Digital Transformation Is About People, Not Technology

Digital transformation is not about technology — but about people. People who form the crux of any business cannot be overlooked when it comes to shifting business practices.

The world today has undergone tremendous change within a very short period. Business processes, customer engagement, and general business operations have been upended by the Covid-19 pandemic and the resulting issues. Organizations have been forced by circumstances to transform and change their models to accommodate this new reality.

In a 2018 publication by IDG Communications, Inc., a market intelligence and advisory company, it was cited that 89% of organizations have either adopted or are in the process of adopting a digital-first strategy. If the study was to be done today, this percentage would likely be closer to 100%.

The market is brimming with the latest digital tools and processes that harness data and simplify complex work. Digital transformation is now no longer a buzzword but an imperative path for businesses if they are to survive.

Many business leaders are investing in digital advancements to stay ahead of the competition and meet changing customer expectations, but only a few are truly flourishing.

One crucial thing to note is that whenever digital transformation is mentioned, businesses almost always think about technology ahead of everything else. However, contrary to popular belief, people, as opposed to technology, should be at the core of any digital transformation framework.

The danger of putting technology ahead of employee skills and strategy is that a disconnect may form between the digital transformation process and the workforce, causing the transformation to fail before it even starts. It is important for management to address this gap when implementing any new digital technology and they can do so by incorporating the following aspects into their workforce strategy.

A mental shift

Employee mindset is a critical wheel in driving digital transformation. The first step in the transformation process is changing the attitudes of the workforce so that they welcome the possibilities of incorporating technology into their tasks and are eager to extract greater value this way. Digital transformation services and solutions can help you create that positive shift.

With a digital mindset, employees will be able to think differently about the value proposition, business positioning, and ways to approach customer engagement. Here are the steps you can take to ensure employee buy-in.

· Outline a clear vision: Have a laser-focused vision and strategy that is understood and shared by all. This helps align the organization with the objectives and targets of the transformation. The vision should be clear enough to inform and motivate your workforce into supporting the digital transformation processes.

· Select change champions: Identify a digital transformation team within the organization that has an excellent grasp of the vision and are ready to advocate for and facilitate change. They can be from any level of management, not necessarily from the top.

· Invest in employee training and learning: Digital transformation, as with any type of change, requires participants to be reskilled or upskilled. This will give them the knowledge required to drive the change process. On a more fundamental level, the knowledge gained must inspire the employees to embrace and advocate for change. If you cannot provide this training internally, consider hiring a digital transformation services expert.

Behavioral change and adaptation

The true value of digital transformation can be extracted when employees harness new digital tools and use data insights to power their business decisions. However, this remains a vision until and unless the workforce is willing to change their behavior, especially how they approach their day-to-day tasks.

As people engage with new technologies, opportunities emerge to create value and reduce errors. In a 2016 report titled, ‘Preparing for The Future of Artificial Intelligence,’ the White House emphasizes the need for human-machine collaboration. As machines do what they do best and humans bring their ‘A’ game in creativity and innovation, productivity increases, and chances of error are minimized. This is not the case when humans and technology act in silos.

Behavioral change is inspired by targeted training in both hard and soft skills such as teamwork, innovation, project management, and communication. Let every employee know that their individual effort matters in collective organizational success.

Leadership support and goodwill

The workforce is a bit like a sports team: even the best quarterback requires good receivers, a strong defense, and an aggressive offensive line. In addition to the digital evangelists and change agents, support from the top is critical if the digital transformation team is to gather steam and be successful.

The best leaders of change are not fence-sitters or people who are just in for the digital ride — they must sit at the steering wheel. They must be proactive in implementing digital processes and continually scouting for opportunities for process automation.

Leaders at every level of the organization have the space to set expectations and embody the digital mindset. They must not miss the fact that while digital is about technology and new tools, the transformation lies squarely with the people. Without people getting involved and being transformed, the whole process flops irrespective of the massive investments made.

The best place to begin is to equip and build the capacity of the organization’s leadership through quality training. Look for organizations that offer credible digital transformation services to coach your leadership on how to steer their teams through the challenging terrain of digital change. Among other benefits, such training will help achieve the following:

· Open communication: Digital transformation requires an honest, transparent, and flexible two-way communication environment. If leaders can implement this, it will enable employees to ask questions and get prompt feedback on their actions and decisions.

· Identifying exceptional talent: Leaders will be able to quickly identify employees with exceptional digital capabilities who can potentially leverage digital tools and use them in new ways that could benefit business processes.

· Supporting competency development: Employees require constant upskilling to remain competitive and deliver exceptional customer experience in the digital age. To achieve such skills as analytical competency and innovation, their leaders must be at the forefront of inspiring learning.

The bottom line

In today’s fast-changing world, no business can afford to stagnate. Transformation — and more so across the digital frontier — is critical. However, before embarking on such a program, organizations must design their digital transformation framework in a way that prioritizes the people factor.

In fact, a workforce change framework must be an integral part of the digital transformation. Employees must shift their thinking to embrace a digital-ready mindset and change their behavioral approach to their roles. At the same time, leadership support must be guaranteed at all levels and times. Such goodwill binds together the different initiatives that make up the digital transformation framework.