CPO's Leadership in the Age of Digital Transformation

Exploring what Digital Transformation means from the perspective of HR Leaders and how it can be an instrumental competitive differentiator, by Subramanyan Ananthanarayanan , SVP Manufacturing and Consumer.

Digital technology aficionados today see a silver lining to the cloud, in spite of the unprecedented circumstances induced by the pandemic. Referring to the significant growth in digitization, they expect it to be, “it was the best of times, it was the worst of times,” à la Charles Dickens. Undeniably, ‘Digital transformation’ has changed the DNA of industries and businesses worldwide. A case in point would be how a people-centric behemoth like the State Bank of India is revisiting its productivity tools and technologies to evaluate a work-from-anywhere option for its employees.

Digital transformation has become one of the most used (or sometimes abused), terms today, along with innovation, agility, change and strategic vision! Leadership itself has acquired a new meaning, as CXOs metamorphose into agile leaders who implement digitization strategies to stay ahead of competition. Global spending on digital transformation is expected to reach $6.8 trillion by 2023. In the second of this series of articles, we look through the lens of HR Leaders, and what this means to businesses, technology, and employees.

A study by McKinsey attributes much of the 70% failed large-scale transformation programs to a lack of employee engagement and other reasons. After all, technology adoption is led by people and thus, impacts people the most, with HR leading the way and managing change in different ways.

Adapt, Adopt and Be Adept

Change, said Heraclitus , is the only constant in life. Leaders are now encouraging and re-aligning their teams, helping them adopt digitization and providing them guidance until they’re adept. By engaging actively with employees, HR leaders are re-orienting their global teams to the rapid change and orienting them to transformed organizational objectives. In a study of 40 organizations that went through digital transformation, BCG found companies that focused on culture were five times more likely to achieve breakthrough performance, compared to organizations that paid no attention to the aspect of culture. A smooth implementation of digital initiatives requires a robust process of advocation and evangelization, as teams acquire the necessary skills to successfully sustain the change. Organizations maximize the value from digitization when teams become adept, and the workplace culture evolves to foster the changes.

Digital Strategy – Not Mission Impossible.

Digital strategy optimizes workforce utilization in different ways: Repetitive tasks get automated, chatbots answer FAQs, technology filters resumés, new hires get recruited online and work is delivered from anywhere. All this calls for genuine adherence and not just a pretense of following it. A study by McKinsey had 85% of respondents saying their businesses accelerated the adoption of digital technologies and employee collaboration tools. While monitoring technology’s impact on people and the workplace culture, HR leaders are also re-orienting employees towards higher agility and closer collaboration with technology and significantly enhancing employee experience, to attract and retain the best talent.

Share your Vision - Don’t Hide it away!

Gartner reports that IT spending at the global level grew 9% in 2021, from 1% in 2020. As digitization continues to change the way we live and work, employees would also be expected to continue to adapt and perform even better. People work much better when they know what the goals is and what is needed to achieve it. They need to re-skill themselves, adapt and meet the vision of the organization while reaching their own career goals. Global leaders are motivating employees to re-skill themselves constantly and proactively and providing them the tools and technologies to make this possible.

Communicate, Communicate, … Communicate

“The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place”: George Bernard Shaw. Think of children playing Chinese Whispers, or post-mortems of botched assignments. Change needs open lines of communication to foster change. Effective communication also encourages a willing adoption of change, boosts productivity by making people feel valued and the employees make the organization a great place to work.

Digital transformation has the potential to enhance a company’s people, its culture, and processes. With technology assuming a much larger role, people are mastering new tools while continuing to focus on business imperatives. Through it all, HR is playing an invaluable role, encouraging adoption, and fostering adjustment to change, to make a better tomorrow.