How to do more with fewer employees 

“Creating more value with fewer people does not mean that you make everyone work twice as hard,” says Geuskens. “It's mainly about working differently.” For more productivity and sustainable growth, 3 things are essential according to Geuskens. Make smart use of innovations in your company, deploy people-oriented technology such as digital assistants, and make sure your employees keep learning and developing.

1. Choose which innovations to use

Geuskens believes an SME can gain a lot if it applies innovations in the work processes. “Be the first to deploy innovations that allow you to do more in less time, such as digitalisation and automation,” she says. Think of a digital accounting system that you link to other systems, such as your cash register, CRM system, or inventory system. With every order, the invoice is automatically sent to the right customer and your stock is updated. This kind of digital solution not only saves you a lot of time but can also make you profitable. For a hairdresser in Brabant, for example, an automatic appointment reminder via email generated around an extra €300,000 turnover per year.

Organisational innovation is also important, according to Geuskens. “By this I mean, for example, working together with partners such as suppliers. Exchange data and experiences with each other. That prevents duplication of work and repairs. And it increases the quality of your products.”

Involve employees in change

“To organise innovations successfully on the shop floor, it is important to involve employees,” says Geuskens. “This can be done right from the start. The director or an innovation manager often sees or invents an innovation. But some companies give employees a role in following trends and developments. For example, there are construction companies that exchange opportunities and ideas about bio-based and circular work with employees and management at set times. They discuss with each other: how can we work better, smarter, faster, and more productively?

“Especially in the next stages of the innovation process, employee involvement is important,” says Geuskens. “Have employees in different roles try out the innovation and help think about adjustments. Only by trying something out do colleagues see and experience how an innovation works. Especially in SMEs, innovation is learning by doing.”

Finally, have employees promote the renewed work process. “Enthusiastic colleagues ‘sell’ it to other colleagues, which often works better than when something is imposed by the director,” according to Geuskens. In short, you need employees to work with you to shape the innovation process. “The advantage is your employees are much more motivated and engaged in their work if they are allowed to think along.”

2. Work together with technology

Human-centred technology, such as robots or digital assistants, is not only good for company productivity but also for the quality of work. For example, robots that take over repetitive or physically demanding work, or personal digital assistants that allow employees to learn faster or perform work more easily.

Using a digital assistant like ChatGPT, for example, means you spend less time actually writing a text. You are mainly concerned with asking your digital assistant the right questions so that it writes a text that suits your purpose and target audience. You then take a critical look at the result and adjust the text or add to it with new prompts.

Digital skills are becoming increasingly important

With the advent of human-centred technology, such as digital assistants, tasks are changing. The skills employees need in the future are shifting. As we increasingly use digital programmes and applications, digital skills are becoming more important.

For example, employees responsible for the production process in a food factory no longer take measurements themselves but check automatically collected data to decide whether they need to intervene. And a home care worker determines whether a client needs care based on information from a camera in the home, or a smart toilet seat that measures heart rate and blood pressure. “Both examples show that it often involves a combination of digital skills to operate a programme and understand the data before deciding what action is needed,” says Gueskens.

3. Let employees learn and develop

Innovations follow each other faster and faster, and the tasks and skills needed change with them. You need to make sure your employees keep developing and applying innovations, says Geuskens. “On the one hand, employees should be open to change and take control of their own development. On the other hand, as an employer, you must provide support, resources, and time for learning. That doesn't always have to be a formal training. Some employees don't want that either. Informal and easily accessible learning on the job can work particularly well. For instance, have someone regularly shadow another colleague or department, or a company that is already a step ahead. Or let employees solve a problem together or try out an innovation and suggest ideas for improvement.”

Focus on skills, not CVs

According to Geuskens, if you want to stay future-proof, you can also start recruiting staff based on the skills that the work requires instead of selecting based on a diploma or CV alone. Think of skills like repairing, collaborating, communicating, reflecting, and analytical thinking. “The advantage is that you not only achieve better matches, but you can also select from a larger pool of candidates. For example, an administrative assistant, based on the similarities in skills, may very well be able to switch to care and welfare.”

A national standard for describing skills called CompetentNL (in Dutch) is currently being developed. It describes per job which skills are needed to do that work well. There will also be a so-called skills passport. CompetentNL aims to help companies improve their recruitment practices in the future.