German Employees Overrate Performance, Training Plunges 24% as Cyber Law Threatens Personal Liability for Directors
20.06.2026 - 16:08:48 | boerse-global.de
A stark disconnect between how workers and their managers view performance has emerged in Germany, even as companies slash training budgets and prepare for a sweeping EU cybersecurity directive that could hold executives personally liable.
The McKinsey HR Monitor 2026, surveying 6,800 participants, found that nearly every employee in Germany rates their own work as at least average. Personnel managers, by contrast, judge roughly one-fifth of the workforce as underperforming. The perception gap coincides with a 24% drop in per-employee spending on further training compared with the prior year. German workers now average only 2.5 training days annually—far below international peers—despite daily AI tool usage climbing to 28% and making skill development ever more urgent.
AI Reshapes Recruiting at Speed
Meanwhile, technology is dramatically accelerating hiring processes. The Adecco Group reports over 1.2 million AI-powered interactions with job candidates across ten countries. Around 250,000 full job interviews were conducted by AI systems for 50,000 positions. Time-to-hire fell by 50%, and placement rates now exceed 80%. More than half of all interactions took place outside standard working hours.
Specialist provider Fusemachines has extended its platform to work with more than 30 different applicant tracking systems. A new AI assistant called “Command Center” can handle onboarding, salary changes and contract adjustments directly in over 180 countries.
EU Cyber Rules Add Compliance Pressure
The transposition of the EU NIS-2 directive into German law will expand the range of affected companies to an estimated 30,000 businesses. Cybersecurity becomes a clear leadership responsibility: directors risk personal liability if they violate the rules. Personnel departments are expected to support the introduction of systematic information security management systems (ISMS).
Personnel Changes and Regional Initiatives
On the people side, Nadine Henseler has been overseeing human resources at Carglass since February 2024. As People Director, she reports to managing director Jean-Pierre Filippini and succeeded Bettina Behncken, who left the company at the end of 2023. The service firm employs roughly 2,400 people in Germany.
In Saxony-Anhalt, several chambers of industry and commerce and crafts chambers are organising a series of events in June 2026 on conversation techniques and prevention in apprenticeship settings. The aim is to sensitise trainers to the mental health of trainees.
The job market is reflecting these shifts. The state capital Stuttgart is recruiting specialists for tax compliance in payroll. Companies like Dataciders are planning to take on new apprentices in office management. Increasingly, the requirements combine specialist knowledge with the ability to operate in a digitised and regulation-heavy environment.
