In the 1st Industrial Revolution, manufacturers figured out how to mechanize production through water and steam power. By the time the 2nd rolled around, they’d moved on to electric power, which allowed them to produce on a more widespread scale.
Then, the 3rd Industrial Revolution came, and business really hit the big time. Companies found new ways to use digital technology to automate production, ramping up sales exponentially.
Now, the 4th Industrial Revolution is building upon the 3rd, and forward-thinking companies are taking note. This Revolution blurs the lines between the digital, physical, and biological realms.
While we’ve yet to discover all the possibilities that lie ahead of us, companies should start preparing now. The most successful teams will be those that invest in skills training as early as possible.
Let’s look at the hard and soft skills that will benefit your employees the most as we shift from one revolution into the next.
4 Soft Skills Your Employees Need
Soft skills are interpersonal skills that affect how employees work and interact with other people. In a broad sense, they include things like active listening, communication, time management, and problem-solving.
These skills will always be important in any workplace, no matter the tech-specific changes and improvements that occur. However, there are many new soft skills that will become increasingly important as the Fourth Industrial Revolution, or Industry 4.0, unrolls. Here are five of the most important ones to focus on.
1. Decision-Making and Judgment
We can expect production lines to look very different in the near future. From artificial intelligence (AI) to immersive virtual reality (VR), machines are set to take over many manual tasks.
Yet, human workers are far from becoming obsolete. In fact, human judgment will be even more important as technology becomes more sophisticated.
While AI-enabled ERP software might know everything about your processes and facilities, its understanding is limited to your property walls. Your employees will still need to use their own judgment on AI-generated data analyses, especially in product design and deployment.
No matter how smart it might get, there are certain elements the software isn’t be able to capture yet, such as build quality and ergonomic function.
By making decisions on these elements, your team members can help design products that aren’t just high-tech, but are also beautiful, functional, and usable.
ERP Training Plan Success Story
We helped this manufacturer implement an ERP training strategy to increase user adoption of its new ERP system.
2. Communication and Teamwork
As AI becomes more familiar with your production, it may make suggestions or recommendations that sound realistic on paper but aren’t feasible in real life.
For instance, the software may recommend starting a run before sunrise or asking a maintenance worker to perform a dozen tasks during one shift. This is where employees will need to step in. Team members should utilize AI recommendations but always keep the well-being of their colleagues in mind, speaking up when suggestions become unmanageable.
3. Creative, Out-of-the-Box Thinking Skills
If an AI solution has prior data to help guide its decisions, it should be able to operate properly. Yet, what happens when an unprecedented situation occurs? In that case, the system could malfunction or have limited functionality, at best.
On the other hand, human workers can use their skills and experience to come up with makeshift solutions. It’s this ingenuity that can keep your production lines running, even when the unexpected happens.
By nurturing your employees’ creative thinking skills, you can help them become more agile and responsive in the face of a crisis.
4. Self-Motivation and Time Management
Industry 4.0 won’t happen all at once. As AI software becomes increasingly adept at routine operations, employees will need to upskill. They’ll take on new and more advanced roles, allowing them to contribute to more value-driving work.
To succeed in this shift, they’ll need to learn new systems, interfaces, and workflows. This will require a commitment to continuing education and lifelong learning. Study skills, self-motivation, and time management will all become critically important as employee training becomes a company-wide initiative.
3 Hard Skills Your Employees Need
While soft skills focus primarily on working and interfacing in the workplace, hard skills are more technical in nature. These are the specific competencies that employees will need as this next iteration of digital transformation unfurls.
1. Data Literacy
Data literacy is the ability to read, manipulate, and analyze data, as well as communicate about it.
As the digital and physical worlds become more connected during the Fourth Industrial Revolution, employees will have access to more AI-driven insights than ever before. These insights can help organizations become faster, smarter, and more competitive, but only if workers know how to interpret them.
We recommend training employees to use analytics tools so they can capitalize on the information that will be at their fingertips.
2. Knowledge of AI and Automation
It’s unlikely that any employee will possess all the skills and knowledge required to use every AI system. However, you can start by focusing on the kinds of AI software that your business will most likely implement.
Workers who are completely unfamiliar with these technologies may have a hard time adapting when you implement them in your production facilities and throughout your operations. As such, basic AI training is a must.
3. Cybersecurity
As you usher in brand-new technologies as part of Industry 4.0, you also must be prepared to usher in all-new threats. New networks will be more connected than ever, and tools that are still in their infancy will be the most vulnerable.
Before adopting modern ERP, MRP, or SCM systems, it’s important to focus on hiring the right security talent. This is especially the case for companies that plan to retrofit some of their existing legacy systems with the new tech. These solutions won’t be inexpensive, and you’ll have your most important assets wrapped up in them, so it’s worth keeping them protected.
The Importance of Organizational Change Management
It could be decades until we see the full scale of Industry 4.0 at work. However, you should start talking about it with your employees now.
As you do so, you might notice that some of your team members seem apprehensive or even resistant to the change. Change can be unnerving, especially when you’re talking about technologies that could potentially overtake their roles. They might wonder if their jobs will become obsolete or what their new responsibilities might entail.
Organizational change management (OCM) is an approach you can use to prepare your teams for such changes. An OCM plan should detail your strategy for minimizing resistance and communicating the benefits of new tools. Hint: You’ll need executive buy-in and support from your C-suite to make this happen.
Are Your Teams Ready for the 4th Industrial Revolution?
Workplaces are starting to look like something you’d find on the Sci-Fi channel. From AI software to smart machines, we’re quickly changing the way businesses work, interact, and plan for the future.
Now is the time to think about the skills you’ll want your employees to have when the 4th Industrial Revolution is in full swing. Our organizational change management consultants can help you equip your employees with the new skills they will need to work alongside their robotic coworkers. Contact us below for a free consultation.
