Essentials for breaking away from outdated legacy systems, fostering innovation, and embracing the future technology
Digital transformation is a popular phrase not only in business, but in the world today. Pushed by customer demand, rapid advances in technology, a proliferation of data availability and value, and the covid-19 pandemic, those looking to survive and thrive in today’s world are focused on becoming more digital. We all know the benefits of digital transformation, but do we know the key elements that are essential for the right mindset to help this transformation be successful and sustainable? At TSI, we value all the elements of transformation (our name is Transforming Solutions after all!) but 3 elements are key to ensuring you have the right mindset for the success of your transformation efforts.
- Don’t Forget the Processes
- Consider the Customer Experience
- Ensure sustainability with OCM
Don’t Forget the Processes
Digital transformation takes on many forms and brings with it the opportunity for cost reduction, service excellence, and quality improvement. Maximizing the realization of these gains requires more than just installing a new technology and expecting to start living the high life! Mentally, the organization must be prepared for adopting improved processes to leverage the functionality of the new technology. A failure to examine processes for opportunities to leverage the new technology will likely result in a true “lift and shift” where the organization is operating the same process, just in a new and more expensive technology. The ultimate loss here, in addition to risking the success of the transformation, is a decrease in the ROI for the new technology, effectively wasting the investment.
Well designed future state processes that use the technology as a catalyst for change will strengthen the digital transformation by resolving past areas of waste, bottlenecks, and inefficiencies. Handoffs will be clean, workflows will improve speed and effectiveness, and metrics will be collected to drive continuous improvement. The outcome? A future state that maximizes ROI and is truly transformative.
Consider the Customer Experience
Great, so you’ve taken a look at your processes, resolved your pain points, and have a solid picture of how your operation will work post digital transformation. But did you look at these improvements with a mindset for those that will stand to benefit or lose the most? That group being customers, both internal and external. Successful adoption is much more of a guarantee if the users help design and understand the new technology as internal and external customers. The right mindset, as an example, is that the interfaces must be intuitive, easy to use, and provide maximum value to customers. Otherwise, repeat use and repeat business will struggle to grow.
Addressing your transformation with a mindset of considering and incorporating Customer Experience ensures all of the hard work to design and implement is fruitful. This successful design will consider and incorporate a robust set of requirements for the transformation that provides a comprehensive picture of the need.
Ensure sustainability with OCM
With digital transformation, process improvement, and technology implementation, not having a mindset that considers organizational change management (OCM) and the impact on company culture will be detrimental to the success of the implementation. We often assess failed implementations and see organizations that neglect this consideration or do a ‘light’ version of OCM. Often the outcome is increased implementation cost, lower adoption rates, delays in implementation, and damage to company culture.
However, utilizing a strong and comprehensive OCM plan (and working with a firm who specializes in it) instantly improves the chances of success for the digital transformation. For our engagements, this includes a change readiness assessment, clear communication plan, messaging from top down, providing the opportunity for organizational involvement and feedback, evaluation of the ongoing success, and the agility to adjust elements for continued success.
So What Does It All Mean For Digital Transformation?
Digital transformation can mean a lot of different things. Whether it is a modern system implementation (ERP, CRM, SIS), installing a customer portal, automating your operations, boosting supply chain management with technology, or optimizing your digital footprint, there are several elements to consider for success. We’ve touched on 3 key essentials for the right mindset for successful transformation here: process, customer experience, and OCM. Others include the organization’s strategic plan, selection of the ideal software partner based on requirements, and implementation management. If you’d like to discuss how any of these may impact your digital transformation, reach out to Transforming Solutions.
