Digital Transformation is About More Than Just Technology
The phrase Digital Transformation is used all over the place, mostly out of context and without real knowledge of its meaning.
The sad part, is that the over-use has watered down the phrase, yet we cannot ignore the power behind it. The phrase in its true form, and used according to its core purpose, forces us to accept it for what it is and drive decisions and strategies towards it.
DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION is not necessarily about digital technology, but the fact that technology, which is digital, allows people to solve their traditional problems in new and innovative ways.
This new digital solution proves more effective than the old solutions by ways of analytics and physical proof of increased performance across the company. A successful digital transformation increases a team’s outputs, performance, morals, effectiveness, efficiency… the list goes on.
I like to keep it simple – Digital Transformation, is a better way to work, which is also the slogan/motto of our flagship tech product, ydox.
The technology is important, but companies need to ensure they are educating and empowering employees along the way as Digital Transformation is very much a transformation of people and their ways of working.
I have seen first hand that even the best technologies in the world won’t make any impact if the team doesn’t take on the challenge of change. This has happened in my own companies and made me focus on my people first.
Most articles and conversations around Digital Transformation generally evolves around technology. In a way it makes sense, seeing that it is technologies like machine learning, artificial intelligence, automation and additive manufacturing that drive the efficiencies that companies need in order to grow significantly.
However, Digital Transformation is about much more than technology. Digital Transformation shifts the mindsets of how organisations create value for their end-customers and none of it will be possible without educated, willing, agile and forward-thinking employees.
Companies need to drive the education of their people so that the technology can do what it is supposed to do.
Most people, by their nature, are not resistant to change — they are simply skeptical of it. In the case of digital transformation, with all the talk around technology such as automation, it is natural for them to wonder:
- How is this going to impact me and my co-workers?
- How will my job change because of this transformation?
- Do I have the right skills to succeed in this new reality and how will the company help me learn?
Let me leave you with this crucial question to ask yourself before we go to Part 2 of our series on Digital Transformation:
As leaders, we must do a better job communicating what the digital transformation is and how it will affect our organisations. But more importantly, what can we do to prepare our workforce for it?
written by Carl Wallace | CEO of DIGITAL HQ
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