Digital Transformation at Work: What You Need to Know

Technology continues to transform the modern workplace, and for the most part, to function in this modern environment a digital transformation is absolutely essential. But digital transformations are not always successful. In fact, some statistics showed that nearly 70 percent of digital transformation efforts do not reach the goals of the business.

Transformation, whether digital or not, is difficult, and the added digital aspect makes these particular types of transformations even more daunting. However, digital transformations are necessary in the current work environment. Even more important is using the new technology, data, and other aspects of a digital transformation effectively to boost your business.

Here’s what you should know about digital transformations and how to make them work for your business.

What Is Digital Transformation?

On the surface, digital transformation can seem daunting and a bit confusing, but it is really quite simple in concept, if challenging in execution. Digital transformation entails incorporating and utilizing digital technologies into all aspects of your business, either modifying or creating new business processes, customer experiences, and an overall culture for your employees based around these technologies.

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To stay relevant with customers and remain competitive in any industry, building your business around digital technology is essential. In the not so distant past, businesses did all their record-keeping on paper and stored data in analog formats. Today, nearly all of that has shifted or is shifting to computerized record-keeping, a process called digitization.

Digital Transformation Best Practices

Because the track record for successfully implementing digital transformation initiatives are not promising, many business owners wonder how they can successfully achieve digital transformation in their workplaces and achieve all their related goals. Before jumping into a digital transformation, take a moment to examine your business and develop a strategy based around the digital transformation.

Understand the possibilities of new technology and how they can make old processes smoother and faster, but do not assume technology is always the answer. While it’s certainly true that technology can help you speed up processes that have been around for years, the real power behind a digital transformation is in understanding the possibilities and staying open to changes. How can you make the most out of your new technology by adapting your business today?

Digital transformation also provides businesses with access to customer data and information that was never available before. In the age of brick and mortar stores and analog processes, businesses primarily had to wait for customers to come to them. But in the age of digital transformation, the amount of customer data businesses can access is staggering and potentially transformative.

Today, you can collect information on customers that will tell you about their shopping habits, choices, and other data that can be used to drive your marketing and customer experience processes in important ways. Take advantage of that data and find new customers you might never have had access to before the age of digital technology. Embrace new tools like social media to meet your customers where they are, instead of waiting for them to come to you.

Digital Transformation Requires Finding the Right People

The truth of the matter is that digital transformation requires a team of people that can help you use and implement it effectively in order for your new initiatives to be successful. Talent is key. That means you need to assemble a team with skills necessary to achieve a successful digital transformation at your business.

Digital transformation requires people skilled in technology, with in-depth knowledge in a variety of technological areas. It’s important that you have individuals on your team who can balance innovation and incorporating new technology with the necessary task of dealing with so-called ‘technical debt,’ or technology that is embedded in the business and difficult to change.

You also need talent that can handle the vast amounts of data you will soon be dealing with after a digital transformation. That new data is useless without implementing processes to improve data quality and your ability to use and analyze it. Without analytics, the data you are collecting is useless, unable to be used to improve your business.

The process of change doesn’t just affect the digital side of your business; humans are also involved. Because of this, it’s important to consider how the changes will affect your staff and look for leaders who can help implement process changes while still considering the effect on your team.

Keep up the support, provide employees with appropriate training, and offer sympathetic and skilled leadership, and your digital transformation will have a much higher chance of success. The right talent and the right team are essential to the success of your new digital transformation.