Fraunhofer IAO launches "Kopfarbeit Index KAI"

How do the students of today want to work tomorrow? Fraunhofer IAO has been using its “Kopfarbeit-Index KAI®” to find out. Since September, students have been invited to define their ideal working conditions by completing an online questionnaire.

By joining the KAI working group, companies can find out exactly what their top performers value most at work, and discover which working conditions appeal to student groups they are looking to target.

If companies want to score points when competing for the best intellectual talent, they must ask themselves what it is that makes a position attractive to future top performers. What conditions do today’s students want for their future employment? What is the present working situation for the thinkers and knowledge workers that companies already employ – and how would they actually like to work?

Fraunhofer IAO developed the “Kopfarbeit-Index KAI®” to answer these questions. The project is designed to elicit the specific wishes of students and top performers when it comes to their dream jobs.

What’s novel about KAI is that its questions target the attractiveness of individual positions rather than seeking to question the attractiveness of a company. In so doing the focus is not on company culture or the social benefits a company offers, but on the working conditions associated with a particular function. What challenges are encountered on a daily basis? Does the job entail working on many tasks simultaneously? Is it possible or even obligatory for employees to commute between several places of work?

All the information gathered in the survey helps paint a detailed picture of which activities are attractive to which students and knowledge workers, and signposts how employers can specifically tailor work to make it more attractive, both for new talents and for today’s top performers.

Companies seeking to strengthen their recruitment process or improve staff loyalty are invited to join the KAI working group. Members are assured feedback from the specific group of students they wish to target, and can make use of Fraunhofer IAO’s expertise and services when surveying their own knowledge workers. Within the working group, members have the opportunity to profit from exchanging ideas with other companies, and benefit from being constantly updated with the latest survey results as they come in. Furthermore, members can post job profiles for positions within their own organization on the KAI® website and catch the attention of students looking for the sort of challenges they offer.

Membership is open to any organization that employs thinkers or knowledge workers, including administrative departments, non-profit organizations, and associations. It is possible to join at any time. The first set of job profiles will appear online from December 2013 onwards.

Contact:
Gabriele Korge
Business Performance Management
Fraunhofer IAO
Nobelstraße 12
70569 Stuttgart, Germany
Phone: +49 711 970-2261
Email: gabriele.korge@iao.fraunhofer.de