How to Ensure Your Organization is Ready for Digital Transformation

Digital information focuses the enterprise to get closer to the right technology, and understanding what no longer works for your organization needs to be replaced or upgraded. It is a process for management to rigorously measure performance and embrace advancement in technology, to create impactful results in your organization. I decided to write this as a short checklist to consider the three main bottlenecks of processes and communication I encountered when undertaking digital transformation projects.

FREE Conversation Software demo

In an organization, opting for and establishing new technological advancements, outlining a new digital roadmap, creating an innovative vision strategy and a smooth execution of these transformations is extremely challenging.

Why is this all Important?

To compete in the world’s economy, and to get familiar with new innovative technology, management of many enterprises, especially start ups in Australia, are constantly shifting their efforts in a new direction to become visionaries and leaders in their industries. Almost all business regulations, processes, and functions can be transformed with digital technology. The Government of Australia has outlined a number of initiatives for digital transformation in the Budget 2017-18, stating that they will consolidate and modernize their systems along with members of training staff in digital skills. Governments are usually slow to adopt new technology, so has your organisation transformed digitally?

Does your Organization need to Adopt?

digital-transformation-adopt

Unless any organization or let’s say, a start up in Australia, is really at its peak, the answer remains “Yes”. Regardless of the operating industry, the management cannot turn a blind eye to digital transformation, if the management and the enterprise lack vision, has no understanding of its customer, has poor employee engagement, is operating on outdated technology systems and is unable to deliver excellence and innovation in their services and products, amazing results cannot be achieved.

It is nonetheless, naive to expect an organization to spontaneously and suddenly transform itself especially when it relies on the old and comfortable ways of working. The Digital Transformation Agency worked towards the transformation of the Australian government for more than 16 months and there are still many more years ahead of it to achieve it’s agendas https://www.dta.gov.au/news/all/

While the majority of organizations and managements think of digital transformation as changing the technical aspect of business, which is quite right in its sense, all the focus on installing advanced technology and modern systems, signing up and shifting to cloud based technology and diversifying the services and functions of IT within the business, can all fail dramatically if you do not execute the transformation correctly.

1. Digital Transformation begins with the staff

digital-transformation-people

According to the Canon research, 78% of the businesses state that they are willing to improve the management and employee experience by adopting digital transformation – this is in contrast to the 55% of businesses which opted to focus on customer experience instead. 

Employees are a critical part of the digital transformation process – if employees are not on board, it is undeniably impossible to shift the organization’s practices and processes. A vast majority of the businesses feel that change of management is a huge barrier to digital transformation. Moreover, successful changes depend on employee experience.

Nitya Padmon – Customer Marketing Head – Canon Australia says that the observed impact on employee experience is due to businesses realizing the need for digital transformation. They understand the need of transforming the workflows and processes if they intend to retain and attract young expertise.

2. Digital Transformation from Top to bottom

“The big difference between the companies that are just doing technology initiatives and the companies that are leading a technology-based transformation is how they’re putting the leadership frameworks in place,” MIT’s George Westerman.

In spite of the role employees play in the digital transformation of a business in Australia, CEOs have the same role in shifting and driving this change successfully. However, as per the survey of MIT, only half of the organizations create cases to facilitate digital investment. Hence, transformation flows from top to bottom in the organizational structure and as a part of a comprehensive business strategy.

Set an innovative platform and keep holistic view for technology

The landscape of digital transformation is in its infancy indeed. No matter how much we defy our current practices as being the most suitable ones for tomorrow as well, it is not the case. Set up your transformational project with continual development and change in mind and eradicate the processes that are lagging behind the modern world.

Since digital transformation will take over all aspects of business growth and success, it is right for a management to lead at the front-end in order to cultivate a digital culture founded on the grounds of consistent change and innovation.

3. Get along with the other platforms to optimize business

digital-transformation-platforms

Unlike the conventional approach of management, there is a demand for digitally transforming businesses to use various advanced platforms to optimize business growth. Instead of developing custom solutions, depending on reasons such as security issues or to have a belief that these solutions will help in ensuring a competitive edge, it is time to reconsider your options and make use of modern processes innovatively. Create a solid relationship with a digital solutions provider and help your organization in keeping a steady track of business growth.

Ending Note

Ultimately, ensuring the start of digital transformation in your organization is by creating meaningful metrics, having tangible benchmarks and ensuring clear communication of the expected progress.