Workers and Bosses Clash on Performance as German Training Budgets Plunge 24%
20.06.2026 - 02:32:30 | boerse-global.de
A striking disconnect between how employees and their managers perceive performance is widening in Germany, even as companies slash money for skill-building programs. According to the McKinsey HR Monitor 2026, which surveyed over 1,000 workers, 97% of employees rate their own output as at least average. Yet HR leaders classify roughly 19% of the workforce as below average.
The gap comes at a time when investment in upskilling is shrinking fast. Per-worker training expenditure dropped 24% this year to an average of €1,204, with employees receiving just 2.5 days of professional development annually—putting Germany at the back of the pack internationally. That trend worries experts, especially because the half-life of qualifications has shrunk to 12 to 18 months, according to Roland Berger. An estimated 60% of today’s university students will eventually work in jobs that do not yet exist.
Artificial intelligence is reshaping hiring but also creating new headaches. The PwC Global AI Jobs Barometer 2026 shows job postings in AI fields growing eight times faster than the overall market. Workers with AI skills can command salary premiums of up to 62%. However, the same technology is gumming up recruitment. Robert Half surveyed hiring managers and found that roughly two-thirds say AI-generated résumés make candidate evaluation harder, slowing down the entire process. In response, Berlin-based startup WhyBrilliant launched a public beta in June 2026 of an AI-powered career agent that automatically matches job profiles with candidate skills.
Despite eye-catching layoff announcements—Ford in Cologne cutting around 3,500 jobs, Evonik planning 3,200 cuts by 2029—structural labor shortages persist. Maximilian Stindt, labor market expert at the VDI, noted in June 2026 that nearly 99,000 engineering and IT roles remain unfilled. The construction sector is especially tight, with 306 open positions for every 100 unemployed people. Demographics will worsen matters: almost 20 million baby boomers will reach retirement age by 2036, and the Institute for the German Economy (IW) projects a 4.3 million drop in the workforce. Regions like Saarland and Saxony are already seeing a notable decline in young skilled workers and longer vacancy periods.
Large employers are responding by professionalizing HR. Since early 2026, Mercedes-Benz has been piloting a new performance-management system for managers that puts more emphasis on individual output. HR chief Britta Seeger said in mid-June: “We need to foster a winner’s mentality and cut bureaucratic hurdles to stay competitive.” Demand is rising for HR business partners who can handle strategic workforce planning and metrics. Companies such as Mann+Hummel and Austria’s Postbus AG are actively recruiting for these roles. Experts recommend focusing on core KPIs like turnover rate and time-to-hire to measure HR efficiency. Events such as the HR Inside Summer Edition in Laxenburg in June also highlighted the growing importance of skill-based hiring—and how to preserve humanity in an increasingly AI-driven workplace.
