Key positions that remain unfilled, overburdened customer service and fizzling creativity in a shrinking team - so far, these are the first spectres that have emerged as a result of worsening staff shortages in companies. A forecast by the Federal Statistical Office paints a bleak picture of Germany in 2036, with a shortage of 12.9 million workers, which corresponds to around 30 percent of the workforce in 2021.

Employee centricity as a yardstick

In a world in which company figures often carry more weight than the people behind them, companies sometimes lose sight of their original driving force - their employees. Those who only use people as resources for their own business goals will lose out in 2024. The new benchmark for corporate success lies in employee centricity. Their satisfaction is the driving force behind innovative companies.
The results of the latest EY job study on the decline in employee satisfaction in Germany should be an alarming wake-up call: while satisfaction was still at 49% in 2021, it fell to 31% in 2023. But only satisfied teams are productive teams. Departments with motivated employees make 23% more profit than those with less commitment, confirms a recent Gallup study.
So it's clear that the human factor makes all the difference. Regardless of whether they are applicants or long-term permanent employees: The individual experience is crucial for the motivation and satisfaction of each person. From onboarding and development opportunities to corporate culture and the technologies used - these factors influence employee motivation and therefore productivity.

Sparring partner of the management

HR departments are no longer just about paperwork, official notifications and processes. Over the past three years of crisis, HR managers have developed into a crucial, two-way bridge between the company and its employees. They have become strategic thinking partners at the highest level, actively influencing management and the strategic development of the entire company. This positioning will be further expanded and consolidated in the future. HR managers are becoming important sparring partners for the ideas of the management and for the company's development: from the world of experience of the employees, the HR department can come up with findings and, in the truest sense of the word, "insights" that play a decisive role in determining the strategic future of the company.

AI is changing the role of HR managers

It may sound paradoxical at first, but artificial intelligence has the potential to put people even more at the center of the workplace, and this technology will also change the role of HR managers. Thanks to recent advances in AI, HR managers will be able to identify, analyze and then re-evaluate the employee experience. At the same time, HR departments will have the opportunity to identify where repetitive and administrative tasks can be automated so that employees can focus on more meaningful and strategic tasks. In this way, AI foreseeably relieves employees of less popular tasks and gives them more time for strategic aspects of work. This also has a positive effect on HR departments: When AI makes administrative work more efficient, HR teams can focus on strategic projects that have a direct impact on the company's success.

"Those in management who listen to the signals of the times are focusing on the three key success factors: employee satisfaction, AI tools and the strategic partnership with HR as an indispensable think tank. If HR staff are included in the company vision accordingly, unfilled positions, overworked staff and dwindling creativity in shrinking teams will soon be a thing of the past."

Laura Ryan is Vice President of Global HRBP Teams at content collaboration platform Dropbox.