Swiss companies are investing ever more heavily in digital tools, but staff training sometimes struggles to keep pace, notes Andrea Belliger, a specialist in digitalization.
The rapid rise of artificial intelligence, data growth, and automation is fundamentally transforming how businesses operate and giving rise to entirely new professions. Andrea Belliger, a professor at the Institute for Communication & Leadership (IKF) in Lucerne, outlines the strategies companies must adopt – particularly in terms of training – to fully harness these changes.
What are the main effects of digitalization on the Swiss job market?
Andrea Belliger: The digital revolution is not only introducing innovative technologies but also creating a host of new professions – for example, the Digital Experience Designer, who is responsible for crafting optimal user experiences for a company’s digital products and services. At the same time, we're seeing a rise in hybrid profiles, which are increasingly in demand. Nurses, for instance, are developing data literacy skills, enabling them to analyse and apply health-related data. More and more architects, too, are gaining expertise in digital construction.
But the impact of digitalization runs deeper: jobs aren’t simply appearing or disappearing –they’re evolving. A technical specialist may now become a "process designer with automation expertise", while an HR professional might take on the role of a "cultural transformation lead".
What are the current challenges in training for these new professions emerging in Switzerland?
Belliger: The main challenge is that the education system is struggling to keep pace with the rapid evolution of technology. Professional roles are changing far more quickly than training programs can adapt. There is also a shortage of qualified instructors in key areas, such as artificial intelligence, agile organizational development, and digital ethics. Yet it is precisely in sectors where processes are complex, heavily regulated, and centered on human interaction – like healthcare, construction, finance, and industry – that the need for digitally skilled professionals is most acute. SMEs don’t just need IT specialists – they need employees who can bridge technology, communication, and company culture effectively.
How can SMEs make the most of digitalization? Should they all be hiring a data scientist?
Belliger: Not necessarily. In fact, the question companies should be asking isn’t whether they need a data scientist, but how they can make smarter decisions using the data already at their disposal – whether in selecting employees through data-based skills profiles, in customer service by analysing feedback and support data or in warehouse management through predictive demand planning and automated ordering processes.
Rather than creating standalone roles, SMEs should build data and technology skills into their existing teams. Abilities like data interpretation, critical thinking, ethical judgement, and collaboration with AI are now essential – even among current employees.
Digitalization is also changing how we work. This shift is often referred to as "New Work." But what does that actually mean?
Belliger: The concept goes well beyond flexible hours and remote work. Resilience, self-management, and emotional intelligence are becoming essential skills in a world of constant change. Leadership models are evolving too: instead of traditional top-down structures, some companies are adopting servant leadership – a supportive, empowering style – along with shared responsibility and a strong emphasis on personal initiative. Many are flattening hierarchies and forming agile, self-organized teams.
Compensation systems are also being reimagined. Models like New Pay promote greater transparency and employee involvement. One SME with 140 employees, for example, designed a new pay system by involving staff in evaluating the model and co-creating fair salaries.
AI tools are also reshaping how work gets done. Many SMEs already use them routinely – to write newsletters, respond to customer feedback, or draft proposals. Employees remain in control, but with AI assistance, they work faster, more precisely, and more creatively.
How can SMEs benefit from New Work?
Belliger: Companies that embrace this concept don’t just make their jobs more attractive to employees – they also become more resilient, more open to change, and better prepared for the future. SMEs have a clear advantage in this respect due to their flexibility. Without the burden of rigid structures, they can more easily adopt new ways of working, such as asynchronous collaboration, participatory decision-making, and flexible schedules.
