Digital transformation: 3 reality checks if you’re stalled

We’re used to hearing about failed digital transformations, but stuck or struggling transformations are just as common. This IDG research finds that 51 percent of organizations have stalled or even abandoned parts of their transformation initiatives because of challenges they faced.

Encountering obstacles doesn’t have to mean the end. Here are three key areas leaders should focus on in order to get their digital transformation back on track.

People often see digital transformation as different from business transformation. It’s “digital” so it’s an IT thing, right?

We have this discussion with our clients time and time again. When we frame it as “business transformation” we naturally focus on the transformation aspect. Digital transformation should be no different.

You can easily ask your CTO to deploy a bunch of tools to allow you to do what you do today cheaper or faster, but this isn’t digital transformation. When leaders get stuck, it is often because the transformation is being driven purely by technology and the organization has lost sight of what it wanted to achieve in the first place. Constantly reminding yourself, and your organization, of your original business objectives is vital.

Another issue is that there are lots of great tools on the market today – perhaps too many. These technologies open up almost infinite possibilities, which can be game changing but also counter-productive. If you lose focus and purpose around your transformation vision, and more importantly your roadmap, you can tie yourself in knots trying to do too much without making any tangible difference to your business.

That is another reason why revisiting your business objectives is so important. And regardless of what you’re trying to achieve, recognize that this remains, at its core, a business change program.

A transformation program I recently worked on demonstrated what can go wrong if a business operates in a vacuum. The company had introduced a new self-service model but couldn’t understand why its employees were doing everything they could to avoid using it. Turns out the business hadn’t involved its people in any aspect of the transformation, simply presenting it as a “fait accompli.”

Your entire organization needs to understand the journey you are taking, what it means for them, and for the customers they interact with. Failure to do so not only puts your vision at risk, it could also jeopardize how customers receive your transformation. Unhappy employees usually lead to unhappy customers.