The link between business strategy and personnel requirements
At the 19th East Switzerland Personnel Day, which took place on September 28, 2023 in St.Gallen, the question "How to shape personnel management in times of a shortage of skilled workers?" was the most discussed question, as well as many others. The focus was on the shortage of specialists and workers, but this time less from a recruitment perspective. The Ostschweizer Personaltag is one of the most important human resources conferences in eastern Switzerland.
The hall in St.Gallen's Olma Hall 9.1 was filled almost to capacity. Proof enough that the topic of this year's East Switzerland HR Day aroused the interest of HR professionals: "When staff is missing and work remains. Personnel development in focus". Because when it comes to retaining existing employees and developing them, many companies still have some catching up to do. Sibylle Olbert-Bock from the OST University of Applied Sciences pointed this out in her introduction to the conference and referred to a recent study.
In the first presentation, Kai Berendes, an expert in strategic HR management, noted that organizations do not sufficiently recognize the gap between staffing levels and staffing needs. Business dynamics, new business models, focus on new topics such as digitalization and sustainability, and HR dynamics are not keeping pace enough. It is therefore advisable to approach business strategy design and workforce planning as closely linked processes. This requires the consideration of different scenarios as well as the possible inclusion of data for better decision making.
Leadership expert Matthias Mölleney, however, had a different opinion on the subject. He added that a new kind of leadership is needed. He advocated a "next generation leadership" that is based less on hierarchies and more on networks, and that focuses less on tasks and results and more on emotions and inspiration. Leadership must be less "from the front" and more "from behind". Mölleney therefore saw the guarantee of psychological security as well as respect, trust and appreciation as the strongest factors for team success.
Two examples showed how this can work in practice. Barbara Ehrbar-Sutter, owner and CEO of Breitenmoser Appenzeller Fleischspezialitäten AG, emphasized "You have to like people" as her most important credo for a winning corporate culture. The healthcare and logistics group Galenica AG, on the other hand, is in the midst of a transformation process away from patriarchal leadership to servant leadership. Together with coach André Langenegger, Chief Transformation Officer Jürg Pauli reported on the first steps of this change, which requires a lot of tact and staying power.
Finally, Prof. Dr. Dr. Manfred Spitzer, neuroscientist and author, explained that it is never too late to learn new things. Thanks to the "neuroplasticity" of our brain, it "cannot not learn. The prerequisite, however, is that you train it throughout your life: The more that is already in it, the more it can absorb; "if nothing is in it, nothing fits in it," said Spitzer, warning against placing too much emphasis on digitization and artificial intelligence in preschool education.
Companies can effectively shape their HR policies by focusing on the needs of employees, actively listening to their concerns and promoting lifelong learning.
Source: www.personaltag.ch
