Digital transformation aims
at creating a culture of innovation and an enabling revenue growth in the new
digital world.
Many established companies are engaging in transformation
strategies in an attempt to reach online buyers and the almost 19-million
smartphone users in Kenya ,With an average GDP
growth of 5.8% over the last three years it can in 2015 lay claim to the title
of the world’s third fastest growing economy. Its mobile and internet
penetration are among the highest in Africa at 83% and 58% respectively
of the 44.35 million population. And a burgeoning middle class today makes up
22% of the country’s population
However,
not all digital transformation programmes that businesses launch are
successful.
Cloud technologies have the potential to enable rapid startup
business growth at low cost. startups are
often better positioned to capitalise on this new digital market because they
can begin with a clean sheet.
Conversely, established businesses may be constrained by legacy
technologies but an even bigger challenge may be antiquated thinking within the
organisation.
However,
the culture of digital thinking can be successfully catalyzed using modern
technology platforms in an organisation.
Technologies
that enable natural collaboration, seamless communication and avoid daily
frustrations are beneficial to employees and create a fertile environment for
innovation.
Of
course it is not just about the technology — it’s about the people, how they
work together, and how they think. Employees who are scared, feel threatened or
are consciously rejecting change for personal reasons, can quickly derail the
transformation strategy. In spite of this, investing, or even over-investing in
change management is almost guaranteed to produce a positive ROI resulting from
the cultural change.
The
purpose of digital transformation is to create a culture of innovation thereby
enabling revenue growth in the new digital world
For any
change management process to succeed, there are several factors that need to be
put in place.
Foremost,
any call for change must have strong executive sponsorship. With key members of
the C-Suite championing the change and executive management supporting and
participating in the change, the chances of success are immediately and
significantly improved.
Thereafter
a series of tools and processes need to be implemented to ensure readiness,
good communication, identifying champions, winning over critics, training and
support during the change.
The
drivers of change must consider key personalities that affect a change
management strategy. Understanding these personalities, and their different
needs can assist in transforming the culture within the organisation.
The champion
The
champion is positive when instituting change management and training. These
individuals have drive and passion and bring energy to the business. They are
often well liked and have the ability to collaborate easily and willingly. They
will be excited about the change, endorse the project and try to positively
reinforce the benefits of the technology with their co-workers.
The critics
They generally oppose change on principle. They
may not be entirely fulfilled in their role or they do not like to embrace
change of any kind. However, with focused effort and specific training methods,
a critic can be converted into a a very powerful champion. When a champion says
something is good, one can discount it because champions are happy about most
things. When the typically vocal critic says something new is good, ironically
more people listen.
The victim
The
victim is usually aligned with the business’ objectives, yet they may feel
trapped in their role and have a low level of satisfaction. Their resistance to
change is often fueled by fear of change, they are sometimes vocal and may
attempt to rally support from co-workers. However, understanding and
acknowledging their fears and teaming victims with champions to provide an
engaging experience can quickly assist in changing the victim culture to a new
collaborative one.
The bystander
He is the
most challenging personality to work with is the bystander.
These
are generally employees who may experience a high level of dissatisfaction in
their role and who proactively start disengaging even further once new
technology has been introduced. While they may understand the reason and
benefits for change, they simply won’t engage. In the case of bystanders, the
executive sponsor can be a key asset. Once bystanders notice that “even the
boss” has engaged in a new culture, they will usually follow.
For all
the personalities the change management team must provide appropriate training,
recognising that dynamics of the different team players can mean different
types of training. Generally an interactive approach to training is most
successful because employees are not learning if they’re not actively engaged.
Often the critic’s training is done face-to-face, within the user’s actual
working environment.
Dealing
with a critic’s daily challenges is not enough, to win over a critic, one must
excite them with a big “win” or significant benefit that eclipses the need to
criticise and replaces it with the need to talk (or even brag) about the win.
While
different people like to learn in different ways, developing a culture of
self-help users is the ultimate goal for the organisation. Users who are
comfortable with video tutorials and happy to work things out for themselves
form an important part of the new culture of a digitally transformed business.
Teaching all categories of users to quickly find the help they need can be as
easy as showing them how to use Google, “How do I …”.
Google
reached one-billion users on Search, Maps, YouTube, Android, Chrome, and Play
without any training but simply by developing easy to use products and a
culture of self help users.
Emulating
digital consumer style thinking inside the enterprise is one of the key aspects
of achieving a digitally transformed culture. It can be a best case scenario
from a cost, skills-retention and team satisfaction perspective and it creates
an environment receptive to innovation.
want to know more about digital transformation?
Join me
every Thursday on twitter (on the
hashtag CorporateTalk101 ) as we
engage different corporates, talking about digital transformation ,
products , services, and ways of
ensuring that you achieve your objectives as a corporate, as well as assuring
your customers of quality services ,
products and ultimate satisfaction .
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