Personnel development 4.0 – what does that actually mean? In this article, we answer that question and give you helpful tips for implementation.
Update: We published the original article in January 2017; after 3 years, the topic deserves an update! So we researched again and brought the article up to date for you. Enjoy reading 😊
To talk about personnel development 4.0, we should first agree on a definition of personnel development.
Definition of personnel development (Gabler Wirtschaftslexikon)
Personnel development (PE) includes aligning education, development, and organizational development based on the individual needs of the company, as well as deriving suitable measures and strategies aimed at qualifying human resources. Developing successful personnel development measures requires taking several aspects into account: deriving development goals from business goals, establishing a link to organizational development, and aligning the measures with the company's various stakeholder groups (e.g., career starters, specialists, high potentials).
And what does 4.0 mean?
The addition 4.0 describes the expected changes in the learning and working world over the next 5 - 20 years. It is used in various combinations (e.g. Industry 4.0, Work 4.0 or Continuing Education 4.0).
The driver of these changes is digitalization. Among other things, changes are predicted ...
in the production through intelligent factories, new conditions in the human work tasks (e.g. in these factories),
for the new ways to provide services (e.g. with the help of bots, drones and robots,
and for the entire human-machine interaction, which is moving more strongly into people's everyday lives.
These also lead to new demands and challenges in the areas of security, education, skills development, communication, teamwork, leadership, health, demographic change, and occupational safety.
What 4.0 means for personnel development
Personnel developers in companies must prepare for new tasks. After all, digitalization demands new skills and methods in all areas. PE professionals must not only master these themselves, they must also be able to pass the knowledge on to their employees. In the spirit of personnel development 4.0, PE professionals take on the role of a learning facilitator. But the goals from the perspective of companies and employees also change:
Personnel development 4.0 for companies
In the spirit of personnel development 4.0, the role of HR professionals develops into a passive, supportive stance, very much in the role of a learning facilitator. They provide the necessary learning content, ensure its accessibility, and make available content that goes beyond the actual learning goal.
Employees are constantly learning on their own and, above all, spontaneously – preventive learning in planned classroom sessions is now outdated. That is why it is all the more important to give your employees the necessary tools. However, companies and HR professionals must still decide which knowledge needs to be updated and which competencies employees need:
In addition to classic self-directed learning skills, employees will above all need soft skills in the future. Soft skills are the foundation for collaboration in a heterogeneous, multicultural team. A key question is and remains transfer of training, i.e. what is actually implemented in practice after the measure. Especially with soft skills, transfer through practice and application is important.
Personnel development 4.0 for employees
Skills development should increasingly take place in a self-responsible way, in the spirit of self-organized learning. Employees therefore decide for themselves when and to what extent they learn. This not only improves their skills, but is also particularly efficient – after all, they themselves know best when they are truly motivated for further training. Another way to make continuing education flexible is to offer Learning on Demand. Employees and learners need:
Learning motivation and self-discipline for independent learning
Media literacy and selection skills to choose relevant knowledge content
The ability to acquire knowledge independently and pass it on to others
It makes sense to give your employees responsibility not only with regard to further training. For example, involve them actively in planning and let them create User Generated Content themselves.
Continuing education 4.0 as a consequence of personnel development 4.0?
The constant technologization also has an indirect effect on the world of work, for example through new requirements it places on employees. Markus Dormann and Karl-Heinz Gerholz summarized what these requirements are in the article “Training and Continuing Education 4.0: Possibilities for Implementation”. The following five core competencies are important for future-oriented continuing education:
Competency requirements of continuing education 4.0 // Illustration: blink.it, adapted from personalSCHWEIZ,
It becomes clear that 4.0 has arrived in all areas of working life and that digitalization brings new opportunities. But 4.0 also demands new competencies.
As an HR developer, you therefore need to pay attention to a few things: With the constant presence of digital devices and the growing flood of information, conscious breaks and short, intensive learning phases are needed. Offer employees small learning bites instead of large training courses. The keyword: microlearning!
Conclusion: Learning culture as the answer to personnel development 4.0?
💡 Personnel development 4.0 today no longer means just digital learning, but above all building new competencies for dealing with AI, knowledge, and continuous change in everyday working life.
For a transition to personnel development 4.0 to succeed, not only HR professionals and employees must change their thinking. The company culture must also adapt to it!
For employees to be able to learn independently and during their work, a culture of learning must prevail in the company. Personnel developers play a particularly important role here: They are responsible for the organizational development of a learning culture. We have already explained in the blog how a learning culture becomes visible.
Frequently Asked Questions and Answers
What does personnel development 4.0 actually mean?
Personnel development 4.0 describes the further development of personnel development in the course of digitalization. Learning becomes more flexible, more individual, and more closely integrated into everyday work. Instead of classic training sessions, the focus is on self-directed learning, digital learning formats, and continuous skills development.
What role do personnel developers have in personnel development 4.0?
Personnel developers are increasingly evolving from organizers into learning facilitators. They provide suitable content, learning environments, and tools so that employees can learn independently. At the same time, they ensure that further training remains strategically aligned with company goals.
Which competencies are becoming more important in the context of personnel development 4.0?
In addition to technical expertise, soft skills are becoming increasingly important. These include teamwork, adaptability, communication skills, and self-learning ability, among others. Employees must be able to continuously acquire new knowledge and respond flexibly to change.
Why is a learning culture crucial for personnel development 4.0?
A functioning learning culture creates the basis for employees to learn independently and continuously. When learning is accepted and supported in everyday work, motivation increases and knowledge transfer improves. Without this culture, many personnel development measures remain ineffective.
Updated on 2026-04-28
