Digital Transformation: Start with Why

No matter how small or big your company is, digital transformation is an enterprise-wide endeavour. As more and more companies are digitally transforming and adopting some form of automation to take away manual or repetitive tasks which allows employees to accomplish much more value-added activities to the business. it’s up to employees to accept the benefits of digitalization and it’s the leadership’s responsibility to make sure the employees’ acceptance. Leaders should understand the implications of digital transformation, which is a significant change in the habits, skills and culture of their employees, who must switch from being information gatherers to being digital advocates.

It is important therefore for leaders to take the time to explain to employees how digital transformation projects will increase organizations' productivity, profitability, and user satisfaction. In doing so, you will need to make it clear why you are carrying out the initiative from the beginning (Not for the sake of it or the hype). Let employees know that everyone must get on board with the project (it is not just Digital’s IT's or project team's role). Explain that everyone has a significant role to play in the project's success. But equally importantly, communicate the benefits frequently and with openness.

As projects evolve, provide regular updates on the successes of the project, preferably from project champions, that will provide a personal perspective that are using these services, so employees feel as if they are gaining something from this transformation. Share information about how certain tasks are being carried out digitally or about how digital technology is making things easier within their own workflow and processes.

The next step is to focus on training and reskilling by developing and sharing the educational content they will need to be successful with the use of new technology. Employees will not embrace or be enthusiastic about the new digital-based tools if they do not fully understand the tool's purpose and will be uncomfortable about using it when the digital product Goes Live. But remember that one size does not fit all; People learn in different ways and are at different digital levels of maturity. Offer, tailored demos of a system's features and functionalities, whether they are offered in-person, with hands-on tutorials, or online. Run "huddle" sessions where staff can ask questions and get one-to-one training with a trainer or specialist who knows the system inside out.

In addition, during the training process, reiterate to employees how digital technology will be used exactly and how it will enhance their roles and ways of working (Emphasize again the 'why'). Show them how the new digital offerings will reduce day to day workloads while offering them higher-value tasks. Continue to inform them how the digital transformation will benefit themselves, the business and/or its customers.

Finally, measure the effectiveness of digital and automation adoption, define metrics and success criteria and figure out if employees are actually using and gaining some benefit from the digital tools. Determine if further training should be provided to improve employee adoption more broadly. Digital Transformation requires leadership perseverance, it is a long-term journey, people change process that doesn’t happen overnight, It can take a long time before it starts yielding any results.

If successful, you can use these initial transformation programmes as a guide for future initiatives. The extent to which your company embraces these early transformations today successfully will affect how the company will continuously digitally transform in the future.