How to Digitally Transform without Disrupting Operations

Getting your company ready for the digital world doesn’t need to be painful.

Digital transformation has already been well-established as an essential undertaking for practically all companies that want to be able to compete in the modern economy.

However, all too often, digital transformation is mistaken for simply being an adoption of technology by a business for use in its operations.

In reality, it is a lot more complex. In order for it to be successful, it requires an evolution of a company’s mindset, culture, approach to business, and naturally, use of technology.

Digital transformation is a process that can take weeks, months, or years, depending on the size of the company, its operations, employees, goals, and of course also its strategy for transformation.

In this article, we’re going to discuss some of the key steps to getting digital transformation right, and how to minimize the process’ impact on the rest of your business’ operations.

1. Understand your goals

The first key step in making your digital transformation journey a success is understanding what exactly you want to achieve through it. Do you want:

• to serve your customers and clients better,
• access new markets,
• optimize your internal operations for your employees?

Perhaps you want all three, or you might just want one of them.

Understanding your goals is essential if you want to avoid wasting time, money and resources on elements and types of digital transformation that you don’t need. Once you have understood your goals, you will have a clearer idea of the directions you need to take.

2. Get your team on board

Digital transformation can be a scary prospect for employees and team members who are used to working in a certain way. It’s important that the process becomes a group effort, as its success will ultimately depend on how willing your team members are to adapt alongside the new technologies and processes you will be introducing.

According to surveys carried out on CEOs by Microsoft in 2018:

• around 60% of CEOs consider digital transformation to be something that causes employee anxiety,
• 70% were unhappy with the results of their digital transformation,
• only 25% were undertaking initiatives to change the business culture and practices of their companies.

Put simply, digital transformation will be painful if the people needed for it to work do not understand the reasoning behind it. So communicate your goals, explain how it will benefit the company, and provide the resources and time for your team members to adapt to the changes.

3. Don’t go too fast

Another mistake often made by companies looking to digitally transform – which ends up complicating their current business operations – is attempting to do everything in one go, in the fastest time possible. The timeframe for your digital transformation should be flexible, and should work for your company, not against it.

A longer timeframe will give you the space needed to adapt and change approaches as you go along, and will also be less likely to negatively impact your ongoing operations.

4. Make use of your resources

While having ambitious goals is a virtue, it’s important to also be grounded in reality, and to understand what resources you have available to you.

You might represent a multinational company with a dedicated IT department, which can focus on both new technological adoption, and developing the training programs for the rest of your employees. Or you might be a one-person outfit trying to build an e-commerce site, expand your business, find new supply chains and navigate complex markets.

Whatever the case, it’s important to understand what resources you have, and what resources you will need to successfully spearhead your digital transformation. If you are a small or medium-sized company, it might very well make sense to enlist the services of an IT outsourcing company that takes the time to understand your goals, and is able to offer specialized solutions that complement your broader transformation as a company.

Interested in developing a digital transformation roadmap? Get in touch with us to find out how Bocasay can be your partner in the process.