Companies need to appoint the right people in the right places and roles to ensure a smooth digital transformation is adopted throughout the entire company. Many barriers can arise with digital transformation thanks to a lack of leadership and procedure. Having a clear strategy with defined roles will assist in a smooth adoption of digital transformation.
Here are the things you need to consider:
A Transformation Team
Any big changes within an organisation demands leadership and direction from top managers, CIOs and CEOs. The best way to implement digital transformation is with a top down approach. The first role of digital transformation is to establish a team of top level managers and digital savvy leaders to drive the transformation roll out. If a company has a digital leader in the change team they are 1.6 times more likely to report a successful digital transformation.
Strategy and Processes
Defining a strategy and procedure with the transformation team is an essential step before any changes begin. This is needed for the adoption of employees to participate willingly. It should state the direction of the company, reasons and benefits of the change and the ideal outcome this digital transformation wishes to achieve. According to McKinsey, the success rate of transformation is three times higher when management has established a clear change story for transformation.
Technology
Technology plays a vital role in digital transformation. Before implementing change, the digital leader needs to identify the key technologies needed to make the change as simple as possible. When digital tools are implemented to make information more accessible, digital transformation is 2.1 times more successful, and when standard operating procedures are modified to include new technology transformation is 1.8 times more likely.
Implementation
The next role is for the transformation team to implement the digital change and educate their department. It’s essential for line managers to adopt and educate their executives on the change. The top challenge, from Fujitsu’s survey, during the implementation stage of digital transformation is a lack of skilled staff. There should be support systems and trainings within the process to transform smoothly.
Employees
Employees also play a vital role in digital transformation. Encourage employees to trial, test and give feedback from the very start of the process right through to post-transformation. This will pick up any obstacles that may have been missed in the planning stage and ease the stress caused by change.
A smooth transition can be a difficult process without the right people involved or the right steps defined. These roles will help you achieve a digital transformation.
