Technology & Innovation

For Dutch executives, adjusting to a digital career path will take time

March 19, 2018

Global

March 19, 2018

Global

Dutch firms have felt digital disruption unfold less urgently than others, but the impact on how they work—and the skills their leaders need—is no less profound.

Historically, international trade delivered prosperity to the Netherlands, but Dutch executives are less convinced that digital disruption will deliver similar benefits.

The Netherlands has a population of just 17.1m [1], yet it is an economic powerhouse. Ranked the 18th largest economy [2] in the world, it is well ahead of Argentina (with a population of 44m) and Saudi Arabia (32m) [3] in the GDP league tables.

New technologies present an opportunity for export-led nations to innovate, cut costs and get closer to clients worldwide. However, in an Economist Intelligence Unit survey of executives in four European nations (the Netherlands, Germany, France and the UK), 19% of Dutch respondents said the impact of digital disruption on their companies over the past three years has been minimal or had no impact at all, compared with an average 12%.

And although 53% say it has an extreme or significant effect on business, the impact has been felt less than in France and Germany (56% and 59% respectively). Dutch respondents are also the most pessimistic about how well their employers have dealt with the challenge to date (see chart one). Just 11% agree strongly that their companies have adapted well, half of the level seen in the UK (23%).

Dutch executives also perceive fewer benefits for their companies from the digital wave. They are least likely to strongly agree it can deliver better customer service (16%) or a competitive advantage (12%).

That doubt may go some way to explain the lower levels of internal corporate adjustments they feel are necessary. Over one in four (26%) say that, in response to digital changes, no major core system redesigns are required; one in five say new roles with new skills are not needed (20% v 18% who strongly agree they are needed).

Joep van Beurden, the chief executive of automotive and industrial component maker Kendrion, is genuinely concerned that his compatriots feel this way, but may have an explanation. For many companies and their executives, digital change has been gradual rather than a more traumatic event.

“I like to distinguish digital disruption in two ways. There is genuine disruption with a direct impact on the goods or services that companies deliver. Then there is the way it impacts companies and their senior roles. I would not use the word ‘disruption’ there, as it has been quite gradual,” he says.

Thankfully, senior managers no longer employ staff to print off their emails for them, he says. But internally, companies are at a tipping point in their use of technology. Video and voice-over-IP conferencing has taken 20 years to go mainstream; adoption of cloud services and new integrated customer service and IT systems should be quicker.

“If your senior management are not talking the digital language, you are ineffective,” says Mr van Beurden.

At Kendrion, the digital challenge has translated into a “Simplify, Focus, Grow” business strategy, introduced by Mr van Beurden soon after taking on the chief executive role just over two years ago.

His business is typical of a Dutch multinational. Although it has no production facilities on home soil, it has 20 factories around the world. Some are heavily automated, others rely on manual processes, but all now require digital technology to simplify complex production and supply chains. Simplifying and harmonising human resources and accounting systems gives management a better insight into what works well and where improvements are needed.

“We need to use digital technology for our accounts and performance reviews. We have to optimise our talents. Simplification is not just a cost reduction exercise, it is about survival. We have to remove friction to allow us to compete in the future,” says Mr van Beurden.

The survey results back up his assertion. Dutch respondents are more likely to strongly agree that digital disruption has affected the internal workings of their companies rather than the service they provide to customers. Improving the customer experience remains the key departmental priority (48%), revamping internal operations comes second (36%), alongside expanding into new markets.

Bringing the vision to life

Unifying systems and simplifying layers of management is the “easy stuff”, says Mr van Beurden. Soft skills and changing how people work requires training and can take longer to bed down.

At a departmental level, Dutch respondents are most likely to say that digital disruption has shifted their priorities towards cost efficiency (25%) and direct customer interaction (22%). When it comes to collaboration and the blurring of divisional barriers, they respond alongside their German colleagues (18%) in believing they have to take on responsibilities from other areas of the business and slightly higher than the four-country average on interdepartmental collaboration (18% v 16% on average). But they also give the lowest country score (60%) when assessing how successfully they have collaborated with their colleagues so far.

Mr van Beurden understands the problem. Using new technology and working closer with colleagues does not always come naturally.

“You have to work at collaboration; training is absolutely necessary. What has changed is that you no longer have to convince people that this is the clever thing to do,” he says.

Respondents appear to agree. Dutch executives are more likely than average to say they will need to work on their internal networking skills (67% ), manage across functions (67%) and change management (70%). But there is work to be done. Dutch respondents score on the low side in their confidence in each of those skills (very confident: 27%, 25% and 26% respectively).

The Dutch also want in-house training to be improved: Dutch respondents are less likely than their French and British peers to say their current role and company offers them the opportunity to obtain the necessary leadership talents to benefit from disruption.

Companies can deploy digital means to improve the training environment, thinks Mr van Beurden. “You have to be willing and able to use all the systems, on career planning, talent management, succession planning and training. All of that is available online,” he says.

For many, a lack of training may hurt their future career paths, but the Dutch have proven resourceful and self-driven. Dutch executives say they are more likely to seek that education externally, at a business school or university (44%) than colleagues in Germany (37%). They are also more likely (64%) than German and French peers (57% and 55% respectively) to leave their current employer for another that appreciates their existing expertise (see chart two).

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Footnotes:
  1. Centraal Bureau voor de Statistiek https://opendata.cbs.nl/statline/#/CBS/en/dataset/37943eng/table?dl=56AF 28th December 2017
  2. World Bank https://data.worldbank.org/data-catalog/GDP-ranking-table 1st July 2017
  3. World Bank/UN Population Division https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SP.POP.TOTL

 

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