Top 5 digital transformation success factors
Successful digital transformation is by no means guaranteed. Undertaking transformation doesn’t equal success. Research firm Gartner has found most organisations don’t have a clear vision of the initiative, especially in a way that is easily understood by employees at middle management and below. And the process sometimes takes the focus away from operational excellence, which can result in visible, avoidable failures that hurt the reputation of executive leaders.
While undertaking a transformation process, designed to capture the benefits of digital technologies and improved performance, requires commitment and focus, five key digital transformation success factors have been identified. Leadership, capability building, empowering workers, upgrading tools and communication are integral to a successful transformation, according to research by McKinsey & Company.
In 2020, the coronavirus pandemic has dramatically accelerated the need to reshape in order to meet the challenges organisations are facing across the board. According to Gartner, the pandemic has forced rapid digital innovation and created the need for cross-functional teams that bring together technology experts with business analysts to work collaboratively and at speed to develop new platforms and solutions.
Here leaders from across the spectrum expand on the digital transformation success factors in 2020 and beyond.
Leading a successful digital transformation and avoiding common pitfalls is not a destination, rather it’s a mindset and a journey. Effective leadership builds confidence in the transformation process and is paramount to a company staying competitive in the future, says Ian Kieninger, co-founder and chief executive of AVANT Communications.
If the decision-makers within an organisation don’t fully buy in to the journey, it will hold back innovation and growth. “Leadership doesn’t necessarily need to understand the technical aspects of all digital transformation initiatives, but they need to have the foresight to encourage and embrace change, setting a vision employees can follow, carry out and believe in,” says Kieninger.
He believes the leadership needs to evaluate if it has the right skills to bring a new vision to light. And while these capabilities and skills can come from within, investments in the right people are essential.
“If the organisation doesn’t have the necessary skills, successful digital transformation can still be achieved by investing in outside partnerships that can get you where you need to go. Whether this involves hiring different talent or partnering with a trusted adviser who has the necessary expertise, there are many ways to get this right,” says Kieninger.
Developing the right talents and skills is one of the important transformation initiatives. While some people might immediately say digital technologies are the key success factor, those who are experienced in the process would say that’s not necessarily so. Chan Suh, chief digital officer of business transformation specialist Prophet, warns against being seduced by the promises of technology’s magical tools for creating revenue growth.
While businesses may need digital innovations such as artificial intelligence for deep insight, tech stacks are just tools and, without the right operating instructions, they either lie fallow or become money pits. Suh says it’s a mistake that has cost global businesses billions of dollars in wasted investments.
“We need the conceptual strategies and innovations to guide our tech investments as well as the human expertise to use it properly. However, that human expertise is especially rare when it comes to navigating the highly complicated interdependencies of digitally powered businesses,” he says.
With building capability, the key is the right mix of human expertise and technology working in a coherent, flexible operating model with the customer at the centre.
