The Internet Of Things, Industry 4.0 and Human Resources

Imagine a future in which any object you could think of would be connected to the Internet, exchanging information with other devices to make your life more comfortable. Stop imagining because that already exists and is called the Internet of Things.

The Internet of things (IoT) is a technological trend that will revolutionize the business processes of companies and society in general and the labor market and the search and selection of the talent.

Refrigerators that detect their content and are in charge of making the purchase alone, mirrors that tell if a person has any symptoms of illness when looking at them or automatic translators that will allow users to understand each other in any language instantly are just some of the possibilities that the Internet of Things (IoT) will offer. The objective of this new technological trend is to interconnect everyday objects to the network digitally.

And although at the moment it is in a developing phase, its future is promising. A recent report from the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and the manufacturer Cisco points out that the Internet of Things (IoT) represents a significant development opportunity on a global scale that could improve the lives of millions of people and dramatically accelerate progress towards achieving the United Nations sustainable development goals.

IoT Technological Evolution

All this will be possible precisely now because a series of technological conditioning factors that converge in this trend have been intertwined. First, lower hardware costs and the ubiquity of mobile access are facilitating higher device intelligence and seamless connectivity. Therefore, adding a few sensor chips or a wireless connectivity module to a new product is no longer a considerable price increase.

The market for person-to-person communication devices and services in developed markets is beginning to saturate. This saturation makes making machine-to-machine communications the ideal basis to market new devices and provides innovative services to businesses already the citizens.

Immediate Business Repercussions

This technological revolution is going to have consequences in the business world. The Internet of Things opens up enormous opportunities in many economic sectors such as healthcare, the pharmaceutical industry, energy, security, telecommunications, finance, or insurance.

However, the two areas in which the consequences of its application are beginning to be seen more clearly are industrial and transport. According to IDC, both currently hold the highest volume of investment in IoT in 2019, respectively. It is about 151,000 and 71,800 million euros.

Specifically, analysts say that the industrial market will experience the most significant growth in spending in this area. Industry 4.0 has already talked about the proliferation in factories of a good number of devices that optimize the load capacities of production systems based on the price of energy, the adaptation of their production lines, or sensors of consumption.

The opportunities are enormous, and companies must take advantage of this trend to change how they relate to their customers and thus improve the products and services they offer. This will also involve modifying the operation and processes of specific areas such as marketing, activities, or logistics. All this based on a new approach to organizing people that reformulate the concept of value and talent management.

The Labor Market, IOT And Headhunters

This new panorama, therefore, brings with it a direct consequence for the labor market. Thanks to the Internet of Things, the system vital to automate a large number of processes that, until today, were manual will be created.

Now, it is convenient not to see this as a threat, but rather as a transformation of the workforce, where little by little new positions will appear with a greater focus on the analysis and exploitation of information. Thus, skills such as data analysis, decision-making, problem-solving, creative thinking, and effective communication will be commonplace on the candidates’ CVs.

All these presents, from the point of view of recruitment and selection, a real challenge for companies. However, most companies are going for Headhunters to help recruit top talents and executives for these positions created by IoT.

There is already an increase in the demand for talent related to the areas of Big Data, Business Intelligence, data analysis, and innovation and development related to the IoT, to which we must add other technological profiles, which are also booming as programmers. .Net and Java, CRM consultants, and developers of mobile applications and e-commerce.

The next big challenge, of course, is for universities to be able to train professionals according to the profiles that the market needs. For this, related subjects should be taught, and students should be encouraged to design and develop projects in this regard.

Final Words

Internet of Things has other consequences that may directly affect the operation of the Human Resources departments. It is that including its management in the organization’s critical strategic activities requires having tools that allow measuring, monitoring, and evaluating the performance of employees, teams, and positions of responsibility about the established objectives.

Having a technology like Internet of Things, that is capable of providing objective and detailed data on processes, tasks, and operations in real-time and at any time and place, will represent an enormous competitive advantage. Of course, enjoying all of this will only be possible by implementing the latest generation analytical tools that, in addition to monitoring and evaluating current and past performance, allow anticipating possible future scenarios.

The Internet of Things is here to stay, and it is worth preparing for all the new features it will bring in the field of work and human resources.