When many people think of an 'intelligent company', they certainly think of an organization that uses the latest technologies. This includes artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML) and robotic process automation (RPA) - buzzwords that are frequently used and reported on. But despite all the technologies, a company's employees are and will remain the most important success factor.

The World Economic Forum notes an "inextricable link between human health and business success" and explains: "Employees are key players and critical to business growth." Industry executives agree with this assessment: A recent McKinsey survey of manufacturing and supply chain professionals found that 90% plan to invest in the workforce - and thus drive digitization.

Here are a few examples that show how employee satisfaction and company profitability can be ensured at the same time.

Focus on employee health, but also on maintaining business operations

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to be part of everyday life for employees and companies, manufacturers must continue to pay attention to the health of their employees. A workforce symptom check system (taking into account company-appropriate data protection) offers a good opportunity to collect relevant information and protect the health of employees in the best possible way. Apps or other contact tracing tools also provide support.

Employee satisfaction as a benchmark for successful companies

In working with its customers during the pandemic, SAP found that successful companies take one thing to heart: they should not only provide a good customer experience, but also take equally good care of their employees. After all, employees not only value a safe workplace - they also want their work to be appreciated. Once companies have the right tools to measure the employee experience and derive insights from it, they are able to shape these experiences. Companies can then identify if and where there is a gap and take action to address it.

Successful companies take care of their employees - not only in terms of their well-being, but also in helping them to develop. Experience management (XM) tools enable them to conduct digital surveys quickly. Based on the feedback, targeted measures can be implemented for individual employees, teams or even the entire company. Thanks to detailed analyses, organizations gain insights into daily processes and the time invested by employees. On this basis, they can adapt guidelines and workflows to make work easier.

Experience management tools enable companies to regularly measure the mood within teams and departments. At the same time, organizations gain access to employee feedback on a wide range of topics. These include general working conditions, safety protocols and new processes. Thanks to these insights, problems can be made visible. This allows measures to be taken quickly to support employees in their tasks in the best possible way. Teams can see that their feedback is making a difference.

Hiring and training employees

"Even in the age of robotics, manufacturers cannot do without skilled workers," according to a recently published study by Oxford Economics. The study is based on the responses of 3,000 managers, including 300 from industry. For 22%, the shortage of skilled workers was the biggest obstacle to implementing their strategic initiatives. To overcome this hurdle, companies and their HR departments need to focus more on the digital world when searching for, evaluating and hiring applicants. XM tools are helpful here - they can help companies tailor their recruitment programs to the talent they are looking for.

An important task for the HR department is to find new employees with the required skills. A flexible, agile workforce is also important for companies to remain successful. The COVID-19 crisis has shown how important it is to have an overview of the workforce. In addition, they must be able to continuously train employees in order to qualify them for new tasks. This enables companies to adapt their teams to rapidly changing circumstances. Training and digital onboarding processes support the rapid integration of new employees and the further training of existing colleagues.

Optimizing processes and workflows - with people and technology

The car manufacturer Audi has been using robots in production for many years. The company recently introduced RPA in its offices, freeing employees from repetitive, monotonous tasks. "With the introduction of RPA, our business is becoming more digital," says Dr. Bernd Martens, Audi Board Member for Procurement and Information Technology (IT). "We are using bots to make our processes faster and more efficient. This gives our employees time for more strategic or creative tasks - a win-win situation for all sides."

From bots in the office to robots in the factory - industry is increasingly relying on automation. Around half of the managers surveyed by McKinsey stated that the use of automation in their company is progressing slightly faster than in the past, while a further 20% have picked up the pace significantly.

A higher degree of automation ensures that employees have more time for higher-value tasks. At the same time, production is less dependent on human teams. By combining automated systems with machine learning and AI-based tools for system control and management, processes, systems and product output can be monitored remotely. This ensures that production continues with minimal human intervention. As more and more manufacturers are moving their production domestically, automation is also helping to offset the associated higher labor costs.

The author: Johannes Papst is Industry Solution Manager, SAP

© SAP

Ideally, this level of end-to-end connectivity and transparency extends from the factory floor, through the entire manufacturing organization and its workforce, to the supply network and the end customer. This gives manufacturers the ability to link (re)deployment of labor directly to existing and future demand, production priorities and financial realities. This is when employees are indispensable and meaningfully linked to business success.