Analyzing Workforce 4.0 in the Fourth Industrial Revolution and proposing a road map from operations management perspective with fuzzy DEMATEL

Purpose The purpose of this paper is threefold: first, to present a structural competency model; second, to remark new criteria for personnel selection in Industry 4.0 environment; and third, to contribute to the operations management literature by focusing on recruitment process in Industry 4.0 environment and supporting human resources activities with Industry 4.0 related criteria and point out a new research field in Industry 4.0. Design/methodology/approach Fuzzy DEMATEL has been used in the implementation. The study is conducted in a high-tech firm, which has started to modify its processes according to Industry 4.0, and introduces a new specific department that is responsible of this transformation. In total, 11 personnel selection criteria were presented and then assessed by experts through a fuzzy linguistic scale. Both importance order and causal relation between criteria are presented at the end of the study. Findings According to the results, the most important criteria in the selected firm are the ability of dealing with complexity and problem solving, thinking in overlapping process, and flexibility to adapt new roles and work environments. While cause group includes criteria such as knowledge on IT and production technologies, awareness of IT security and data protection, and ability of fault and error recovery, effect group includes flexibility to adapt new roles and work environments, organizational and processual understanding, and the ability to interact with modern interfaces. Practical implications Analytical thinking and system approach are the key topics for new supporting personnel selection criteria, which lead to the need for the skills and qualifications in decision making and process management. Results of the cause group criteria also indicate the importance of technical abilities such as coding, IT security and human-machine interfaces. On the other hand, effect group of the study emphasizes on the flexibility and interdisciplinary working structure that suggests the suitability of matrix organization in the companies which follow the Industry 4.0 trends. Moreover, team work comes forward as another key concept for organizations transforming to Industry 4.0. Originality/value The originality of this study appears on modeling of a competency structural model for Workforce 4.0 which is proposed as a road map, including the suggested set of related criteria and the fuzzy MCDM-based methodology for companies which alter their organizations according to Industry 4.0.