Learning from experience in the digital transformation - a conversation with Ingeborg Borgheim

Like many of you, I am reminded on a daily basis about the incredible potential that digital technology has to improve how we experience the benefits of products and services in our lives. Just think about how easy and quick it is to book a holiday online, based on customized information about where to stay and what to do, supported by reliable cost comparisons, travel experts and peer reviewed recommendations. This normally translates in a more enjoyable holiday!

In our industry, we are still learning so much about what’s possible, as well as about the challenges that come with the ambition to transform our engagement model through data insights and digitalization. Recently, I reflected on our learning so far with my colleague Ingeborg, who leads our work in Data, Digital and Technology (DD&T) in our region. In this article we share our reflections, since we believe that sharing is the basis for building partnerships that are critical to creating value for patients, customers, and all stakeholders.

A conversation with Ingeborg

Ingeborg, after you took on your current leadership role in DD&T you shared in an article your thoughts about the foundations of the digital transformation: values, people and culture. What have you learned so far? What has changed?

When I wrote that article last year I was embarking on defining the strategy with you and the leadership team, building the DD&T team and identifying the capabilities required to drive business change. This is not about technological change, it is about enabling the business to transform using data, digital and technology. The question is: how do we develop the right skills and the mindset to understand the value, to get on board with the technology and have a positive impact?

When I recently spoke at the?BioTechX?2023 conference in Basel, I recognized that the digitally enabled transformation is harder than other transformations I have been responsible for. Why is that?? We are talking about fundamentally changing a business model that has been seen successful for decades. Many of us have built our careers on this model, therefore we struggle with feeling the urgency to change something we are familiar with, to jump into the unknown. However, is this model really sustainable when we take an outside perspective? We have to challenge our assumptions as an industry, listen to the external environment and understand what customers want. That’s why the starting point is data analysis.

A year on, I am still convinced that we need to anchor our business transformation on our company values and purpose to sustain it and embed it in how we do business in the long run.

Our ultimate purpose is to improve health care decision-making for patients, making the healthcare system more effective and responsive to patient needs, enabling more precise treatments based on better patient data collection and analysis, and providing new tools and insights to health care professionals that free up their time for quality conversations with patients.

Thanks Ingeborg. With digital transformation our minds may struggle to grasp the kind of opportunities it may bring. The pace of innovation can be overwhelming and we need to be resilient to stay up to speed. What have you seen so far that can make people feel more comfortable and turn them into advocates for change?

First, let’s think of our main stakeholder group, i.e. , healthcare professionals, and how they have changed their expectations and want a different engagement model. We are seeing a generational and gender shift in most countries, which influences how medical information is “consumed”. Like us, healthcare professionals want flexibility in where, when and how they get the information they need for their work that helps them manage their time better. They want easy and quick access to personalized information. Data is critical to help us understand their preferences. Technical solutions support us in putting the insights into practice. It is that simple, however it is not easy. It is all about creating personal experience.

What we learned is that we must understand the value this brings. This starts with us. A great example is a digital companion tool we have recently launched, called TODAI (which means lighthouse in Japanese) for our field force employees. This is a brilliant way to drive transformation because our own employees experience its benefits. As a data-driven “next best action” capability tool, it provides practical advice on what you can do next to be better at your job. The prerequisite to make it work is structured data. This tool answers the “what’s in it for me” question. Positive experience creates positive behaviors. TODAI is being embedded in our business because our country teams want it and own it. This is only possible because of the great experience they have with it. This brings in turn benefits for healthcare professionals who get better information at the right time, and from them it can lead to a better patient experience.?

My last reflection point is on the importance of leadership in this transformation. As a leader, I spend time educating myself on digital technology and its applications, so I can better understand its business value and communicate it. I also believe that curiosity and experimentation are critical to learning and changing our habits, ways of working and beliefs. What do you think senior leaders can do to help drive the digital transformation? And what is next for you as DD&T Leader?

Absolutely, leaders need to support a culture that embraces learning from experimentation - a culture that does not fear digital transformation, rather sees it as an opportunity to grow as individuals, teams and businesses.

You have been a great role model, Ricardo, in showing what senior leaders can do, specifically by:

• Setting Data Digital and Technology as a priority for the business
• Coming back to it regularly in your communications
• Making an effort to understand and to challenge
• Educating yourself to get confident in talking about tangible examples
• Enabling us with the resources we need to make progress
• Daring to invest and acting on your words

In terms of what’s next for me, our focus continues to be on talent and capabilities. We need to be more strategic in talent development by hiring and growing people from a blend of functions and backgrounds to reach a higher critical mass in the organization. For example, I would like the team in DD&T to have input from people with diverse functional backgrounds and capabilities. And viceversa, people from the DD&T team could go and work in business teams, bring new perspectives and make them think of the possibilities they had not considered so far. The opportunities are almost infinite!

Thanks Ingeborg, for your passion, resilience and optimistic outlook on what’s possible. I believe we have the potential to help improve the healthcare experience of many patients, with great societal impact.

I believe that our role as leaders of large international organizations is to develop and grow a next generation that can lead with entrepreneurial spirit in a fast-paced innovative environment. We need not be afraid of the digital transformation of our business. Future leaders need to lead by example and inspire others by trying for themselves what works and what does not. There is power in learning from personal experience and having the courage to try something new which may or may not succeed, rather than not having tried at all and learned nothing.

Please share your perspectives and experiences with digitally enabled business transformation – let’s keep learning together and, by doing this, bring meaningful positive change in healthcare.

#transformation #leadership #experience #digital