Digitalization is fundamentally transforming the economy and society as a whole. But it also has an enormous impact on the workers tasked with driving innovation—the programmers and software engineers. In this interview, IT expert Karl-Heinz Hageni, a member of IG Metall’s executive board, discusses the new skills workers in the industry need—and what needs to change within companies to support this.
The job of IT professionals is to drive digital transformation. Does that automatically make these workers the winners of digital transformation?
Karl-Heinz Hageni: No, digitalization doesn’t automatically make them winners. The key factor is the broader context. Of course, that requires some explanation …
…let’s start with the broader context.
The IT industry here in Germany is currently undergoing enormous shifts. At the major IT service providers, jobs are in some cases being cut or relocated to India or other offshore regions. We’ve just seen this happen at Atos and T-Systems, as well as at HP. The problem for IT service providers is that what they offer is highly standardized. As a result, they’re feeling the full brunt of global competition. On the other hand, large corporations like automakers are desperately seeking programmers. Jobs are being created there.
How does that fit together?
In many areas, IT is merely a commodity or a cost factor for companies. It’s exclusively about software and services, such as travel expense reporting. On the other hand, thanks to digitalization, IT is increasingly becoming a strategic factor for companies. It can drive innovation, enable entirely new business models, and displace old ones.
How should we picture this?
Let’s stick with the automotive industry and take the Electronic Stability Program (ESP) in cars as an example. The ESP is packed with sensors that collect a vast amount of data: when the brakes were applied, at what speed, for how long, how often, and with how much pressure. Every time a car comes into the repair shop, this data can be read out and consolidated. That’s far more information than could ever be measured during test drives or in a test lab. Based on this analysis, developers can draw important conclusions about how components are stressed and how their quality can be improved. Engineers refer to this as “data gold.”
... which, of course, one must know how to handle.
Conversely, the ability to handle this data becomes worth its weight in gold. Keyword: Big Data. Companies will need more data analysts, for example. The positions being created will therefore require new skills.
How else are the requirements for IT professionals changing? What role do apps and mobile devices play?
These are certainly important topics. Smartphones already have over twenty sensors built in. They measure things like ambient light, air pressure, heart rate, or movement. This data can be accessed via app interfaces, which are now found in many everyday products. The challenge now isn’t in accessing these interfaces—that is, linking the product and the app. That can be learned quickly with a solid IT education. The challenge is to make innovative use of the possibilities created by sensors, to be inventive, and to develop new solutions and applications. Creative thinking is therefore what adds value here. And that value can be enormous.
This means that the role of IT experts is also changing.
Yes. They’re becoming drivers of innovation within companies. That, in turn, has further implications. We’ve just discussed the technical skills that digitalization requires. But this also goes hand in hand with new social skills.
What do those look like?
Basically, you could say that expectations are rising when it comes to communication—both via social media and, above all, face-to-face communication. IT professionals are increasingly required to work in interdisciplinary teams alongside engineers and other experts. In these teams, everyone must contribute their ideas and speak a common language. As a result, many programmers’ jobs are no longer located in pure IT departments but in the respective business units, so that team members are physically seated together. Work is increasingly being done in an agile manner.
What does this mean?
Agile work is about developing in a customer-focused, flexible manner and in short cycles. Long and cumbersome planning should be avoided. It’s considered normal for new requirements to pop up during a development process. The team then finds solutions, and the work continues. Transparency is key here. It’s not acceptable for me to notice a problem but still keep working away in my own little corner. I have to let the team know when something isn’t working. This is a whole new culture. Many people aren’t used to making their problems public right away.
How can this be supported?
Trust is absolutely essential here. To that end, we’re working with our works councils to ensure that transparency isn’t misused for performance monitoring. In addition, employees must be able to maintain a healthy balance through regulated working hours, and risk assessments must help counteract psychological stress.
Returning to the question from the beginning: What needs to change so that employees in the IT industry can emerge as winners of digitalization?
For one thing, IG Metall is calling for employees to be able to receive further training in the new skill sets. This is particularly important for the employees mentioned who have traditional IT service skills. After all, they bring a wealth of expertise to the table. Not making use of that would be a strategic mistake. Because—as I mentioned just a few examples of at the beginning—what’s happening across the industry as a whole are radical upheavals. That needs to be stated clearly. Simple retraining programs aren’t enough. That’s why, in the last round of collective bargaining, we fought alongside the employees to secure a collective-agreement provision for part-time training. That’s a step in the right direction. It’s important that our works councils advocate strongly for its implementation.
And, as we’ve discussed, the role of IT employees in companies is undergoing a major transformation: so far, this appeal hasn’t been communicated effectively enough to the outside world. The work has become interdisciplinary, more diverse, and more exciting. An IT apprenticeship or degree can lay the foundation for a wide variety of careers.
German companies are increasingly competing with U.S. corporations. Have employers fully recognized the need for action?
Some have, but by no means all. We—that is, IG Metall, employees, and companies—must now work together to ensure that corporate cultures and structures change. You can’t simply tell employees, “You’ll now work this way or that way, using development models like Scrum and Kanban,” while no longer granting them autonomy. What employees need now is empowerment. Companies must move away from excessive control toward trust, employee participation, and, of course, security through collective bargaining agreements.
What else needs to change in terms of culture? And what is the overall state of our ability to shape this change?
It’s also important to allow people to make mistakes. A culture that punishes them would be harmful. Mistakes are simply part of innovation processes. Management must support this. Here’s an approach I find effective: Some companies have models that give employees room for creativity. For example, about half a day per week is set aside for their own ideas.
Based on feedback from seminars at our training centers, I know that employees are definitely eager for agility and creativity, free from hierarchies and traditional career paths. All in all, our starting conditions are good. But to ultimately succeed, we must design an alternative model to Silicon Valley that enables good digital work. If we succeed in this, many will be able to benefit from digitalization.
