Leading Your Organization Through Digital Transformation

Would you say that you have successfully lead your company to the digital age? Getting your business off of paper is a great start, but by today’s standards, it is not nearly enough. Digital transformation has to be at the center of your corporate strategy for your efforts to yield results.

CIO defines digital transformation as “the acceleration of business activities, processes, competencies, and models to fully leverage the changes and opportunities digital technologies and their impact in a strategic and prioritized way.”[1] It is a broad concept that will no doubt have a far-reaching impact on business, which is why many companies have begun reinventing themselves for the digital world.

The fear of using technology deemed too risky can leave even the most experienced leaders and decision makers paralyzed. Knowing the most crucial areas to focus on can help you through this major transition.

Automate Operational Processes

Although digital transformation has arguably the most visible payoff for the customer-facing aspects of business, it might be best to start changing things up from within. Operational processes need to be digitized so your people can turn their full attention to more important, strategic tasks rather than repetitive efforts.[2] In the case of HR, a centralized structure and using automation tools eliminate the need to manually keep track of employees’ days off and enable employees to serve themselves.

Virtualize Individual-Level Work

In essence, individual-level work has been miles ahead in terms of virtualization. In the U.S. alone, mobile workers are predicted to account for nearly three-quarters of the entire workforce by 2020.[3] Meanwhile, in the office, many organizations are implementing a “no assigned desks” policy to encourage free collaboration between departments. Collaborative tools and apps make it possible for people to carry out their tasks anywhere and then share their work with others in real time and at an even lesser cost.

Leverage Cloud-Based Systems

The cloud plays a rather important role in any company’s digital transformation. Used correctly, cloud-based services and systems have the potential to reduce operation costs, promote company-wide transparency, improved efficiency and more. In fact, according to research by Vanson Bourne, organizations that adopt cloud systems experience a 20.66 percent average improvement in time to market, 18.80 percent average increase in process efficiency, and 15.07 percent reduction in IT spending.[4]

Adopt a “Digital First” Mentality

Millennials are well on their way to becoming the largest living generation, which means that pretty soon, they will make up the bulk of the workforce and the consumers. As employees and customers, Millennials are known to have a “digital-first” mentality. They expect companies they work for to have the same level of digital capability that they enjoy as customers. It’s only fair to say that having a strong digital vision will attract more new talent and make a good impression on clients.

Whether you’re opposed to drastic technological changes in the corporate setting or not, the reality is that digital transformation is no longer a luxury. Digital transformation is now an essential element for continued bottom-line growth.

Sources:

[1] Digital transformation: Why it’s important to your organization

[2] The Nine Elements of Digital Transformation

[3] IDC Forecasts U.S. Mobile Worker Population to Surpass 105 Million by 2020

[4] Unmasking Digital Transformation: 6 B2B Drivers for 2018