Digitally transform your business with these soft skills

Your business will no doubt have already experienced some degree of digital transformation, whether you have recently invested in a new e-commerce website, increased your social media presence, or implemented a new CRM system to better run your business.

I’m sure you’d agree that without the technical skills of various teams across your business, these digital transformations would not have been possible, and perhaps not even dreamt up in the first place.

Every leader knows that digitalisation is relentless for every business, in every industry. When digital transformation is done well, there are few departments that won’t be required to play an active role in its development.

As I mentioned in my previous blog, digital transformation is not and should not just be an IT issue. As we are catapulted further into the digital age, we mustn’t only rely on the technical skills of our workforce. We must remember that other (sometimes underrated) skills are just as important. I recently read an article written by our CEO Alistair Cox about the importance of “soft skills”. The article discusses how to look for these skills, otherwise known as “Emotional Intelligence (EQ)” traits, when making hiring decisions; specifically the ability to adapt, interact and realise goals within a business setting.

Following this, I began thinking about which other soft skills are necessary for digital transformations within an organisation. For instance, being curious can often act as a catalyst for new ideas. Technical skills are of course necessary for their implementation and then once again soft skills, such as being analytical, will ensure they are working for the business in the right way. I believe these types of attributes are particularly important for bringing an organisation into the digital age. Here are the ones that I think will ensure yours will stay relevant, today and tomorrow.

Sharing the knowledge wealth

Company culture has a significant bearing on the speed and effectiveness with which digital transformation permeates through a business. It is about ensuring the creativity is there to generate ideas. These ideas are a starting point to improving business practices through digital strategy.

A huge part of building a creative and open company culture is down to recruiting and retaining those people who are willing to share their knowledge and ideas for the greater good of the wider business.

Certain departments will by default, be more digitally skilled than others. You should populate these departments with, for example, a digital marketing executive who is confident running a training session for the accounts team or an IT manager who can tell the company about the best new CRM software.

In order for the digitally talented to inspire others, you must also provide them with the right support. If their presentation skills aren’t particularly strong, suggest courses or even free online tutorials. Encourage any training initiatives by attending these sessions yourself, urging other team members to follow your example.

Ultimately, you should facilitate those that are willing to share their knowledge in order to make full use of this soft skill.

Self-awareness

Team members who aren’t as digitally savvy must be aware of their knowledge gaps, and willing to fill them. They should show a curiosity and enthusiasm to learn more. When hiring, search for candidates who list plenty of training courses or personal objectives on their CVs. Commend your existing employees doing their research and educating themselves on your sector’s digital landscape.

Self-awareness will guarantee that even the less digitally savvy are ready and willing to improve this for the good of the business.

Curiosity

Everyone within the business should stay curious and wary of digital transformations in your industry. This kind of enthusiasm ensures a diverse, inclusive dialogue of ideas.

Therefore the ideal employee will be listening to webinars and podcasts on their commute, looking at what the competition is doing, keeping an eye on customer feedback, recommending news articles to their colleagues or creating email alerts for themselves surrounding this topic.

Alistair Cox mentions in his article how “these are the people who will help your business make and lead new trends”. I believe this accurately sums up just how important this soft skill is when it comes to transforming your digital strategy.

A problem spotting and solving attitude

In business, you need individuals that can identify problems and think of a solution. This is particularly crucial when it comes to digital evolution. Technology can develop at such a pace that it becomes hard for businesses to keep up. Without people who are able to spot digital weaknesses and turn them into strengths, you could find yourselves falling behind.

The most prominent example that springs to mind would be Blockbuster Video, who were famously displaced by digital streaming and on demand services. Perhaps if there were more problem spotters and solvers at Blockbuster, they would have responded to digital changes within their industry and evolved accordingly.

The ability to take risks

If you expect staff to put forward ideas and solutions, you need to ensure that line managers are willing to not just listen, but also try and implement some of their suggestions. This will involve educating senior people in your business on “smart risks” and what they can and can’t execute.

A prime example of a company who fosters a “smart risks” culture could include Apple. Back when the first iPhone launched in 2007, Apple had no prior experience with telecoms, and the mobile phone market was dominated by simpler, less expensive technologies. People solely saw their phones as a communicative device.

Nonetheless, Steve Jobs famously envisioned that phones would become multi-functional, touch screen device for portable information access. He took the risk, and now most of us can barely remember a time when we had a phone that was only used for its primary function.

The moral of the story is, by having risk-taking visionaries who are not afraid to question the digital status quo, you can open your business up to some incredible possibilities.

An “intrapreneurial” spirit

Intrapreneurship is a new concept that is emerging in the workplace, a topic which the latest edition of the Hays Journal has defined and covered in more depth. This concept suggests that new ideas for improving business lines can be thought up outside the boardroom, by any member of staff. This gives everyone the freedom to explore their business acumen and creativity, without having to leave the business and do this independently.

Speaking to Hays, Phil Westcott, Director of Strategic Partnerships at IBM, discusses how he pursued Intrapreneurship whilst remaining with the company. Upon spotting a gap in the market, Phil developed a new business line for IBM, which uses data technology to help the third sector make the most effective use of aid and funding.

This case study speaks volumes about the value of intrapreneurship as a soft skill, and the ways in which it can identify digital revenue driving opportunities.

A customer focus

Employees who constantly have the customer in mind are more likely to be in tune with their ever changing online behaviours. These types of employees will therefore bring your business greater value as they feedback on consumer patterns and think of how best to respond.

Another great example here could be online spectacle retailer Warby Parker. Whilst competitors were improving the returns process for unwanted items, Warby Parker recognised that ultimately, customers don’t want to return a product that doesn’t suit them; they want to keep an item that does. Accordingly, they used digital technology to create a “virtual try on” application when shopping. This has improved shopper experience, satisfaction and positioned the company as digital innovators in their field.

From this, we can see that a consumer focused workforce will always seek out ways to implement digital tools for greater customer journeys.

In summary, being digitally adept is just one of many of traits that your workforce needs in order to bring your business into the digital age. Digital skills can be taught with relative ease. However soft skills boil down to an employee’s attitude and emotional intelligence, which is harder to change. Therefore, make sure you build a positive, open minded, and curious workforce – and you can be more assured that your next digital transformation will go without a hitch.