Polish companies see a real impact of technological transformation on people and work culture, according to a survey conducted among HR departments by the People Consulting team at EY Poland. The majority of company representatives questioned see technology as a stimulus for creativity – seven in ten (72%) declare this, although in practice only just over a third of organisations (38%) implement programmes to develop technological talent.
The EY survey, conducted among representatives of HR departments of companies operating in Poland, shows how organisations assess the impact of new technologies on creativity, competence development and work culture. Respondents represented the most important sectors of the Polish economy: from industry, manufacturing and trade, through construction and logistics, to financial and professional services, technology, communications and medicine and pharmaceuticals. The common denominator of their responses is the belief that technology offers great opportunities, but does not in itself create an advantage – the key is how organisations adapt it, implement it, embed it in everyday work and combine it with the development and motivation of people.
Technology as a catalyst for innovation
The data shows that in many Polish organisations, technology is seen primarily as an opportunity rather than a threat. More than 7 in 10 (72%) companies declare that technological transformation is conducive to generating new ideas and innovations. At the same time, almost two-thirds (64%) see a positive impact of digitalisation on the development of employees’ creative thinking. Polish organisations are well aware of the consequences of not adopting technology properly. More than half of respondents (52%) believe that there is a high risk that a lack of technology implementation will slow down the company’s development and weaken its competitiveness.
The picture becomes more complicated when looking at systemic measures. Only one in three organisations (38%) report implementing programmes to support talent potential in the area of digital solutions. Technology, although available, is therefore not permanently embedded in the daily rhythm of teams.
The most frequently cited challenge blocking companies from using digital tools creatively is a lack of time to experiment – cited by one in four respondents (25%). Another barrier is the lack of knowledge and competence needed to use them creatively (23%) and the lack of consistent, modern talent management processes (16%).
– The survey results show a gap between declaration and practice. On the one hand, most organisations see technology as a catalyst for creativity, on the other hand, the use of digital tools still depends mainly on individual employee initiative. In many companies, technology is embedded in innovation strategies, but in practice there is a lack of time, processes and incentives to make real use of it – resulting in isolated initiatives instead of scalable solutions. To close this gap, companies should democratise innovation, introduce safe spaces for experimentation, such as micro-pilots or AI sandboxes, and consistently link creativity to specific business challenges, says Katarzyna Ellis, Partner at EY Poland, People Consulting Team Leader.
Diffuse responsibility zma development
More than half of companies (56%) rate the level of preparedness of their employees to work with new technologies as medium. One in three organisations (30%) see this level as low or very low, with only a small group (12%) reporting a high or very high level of readiness.
Adaptation and development competences appear to be the most lacking. Change management and the ability to adapt to new solutions were indicated as the biggest deficiency by 22% of companies. Slightly fewer responses (20%) related to creativity, innovation and continuous learning capabilities. Technical competencies such as programming, data analysis or digital proficiency were indicated by 17% of respondents. Critical thinking and problem-solving skills received exactly the same result. Also appearing in the background are the needs for communication, collaboration (14%) and an understanding of the ethics and law of new technologies (9%).
Difficulties in developing competencies stem from both organisational constraints and employee attitudes. The most frequently cited challenges were lack of time and training budgets (24%). This was followed by lack of appropriate development programmes and resistance to change (20%). In addition, companies face a lack of resources and the difficulty in attracting experts to support the competence-building process of the future (10%).
– Polish companies know what competences they need, but they still find it difficult to assign responsibility for their development. In this situation, it is worth shifting from the classic training model to a lifelong learning approach, personalising development paths with the help of technology and building both technical, adaptive and critical competences for the functioning of the organisation in parallel, adds Wioletta Marciniak-Mierzwa, Director of the People Consulting Team, EY Poland.
Technology does not destroy culture
The data collected by EY also shows that, for many companies, technology is becoming a test of organisational culture cohesion. Nearly half of respondents (49%) rate the impact of deployed technologies on organisational culture as positive. However, a sense of security and support in relation to companies’ digital transformation can be a challenge. More than a third of respondents (36%) report a lack of support from leaders. In addition, one in four respondents (26%) admitted that leaders do not set a good example in the use of new technologies. Other cultural challenges related to the implementation of technology were cited by respondents including: lack of knowledge continuity (26%), lack of transparency in decision-making processes (16%), fear of losing their job or changing their job (12%) and deterioration in communication (12%).
– Technological transformation brings to light the strengths and weaknesses of organisational culture. Where there is a lack of transparency in decisions, trust, good knowledge flow and real committed leaders, the implementation of new tools compounds uncertainty and a sense of chaos. More and more organisations today are clearly communicating that leaders are expected to use technology, including artificial intelligence, on a day-to-day, hands-on basis, and that the ability to adopt it is becoming one of the performance criteria affecting variable pay or promotion decisions. The role of leaders is therefore not only to sponsor change, but first and foremost to be its ambassadors: to show concrete applications of technology, to give meaning to transformation and to build psychological security as a condition for the effective implementation of new solutions and work models,” Wioletta Marciniak-Mierzwa points out.
