Industry 4.0: Bosses are incompetent from the employee's point of view
Poor marks for Europe's managers: Only 30 to 40 percent of employees describe the managers in their company as absolutely competent when it comes to "Industry 4.0". And no more than one in two trust their bosses to lead the company and its employees successfully into the working world of tomorrow. These are the findings of the international "Working World of the Future" study conducted by management consultants ROC. More than 2,500 employees in Germany, the United Kingdom, Austria and Switzerland were surveyed.
"The digital transformation is in full swing. However, a successful transition towards Industry 4.0 and the Internet of Things is not only a technical task, but at least as much a leadership task," says Oliver Back, Global COO of the ROC Group. "Ideally, a top executive in the company should already be living the working world of the future as much as possible today in order to set a good example for employees. This can be in the office, in production or in the development department."
Swiss managers are more competent
The ROC study does show regional differences: Swiss and Austrian managers, for example, with 42 percent and 41 percent approval respectively, receive a clearly better report card from their employees in terms of Industry 4.0 than German managers (36 percent). British managers are even worse off, with just over one in four employees attesting to useful digital expertise.
Employees are at least somewhat more confident that their superiors will successfully lead the company and its employees into the future world of work. In Germany, Austria and Switzerland, around one in two employees is confident that the learning curve will rise, while among Britons it is still a good one in three.
Trust in management not high enough
"As our survey shows, many employees' trust in their managers is not as high as it should be, given the technological and organizational challenges ahead. This is a cause for concern - after all, it is management that plays the key role in digital transformation," warns Prof. Dr. Armin Trost, Dean of Studies at Furtwangen University (HFU), who provided scientific support for the study.
Against this backdrop, companies' HR departments face a massive challenge. "It's up to HR developers to make the bosses, and then the entire organization, fit for a new corporate culture in the digital future. Permanent learning about Working World 4.0 is an absolute must. This applies to every individual in the company, but especially to the managers as multipliers," demands ROC COO Back.
Source: www.roc-group.de
