“Virtual communications don’t work over the long term.”

How far along is the digital transformation already? And how are managers preparing themselves and their companies for this “Fourth Industrial Revolution?” Porsche Consulting spoke with top-level managers and decision makers.

Dr. Elke Eller, HR Executive Director of TUI AG and President of the German Federal Association of Human Resources Managers, answers these questions in part 2 of the series “How ready are managers to go digital?”

Digitization is profoundly changing our companies and in turn, human resource management as well. As personnel managers, we need to explore the possibilities and tools now available in areas such as recruiting and team building. Today’s job applicants and employees expect HR departments to use these technical resources in order to provide the best possible services. Digitization can also be enormously helpful in the field of service excellence. It makes us more efficient and allows us to concentrate more on strategic matters.

Moverover, the content of our work is changing and we have to make sure that high quality remains the standard and the guiding principle in the digital working world as well. The rate at which job descriptions and qualification needs are changing will probably continue to accelerate. At the same time, we are seeing a trend toward greater self- and co-determination on the job, influenced in large part by employees’ higher levels of education and training.

Not least of all, digital communication makes it easier to combine a family and a job. However, we need to ensure the continuation of core attendance times as well as a setting for teams to meet in person. Over the long term, purely virtual communications do not work.