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Many organisations are trying to undergo digital transformation to take advantage of the benefits of digital technology. Based on research, over 80% of companies are either in the process of implementing, or have already completed, a digital-first approach to business processes, operations, and customer engagement.
Nonetheless, despite these developments, the same research also discovered that workforce strategy often falls behind a company’s capacity to use fresh digital tools. The main reason behind the disconnection is the tendency to put technology at the front of digital transformation when in reality, it's organisational alignment that drives successful transformation.
Listed below are the reasons why digital transformation is unrealistic without organisational alignment:
1. It needs a Mindset Shift
Before implementing the latest digital processes and tools, the people within the organisation needs to adopt a digital mindset. For it to be successful, the employees need to possess the enthusiasm to think in a different way about how to attain success for the organisation and its customers.
All employees must not solely apprehend the vision for digital transformation and the positive effect but also clasp the concept that digital tools need a change in how they function. To sway the mindset of employees towards making digital transformation success, you need to take the following steps:
Develop a perfect vision for change that enlightens and motivates employees to back digital transformation efforts
Identify leaders among your employees who can lead and show others how to clasp digital transformation
Introduce employee learning solutions that don’t just impart knowledge but also inspire individuals to want to change
2. It needs Behaviour Change
Your employees must change how they approach their work, leverage data, and utilise digital tools if you want the digital transformation to take place. Bringing in the latest technology won’t deliver eternal change because staff must have the skills and knowledge to integrate the latest technology into the latest and existing processes.
Research has proven that digital transformation cannot achieve devastating effect unless people engage with the latest technology. An example of such research is the White House report that further emphasises the importance of organisational alignment to digital transformation.
Employees are required to learn opportunities that will enable them to think and act distinctly; for a successful transformation. Directed training in the aspects of teamwork, project management, and innovation provides individuals with the chance to learn more about how they can individually back digital transformation.
3. It needs Leader Led
For digital transformation to be successful, the leaders have to set expectations and lead by example, displaying employees the behaviours, and mindset that is needed. Even though digital is all about technology and automation, the transformation is simply about the people and how the leaders lead and motivate them. The foremost process in cultural change is apprehending that it is the organisational alignment first and that it is your work to search for ways to involve and inspire the team.
Leadership training is very crucial to any digital transformation because it aids leaders to be more confident in leading their teams through the hard start of change. The knowledge and skills learned from the training can be used to drive digital transformation throughout the workforce by:
Generating an environment of open two-way communication in which employees can ask questions and find direction and leaders offer feedback to guide employee behaviour.
Identifying individuals who add the latest digital thinking into current processes and who use digital tools to increase the customer experience. This makes it easier to save the cost of hiring.
Backing employee learning and capability development. This is always important in any organisation as it helps to instil the right company culture and create a good work environment that bolsters the productivity of workers in the organisation.
Bottom Line
There’s no debate that digital transformation involves the inclusion of the latest technology, but the truth is that it will be unrealistic without organisational alignment. Technology is an enabler of digital transformation while people convey digital thinking, tools, and processes together. Focus on providing the workforce with the knowledge, training, and leader led needed to enhance a digital mindset and the skill sets, before an eternal digital transformation can become a reality.