The secret to success in digital transformation isn’t just technology, it’s people.
Successfully implementing a digital transformation project and instilling a new agile culture within the DNA of your organization is all about people. Even the best technology on the planet can’t solve your digital challenges without the right people on your team driving it forward.
But who are the most critical people in digital transformation? Are you one of them?
In a recent global survey of over 1,000 businesses, it was revealed that people working within IT (61%), Operations (60%) and Business Process Specialists (57%) roles are largely considered to be the most effective in realizing and delivering change and transformation by their peers.
These are people with the center-out view of the organization. From this position, they are able to assess how implementing technology will impact people across the organization and the processes that exist within it. They’re the people who take the vision and the ideas accrued from different business areas and are able to turn them into reality. Put simply, change can’t happen without them.
But these peoples’ efforts are all too commonly restricted by internal barriers which leads to failure. Indeed, 70% report that efforts to transform the business are undermined by internal complexities.
This inevitably leads to IT, Operations and Business Process professionals feeling overwhelmed by the mighty task of delivering digital transformation. It would be easy to make the assumption that they are resistant to change, but the reality, as you might know, is far from it.
The pain points experienced by the agents of change are ultimately because organizations don’t have the appropriate operating models in place to innovate quickly. They need to share their approach with the wider business to galvanize everyone into action around a common goal. This can be defined in a number of ways, but this simple diagram from Microsoft’s CEO Satya Nadella sums it up nicely:
With this end goal in mind, here are three strategies that could help you empower agents of change within the business:
1. Champion experimentation: Innovation is best driven by continuous experimentation. But most organizations struggle to deliver this because of their unyielding legacy IT systems and traditional development methodologies. Embrace a truly agile approach within your department or teams that encourages collaboration. Allow yourself to fail fast and learn quickly. You’ll deliver far more value as a result.
2. Prioritize the customer: The needs of the customer should be at the heart of any digital transformation project. Keep focused on the customer and the technology you need in order to do that. Getting this right will help your business to use its data to empower customers and ensure they always receive the best possible experience. Isn’t that what digital transformation is really all about?
3. Connect operational systems: Ensuring connectivity across teams is the bedrock of any organization. This can only be achieved by providing technology based on a platform, not disconnected solutions. Talk to other departments and teams, find out how they’re working and how you can align to make life easier and more efficient for you all.
Learn more about how to empower agents of change in your business, download our eBook ‘The Most Critical People You Need To Deliver Digital Transformation’.
