Background
Increasing digitisation and demographic change place high demands on SMEs in particular, as their greater market dependency makes them highly sensitive to sudden disturbances. The ability to adapt to a new situation rapidly and to react appropriately is known as resilience.
Aims
From 2016 to 2019, the IAD led the project “STÄRKE” as consortium leader. In this project an overall concept for the analysis and further development of individual and organisational resilience in small and medium-sized enterprises was developed and tested.
Method
The project combines ergonomic, economic and psychological approaches. Basis of the analysis is the EFQM model, which provides the structure for a fundamental organisational analysis as well as the identification and prioritisation of need for action. Furthermore, it enables a holistic understanding of causes and interdependencies. The IAD's focus here was primarily on the micro-perspective, i.e. the analysis and development of individual resilience from the employee perspective.
Results
The lessons learned in the pilot SMEs will be processed in the form of a practice-oriented tool, the “resilience compass”. This tool will enable companies to independently analyse their adaptability and implement suitable development measures in the future. This will reduce difficulties in the transition to Industry 4.0 technologies and significantly strengthen the innovative capabilities of SMEs.
