Building a Digital Transformation Team: 8 Essential Roles
Assembling the right team is the most important component of an effective digital transformation strategy. That job is easier said than done because the head of digital must consider several factors for each person added to the team, including experience, education, extent of influence and ability to work with others.
Successful digital transformation projects start with the work of business-technology liaisons. These are people who understand business models, customer experience issues and technology strategy. They regularly interact with business unit leaders in areas such as sales, corporate marketing, product development or customer experience to identify problems or opportunities. They connect the dots as to whether technology can be used to solve problems or capitalize on opportunities. If there is a connection, they present the problems and suggested solutions to the technology leaders.
Once the business issue in need of transformation is identified, the technologists gear up. They are experts in the leading-edge applications, services and products that will help achieve the goal. They are crucial to selecting the right technology and providers and for validating whether the digital transformation project will be a failure or success from a technical standpoint.
Often, digital team leaders want to wait until the end of the project to solicit input from security and compliance specialists. Unfortunately, doing so puts the project at risk because their input may halt everything if the technology, architecture or applications violate security policies. Involve them from the start to work together to resolve any issues that may emerge that are questionable from a security or compliance standpoint.
When a project gets the nod from the aforementioned roles, evangelists generate excitement and find funding for it. They have influence and solid communications skills. Perhaps, in the company, they write a well-read internal blog or produce a weekly video that is well received by employees and/or customers. Those who control budgets expect the evangelists to give an honest assessment of the project.
They have the budget to fund the digital transformation projects and typically influence other budget holders to secure more funding if necessary. They do not need to be in every meeting, but they have enough digital experience to demand weekly, monthly or quarterly updates — depending on the size of the project — to ensure the project is on track. Ultimately, they want to monitor the business benefits of the project to document whether their budget was or was not well spent and the projected ROI is realistic. In many cases, the ultimate financial stakeholders are C-level executives; at Metrigy, we’ve found that 70% of the funding decisions are made by those in the C-suite.
All too often, IT staffs implement new technology that improves customer experiences, but employees don’t know why they should even use them. IT people are not marketing people, so don’t overlook this important role. Marketers understand the business goal of the project, the impact of the technology and the most effective ways to market it all to employees, customers and/or business partners. By understanding the customers — those affected by the digital transformation initiative — they can market the transformation in such a way that excites customers and makes them eager to interact with the company.
These are the people who execute on the digital transformation roadmap.
