20 HR managers from German retail were available for 45-60 minute semi-structured interviews between March and September 2024. The results of these surveys were summarized in the 20-page study “People in Retail 2024/25”. The study was created as part of the EHI initiative ‘Future of Work in Retail’.
“Digital transformation is a complex process of change in which the human factor must not be underestimated,” says Ulrike Witt, author of the study and head of the human resources research department at EHI.
There is widespread agreement among HR managers that digital transformation and artificial intelligence offer the opportunity to face the challenges of the time with optimism: processes can be made more efficient, administrative tasks can be automated and transparency can be simplified. The concerns of employees can be taken into account more individually and talents can be discovered and promoted. From an employee perspective, it may be difficult for some to keep up with technological progress, but for others this could even make retail more attractive as an employer in the future.
Human resources managers have to deal with complex structures and systems that require cooperative action – for example with the IT department.
