How to make Digital Transformation Successful?

1. Create Digital Strategy

There is no other way to start than creating a realistic yet ambitious roadmap for your organization to create change. It may not be perfect at first and there may be some questions that still need validation over time and that’s ok. After all, it’s good to use the Build-Measure-Learn-Adjust cycle when putting digital transformation in place.

2. Executives Need to be Involved

The general rule is that the CEO needs to lead the change in order for it to be taken seriously enough. Without it, this type of transformation will never be achieved swiftly and effectively.

3. Power and Authority is Key

One of the most important lessons learned is that whoever is tasked with digital transformation needs to get enough budget and a strong enough mandate to implement all the necessary steps in transforming the company. That means that the Chief Digital Executive (or any other individual responsible for the process) needs to have enough influence over other business units so that they do not need to invest time in convincing their colleagues to collaborate. This is where the C Suite leaders influence comes in handy.

4. The Rights KPIs

One of the most effective ways to make people inside various business units involved is to include digital transformation into their job description and make sure they get measured with the right KPIs to see their contributions.

5. Communication Goes a Long Way

Communicating the strategy and the meaning of the transformation is crucial in making all of the employees feel a part of the company and its goals. This helps to strengthen the engagement and the digital culture inside the organization. Sometimes, showing the inevitability and the strong necessity to transform the organization helps, too.

6. Transformation is More Important than Technology Adoption

Technological tools are the means – not the end-goals – in the digital transformation process. Focus on the transformation part in order to achieve the best results.

7. Customer-Centric Approach

There are two types of “customers” in the digital transformation process: your employees whom you sell the idea of change to and your actual clients who will direct your efforts into whatever you need to focus on when transforming your company. Since the customers’ expectations continue to rise, your focus on their needs should constantly improve.

8. Build-Measure-Learn-Adjust

Check on the strategy regularly to make sure you stay on track, but also in order to make any necessary changes to the digitalization work you are leading. This can be achieved only if you have the strategy in place and that you attached realistic and useful KPIs to measure its effects. Once you have these basic tools, you can make any necessary changes based on your learnings.