Impact of the Digital Transformation on the Transformation of the Workforce

(a) Situation faced: Traditional car manufacturers can no longer escape the pressure of digitization and automation. For the workforce, it is extremely challenging to face up to the need for the changes derived from this. These changes are induced externally, as customer needs and thus the requirements for the degree of digitization of products are changing (e.g., connected cars, automated driving functions, on-demand and sharing offers, etc.). At the same time, the pressure for change is induced internally, as employees’ needs are also changing (e.g., digital workplaces, modern IT equipment, integrated systems and processes, digital collaboration, etc.). Our approach starts here and accompanies the technical development division of an automotive manufacturer in the development of a concept for the transformation of its very own workforce. (b) Action taken: To enable the case study company to transform its workforce of the technical development division in a meaningful way, the division-specific constellation was considered. This constellation consisted of history, internal performance scopes, external performance scopes, and personnel strategy goals. Together with the relevant stakeholders (based on a stakeholder analysis), precisely fitting methodological approaches were selected (based on expert discussions) that met this specific situation. A transformation concept was developed that placed the employee at the center, provided room for individual problems and needs, and clearly relied on the participation of the workforce. (c) Results achieved: The actions taken resulted in a ground-laying understanding of what digital transformation entails specifically in this traditional organization; what needs, obstacles, and interests reside within the workforce and towards management personnel; and how these can be tackled from different angles. With this knowledge, it was subsequently possible to develop targeted measures to sensitize the workforce to the necessary digitization change and to increase its acceptance. It was possible to give the management’s quantitative transformation goals a practical relevance and to validate their feasibility. (d) Lessons learned: Implementing digital transformation measures within the case company with its traditional business models and structures was a significant challenge. The holistic approach of the present paper has shown that a step-by-step approach with compact, purposefully communicated measures can lead to the goal of sustainable workforce transformation for the digital automotive age. Despite the involvement of all relevant stakeholders and those affected, both the company’s expert team and management personnel must be prepared for delays or even failure of this transformation process at any time. At the same time, however, it was accomplished to learn and show that—contrary to expectations (and prejudices) in some parts of management—the absolute majority of those involved were ready for change.