adapts best to change".

Digital transformation is reshuffling the cards. As with any market transformation, companies must take a different perspective – they must not only invest in new technologies, but also in talent and their own corporate culture. This is often unfamiliar. But to become digitally more mature, employees need to become digitally fitter and culture more flexible. This not only plans a strategy, but ultimately also reaps its fruits.

Summary
Unfortunately, the open labour market leaves little room for manoeuvre to win the digital ‚cracks‘. It is important for business leaders to plant the appropriate culture in their corporate DNA in order to allow for upheavals and attract talent. Here, wise advice and support from outsiders can often work wonders or – as Antoine de Saint-Exupéry says – "To see clearly, a change of perspective is often enough".

Author:
Martin Krill has been working for Hager Unternehmensberatung for nearly 20 years and was appointed Managing Director in 2004. He fills senior sales and management positions in the technology industry and in other selected industries.