6 essential ingredients to successful digital transform in 2022

Business leaders must create a culture of innovation, one in which employees meet change with an open and creative mindset focused on the opportunity change provides.

1. Communication, communication, communication. When you were a child did you ever sit in a car and wondered where you were going or if you were nearly here yet? Yes, me too.  

How did it feel when you asked were you nearly there yet only to be told nothing or to be told off? 

Well, how do you expect employees might feel if…confusion, upset, not feeling as if you belong, etc.  

If you don’t know where you are going, then how can you get somewhere? Communicate the change program clearly and often. 

Firms need to paint a bright and shiny vision of the future digital world to their employees.

‘If you are not communicating with your client on a regular basis, how will they know what you are doing, or if you need their help, or if you are doing a good or bad job for them. Communicate more often than you think you need to and then some more. to keep you client connected to with what you are doing for them’

Olivier Gomez, Co-Founder and CEO of IAC.AI

2. Plan for continual change. Digital transformation changes many things including mindset, behaviour, culture, strategy, how an organisation is designed and the tactics it uses to compete. Digital means moving fast. Digital businesses operate at a speed most ‘normal / analogue’ businesses don’t.  

Successful CEOs look past their current business operating performance and reimagine them to operate at scale and speed.  They plan for change. They expect there will be confusion that comes with creating an uncertain future where many answers still have to be worked out along the way and they get their teams ready, resilient and excited to change.  

"Alongside a strong delivery methodology, a strong leader with an open mind is critical to the success of any digital transformation. If the leader has an open mind, is accepting of new ideas, encourages failing fast and celebrating those failures, and has a team with the same mindset, then collaboration magic will happen. The roadmap for your transformation will define itself and success is only a 'follow-through' away." 

Kim Meredith, Senior Product/Platform Owner-RPA, Sysco.

3. Provide an abundance of digital resources. Digital requires talent; the training, direction, cutting edge tech, incentives, teamwork, funding, speed of decision making, governance and trust to help make digital happen fast.  Without the right resources, employees cannot be expected to deliver the right results.

“Let’s stop talking about how people are limiting digital transformation and accept that the approach to people is causing the limitation. Trust your people and unlock their potential by providing the right training, structure, tone and…, sorry for this one, patience.

History has shown that companies who leverage their people transform significantly beyond their expectations. 

Such transformations require a deep and trusting relationship between employees and organizations, which does not happen overnight. And it always starts with providing the employees enough training for them to form an empowering perspective. I don’t see how this story changes just because we add more or different technology to it.  

Bryant Richards, Nichols College Director for the Center for Intelligent Process Automation

4. CEO commitment. Without focused and active CEO commitment, there is almost no chance of transformation success  

“An inconvenient truth for businesses undertaking digital transformations is that without focused and active CEO commitment, there is almost no chance of success.” McKinsey

Digital transformation requires a business model reinvention. It requires every function in the organisation to work together in new ways.  That can only happen through large-scale investments in building an entirely new set of capabilities. 

And the only person who can make that level of sustained change happen is the CEO.  

“Back in my time as an employee, I really believed that I could convince the CEO to start more digital projects; but the reality is if the CEO is not already open for digital transformation, nothing will happen. Since I started with my own business, I only speak with the CEO and decide on the conversation if it is a good fit or not. If the CEO is not committed to investing resources like time and money into digital projects, then forget this project.”

 Yakup Özkardes-Cheung, Content AI Manager

5. A Digital Methodology. Digital transformation is about new ways of operating and competing to deliver business outcomes i.e., generate transformative value. In order for consistency to exist, new standard operating procedures must be developed as well as an organizational design that keeps them in place.  

Businesses need to move fast, be agile, build MVPs, break and quickly fix things but always move forwards.  They need to develop an operating model where technology and business teams actively collaborate on developing and delivering new digital products and services.  

"The magic formula does not exist. Technology is there. The way organisations adopt and adjust the digital pallet to re-design and rebuild their operating structure and business methodologies, defines their market identity.

It's not one size fits all situation. 

How human intelligence and technology are working together to generate value is the formula that leaders must create. Challenge the past to innovatively shape the future." 

George Tzifas Co-Founder, Anyrobotics

6. A Shared Risk Model With Your Vendor. If your vendor is not willing to risk their money, then why should you be willing to risk yours? For too long vendors have adopted a ‘land and expand’ model for their clients. Vendors land into a business with a tool, then try and expand into multiple business areas when their foot is in the door. To date most vendors have charged a time and materials model; and they get paid regardless of business outcomes.  The best partners bring expertise and a money-back guarantee to help businesses make the leap to digital transformation. They guarantee that the business will achieve their business objectives, or they get their money back. That is real skin-in-the-game and the only model clients should accept.

“McKinsey estimates that 70% of Digital Transformation and 50% of Automation projects fail to meet their business objectives. This is alarming in and of itself but during today’s economic environment your vendors must be committed to your business outcomes.

Require your vendors to align, deliver and guarantee business impact around revenue growth, productivity, efficiency or savings. That is a true partnership!” 

Ronen Lamdan, CEO (International) Laiye 

Digital is not a destination.  It’s a permanent state of operating digitally based on learning and adapting faster than your competition.

Successful change involves a vision, tangible people and customer benefits, executive sponsorship, digital and learning resources and the right methodology or digital playbook.

If any of these six ingredients are left out, the outcome won’t taste all that great.  

Kieran is recognized as a digital transformation, intelligent automation, data analytics and social media strategy thought leader. Follow Kieran. Join him monthly on LinkedIn Live on the Third Thursday of each month. Or watch Kieran'sYouTube channel or website.

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