How to optimize recruiting and organization with digital twins

What is an employee's digital twin?

A digital twin is a data-based, virtual representation of a real employee. In theory, the digital twin maps their characteristics in detail—from qualifications and interests to deep psychological traits. To do this, the digital twin is based on a mix of qualitative and quantitative data, including:

• Demographic data
• Data on consumption and media usage behavior
• Resumes, competency profiles, and continuing education data
• Key performance indicators and target agreements
• Data on behavioral and communication patterns
• Motivational factors and pain points
• Data on working methods
• Data on preferences regarding the work environment (e.g., preferred tools, most frequently used/desired benefits, etc.)
• Career and development goals

Unlike the information contained in personnel files or skills databases, the digital twin not only shows where an employee currently stands, but also where they can develop, what factors influence their performance, and under what conditions they work most effectively.

Real-time data and machine learning can be used to map not only the present in a model, but also the entire employee journey. This enables companies to identify development potential and skills gaps, optimize the deployment of personnel, and predict specific scenarios for individual employees or groups of employees.

Areas of application for digital employee twins

There are many different areas of application for digital twins in recruiting and HR. The greatest benefits arise when recruiting and HR managers actively use them in everyday business. Below are a few examples of how digital twins of employees work in practice:

1. Manage talent and skills

With the help of digital twins , companies can analyze the hard and soft skills of their employees. Digital twins identify strengths and skill gaps—often before HR managers do. They provide information about suitable training courses and which talents are best suited for new projects or roles.For example, companies can use this knowledge to put together project teams based on data .The advantage: both on a human and qualification level, teams are created that efficiently combine their skills and also harmonize on a personal level. This leads to a higher success rate and greater satisfaction.

2. Make fair and data-driven personnel decisions

Digital twins are already proving their worth in recruiting. They show companies where to find suitable specialists, how to approach them, and ultimately how to win them over. Specifically, digital twins support recruiting in this context by helping to improve job advertisements and plan interviews and assessment centers, thereby optimizing the entire candidate journey. For existing employees, digital twins make career paths transparent. In this way, they contribute to more objective personnel decisions. When it comes to succession planning for a management position, for example, corresponding scenarios can be simulated in advance: What happens if manager X leaves the company? Which talents could take over the succession? Where is there still a need for learning?

3. Optimize onboarding and individual support

Digital twins show how new employees learn, communicate, and work. This knowledge can be used to accelerate and personalize onboarding processes. For example, the digital twin of a more introverted employee might suggest more mentor coaching, while analytical personalities might be provided with more structured learning material. Existing employees also benefit in terms of further training and qualifications. Digital twins provide information on where there is a need for learning, which learning methods are most effective, and how employees can achieve their learning and career goals most quickly.

4. Plan change processes and implement them efficiently

Change processes are a challenge for the entire company. It is important to support employees empathetically and renew structures while ensuring that day-to-day business continues to run smoothly. Digital twins offer strong support in this regard. This is because they can be used to test scenarios before companies implement them in real life. For example, digital twins show how teams might react to changes: Where do risks arise? Which employees need to be prepared or relieved—and how? In this case, the models provide specific information on appropriate measures and suitable communication. This helps companies plan and implement change processes with low risk.

5. Promote employee experience and health in the workplace

Companies can also use digital twins to improve the work-life balance and health of their employees. Anonymized models can identify work and communication overload or other burnout risks at an early stage. This provides companies with information on how to adjust workloads and implement measures to improve the working environment.

Forms and formats of digital twins

In theory, a digital twin is a virtual, data-based representation of a real employee. In practice, digital twins take many different forms: from simple chatbots and AI avatars to simulations of real work situations and virtual training environments. Here are five real-world examples:

1. REWE digital

Since 2024, REWE digital has been testing a digital avatar called "goRobert," based on real people, for onboarding new employees. The avatar appears as a 3D hologram in a "Holobox" and provides information about the company, processes, and programs. Similar to a digital twin, the avatar serves as a personalized assistance and orientation service for new employees in the new company. According to a press release, employees can ask the avatar questions about personal concerns, such as childcare, training opportunities, or mental health programs, either directly or by phone.

2. PersonaGPT

PersonaGPT is a service provided by the Persona Institute. The Persona Institute develops data-based and psychologically sound personas from over a million statistics and interviews. PersonaGPT supplements the profile with artificial intelligence, bringing the persona to life as a digital twin. Depending on the target group and area of application, the chatbot performs different tasks. For example, recruiters can create or optimize job ads directly in the chat to reach suitable talent. PersonaGPT supports marketing managers in making the right decisions, placing ads where potential customers really notice them, and using advertising budgets wisely.

3. Guildhawk

Guildhawk offers "virtual humans" (digital human twins) based on AI and avatar technology—digital twins of real people who appear as avatars. The avatars speak dozens of languages, making them particularly interesting for international companies. These companies use the avatars for immersive videos, for example, for corporate communications, presentations, or international meetings.

4. Virti

Virti is a company that offers a platform for AI-supported training and simulation—with "virtual humans." Users can use it to train communication, customer contact, or soft skills in a realistic environment. Such training solutions are not classic "digital twins" with full employee profiles, but they are an important building block on the way there: they create virtual, interactive images of people or roles with which behavior can be simulated and tested.

5. Machineering

Machineering uses the iPhysics software solution to develop simulation tools that can be used to virtually replicate not only machines or systems. The integrated "human twin" approach also allows you to simulate how employees act at assembly or work stations: The model maps reaching paths, movement sequences, time required, ergonomics, and work steps. These can be optimized as early as the planning phase—even before real workstations are built or machines are put into operation. Workflows and workplace design can thus be planned more efficiently, safely, and ergonomically.

Limitations of digital twins and the role of data-driven personas

The challenge: Many chatbots or avatars reflect documented knowledge, such as FAQs and other subject-specific information. However, there is a lack of data on personality, performance, or behavior. AI-supported training platforms or simulations are also often based on generic roles rather than the strengths, development potential, or motivations of real people. In addition, many applications are limited to individual use cases, such as onboarding, training, FAQ service, etc.

So how can digital twins be developed in such a way that they represent people holistically, including their individual character traits, behaviors, and working methods throughout the employee journey?

An essential component of this are data-driven personas, which take psychological aspects into account as well as CVs, skills, and performance indicators. They provide deeper insights into motivation, working style, communication preferences, and stress resilience. Only on this basis can digital twins of employees map realistic behavior patterns, make predictions about development potential, and provide meaningful recommendations for career paths, team structures, or further training. 

This means that the more detailed the persona of the digital twin reflects the personality, motivation, and preferences of a real employee, the more useful it is as a tool for personnel development and strategic decisions.

Why you should invest in digital employee twins now – and why the Persona Institute is the ideal partner for this

Digital twins of employees enable companies to understand talent more precisely, make more informed decisions, and tailor personnel development more individually than ever before. Practical examples show that human digital twins are already changing the world of work in the form of avatars, training simulations, AI-supported onboarding, and ergonomic human twin models.

However, the decisive factor for success is not technology alone, but truly understanding people. This is exactly where the Persona Institute comes in: we develop data-based, psychologically sound employee personas that form the basis for authentic, realistic, and ethically responsible digital twins.

Our expertise combines data with modern AI, psychology, and practical HR experience to provide a deeper understanding of the people who drive the company forward.

If you want to shape the future of HR, you need digital twins that are more than just data points—they must reveal human potential.

The Persona Institute supports companies on this journey: strategically, scientifically sound, and with a focus on people.