Ensuring digitalisation in your business is a success Viewpoint careers advice blog

Ensuring digitalisation in your business is a success Pressure from competitors. Changes in consumer behaviour. Digital disruptors on the horizon. The need to reduce costs or improve efficiency. International expansion. These are just some of the reasons business leaders are driving forward new digitalisation initiatives within their organisations. To ensure these digitalisation projects succeed, business leaders and their senior management team will spend hours, days, and months building a framework for implementing the more practical elements of this digital change; the timeframes, the budgets, the human capital required, and the projected ROI. All important elements of course, but the digitalisation process itself can only be as successful as the employees who will work alongside this new technology in order to implement the vision. So how can you manage the “people element” of digitalisation in your business? Communication is key Hays CIO Steve Weston cites in a previous blog, “leaders that communicate with staff across every level of the organisation are  eight times more likely  to run successful transformation projects compared with those that do not.” As such, explain to your workforce how these digitalisation initiatives will affect workloads, timeframes plus individual targets, bonuses and job security. Share this information with all employees, not just those who will be directly impacted. Create an open dialogue, welcoming any questions, concerns or ideas that employees have. People fear what they don’t know, so if employees feel kept in the loop with digital advancements in your company, they are far more likely to embrace this change with a positive mentality. Get employee buy-in from all areas of the business You may have a strategy in place for getting consumer buy-in for the digital changes which affect them, but how are you marketing them internally? Share your motive for implementing this project. Highlight how the transformations will benefit the business as a whole, but also each individual department. For instance, you may be using some new data analytics software which will drive better customer insights and hopefully increase company profits. You would get the buy-in of your sales department by explaining how this change will help your sales executives to meet their targets. I would also advise relaying success stories from other companies in your industry, talking about the positive impact digitalisation had on their vision. Create a culture of continued learning You may have all the necessary learning/training materials ready for the launch of this new digitalisation project, but have you considered the knowledge gaps which may crop up once this technology is applied? What about when this technology evolves, how can you ensure employees will keep up? For the sake of your current and future digitalisation projects, it is important to create a culture of continued learning sooner rather than later. Invest in up to date resources which enable employees to understand and utilise new technology on an ongoing basis. These could include live QA sessions, continued help desk support, guidebooks, FAQ sheets as well as refresher training for those who need it. Driving this type of learning culture forward will help you to future proof your organisation by setting a standard of continued upskilling alongside changing technology. Find your “change agents” A “change agent” is an employee who understands the benefits of this digital transformation project, and how to use this technology in order to reap these benefits. These employees can lead by example and drive the agenda forward. The “change agents” can and should be the other leaders in your business, but look beyond seniority level too. As the technological backbone of your organisation, your IT department will have a better grasp of how the digital transformation can work in practice, and can thereby act as an internal training and support system. Assign roles to specific members of your IT department and create new ones if necessary. I would also advise you look beyond the IT department to identify other employees who are embracing this digital change, using the technology correctly and appreciating the value it is bringing to the business. Crown these individuals as “change champions”, praising their compliance so that they inspire their peers. Continued analysis The above advice can serve you well in achieving an effective launch of a digitalisation initiative, but continued analysis is required in order to ensure long term results. Audit usage and compliance on an ongoing basis, rewarding success and implementing corrective processes and consequences for non-compliant employees. As I said, digital transformation projects can be planned to the nth degree, but to reap the projected benefits, you need to plan a strategy for the “people element” of digitalisation within your business, a strategy which engages and reassures, one which creates a culture of learning and adaptability and one which explains to all areas of the business, why this change is for the better. You can read more digital transformation insights and advice below:   Forget about the robots â€" four practical ways to stay relevant AI Will Be a Big Part of Our Future â€" but What Does That Mean for Businesses Searching for Talent? SMEs-you need to fix your digital skills gap Automation: Job killer or temp job cultivator?