Skills and competencies for digital transformation – a critical analysis in the context of robotic process automation

Abstract

Purpose Digital transformation of organizations has major implications for required skills and competencies of the workforce, both as a prerequisite for implementation, and, as a consequence of the transformation. The purpose of this study is to analyze required skills and competencies for digital transformation using the context of robotic process automation (RPA) as an example. Design/methodology/approach This study is based on an explorative, thematic coding analysis of 119 job advertisements related to RPA. The data was collected from major online job platforms, qualitatively coded and subsequently analyzed quantitatively. Findings The research highlights the general importance of specific skills and competencies for digital transformation and shows a gap between available skills and required skills. Moreover, it is concluded that reskilling the existing workforce might be difficult. Many emerging positions can be found in the consulting sector, which raises questions about the permanent vs temporary nature of the requirements, as well as the difficulty of acquiring the required knowledge. Originality/value This paper contributes to knowledge by providing new empirical findings and a novel perspective to the ongoing discussion of digital skills, employment effects and reskilling demands of the existing workforce owing to recent technological developments and automation in the overall context of digital transformation.

Vietnamese enterprises’ considerations of big data and analytics implementation post-COVID-19 pandemic

“…We all know that one of the vital factors that affect the success of running big data and analytics is the skill of technical teams. Requirements include technical points such as analytical skills, data visualization skills, structured query language skills, data mining skills, programming skills and other soft skills such as problem-solving skills (Schlegel and Kraus, 2021).…”

“…Additionally, several studies have explored the significance of technological skills, including artificial intelligence, robotization, Internet of Things (IoTs), augmented reality and cloud computing. Schlegel and Kraus (2021) recently shed light on the general importance of specific skills and competencies for digital transformation. Based on the knowledge-based view of the firm, they revealed the tacit nature of such knowledge and questioned whether reskilling the existing workforce is feasible.…”

Building Competence of Managers for Companies in Digital Transformation

“…In the context of remote work, employees are recommended to be trained in online platforms. Other stated skills include agility of learning and in the instances of managers, systematic future planning is likewise cited (Schlegel & Kraus, 2021;Cordes & Weber, 2021).…”

Reskilling and Upskilling of Managers: People Management in the Digital Era

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