Building your company’s digital future: When and where to start?
Digital technologies are altering our world at an incredibly fast pace, opening a new horizon of possibilities, and profoundly changing our workplaces—and we guarantee this is only the start. To keep up, today’s organizations have no choice but to transform in lasting ways and acquire the necessary tools to perform effectively in a constantly evolving environment.
How far has your company come with its digital transformation? Is your organization fully digitized; working towards it slowly but surely and on a step-by-step basis; or still figuring out how to even begin the digital journey?
If you belong to the last category, don’t despair: you’re not alone! Many businesses have not yet internalized digital transformation in their business strategies—some simply due to a lack of understanding of what it means for their company. But one thing is clear: the question is not whether your company should start the digital journey, but when.
Many businesses that have already moved into action and started implementing digital transformation are encountering unexpected challenges. As the digital environment shapes our future and transforms company cultures, it brings changes in almost every area: innovation, flexibility, action, people,
This article identifies the first steps that your company should consider before starting its digital transformation journey, to ensure a smooth transition and make sure everyone is fully on board.
Step 1: Foster a supportive company culture
Going digital will significantly alter your number of working employees. Some staff members may find it difficult to adjust, or simply refuse to adopt new working habits.
As you prepare to go the digital route, make sure you clearly communicate the reasons your organization will be making that transformation, and highlight the short- and long-term benefits it will bring.
Communicate the substantial advantages the transformation will mean for your team: for example, being equipped with accurate, real-time information means they will spend less time managing processes manually and more time making data-driven strategic decisions. In other words: fewer headaches and more focus on interesting tasks.
The COVID-19 pandemic threw many companies into the experience of digital culture abruptly, forcing businesses to go online and use an effective digital infrastructure to work remotely. It was a real heads-up moment, showing that there’s no avoiding the new digital world. Since the pandemic started, many companies are now considering staying remote or using a hybrid model.
Remember: ensuring that your employees understand the reasons for going digital, and making them feel like they are a vital part of its success, will help create a culture in which change is embraced rather than feared.
Step 2: Have clear goals and expectations for your company
Unfortunately, digital transformation is a somewhat murky concept with no universal definition. That means you need to define digital transformation specifically for your business. It makes sense: after all, every business has different customers, clients, and needs.
Therefore, when you embark on your digital transformation journey, one of the critical first steps is establishing exactly what it means for your company. Take stock of your current digital maturity, the challenges you will face, your flexibility, competition, customers, ecosystem, and any other variables that influence your business.
On that basis, you can develop a clear digital business model that covers these areas and establishes defined targets.
Step 3: Assess your company’s current capabilities
After the first steps, you should have a clear idea of your objectives and what you want to achieve through your digital transformation. Your employees have been made aware that changes are coming, and they know their participation is essential.
Now, before considering outsourcing or even hiring, make an inventory of your current assets, tools, and capabilities. Examine your tech stack (the technologies you’re already using), your employees, and all the other aspects that make up your company in its current state.
Finally, make a list of what is working well and what needs to be improved: this will help you prioritize.
Step 4: Create a roadmap for your digital transformation
There are many options to consider when building a digital transformation strategy. Remember that not all technology will serve as a useful tool for your context; you need a clear picture of your own specific requirements before choosing your solutions.
Also, you’ll need to ask yourself a few questions. What areas need to be changed first? What will have the biggest impact and be the best value driver? What will be your biggest blocks?
With these questions answered, you start to build an effective roadmap for your digital transformation. Remember: trying to change everything at once will be ineffective and fail to achieve the desired results.
Your roadmap should focus on progressive change, identifying the proper time and pace for various targets and how your digital transformation should look over a certain period of time. It is crucial to use an iterative (adaptive) approach and target concrete goals to ensure success.
Support and advice for implementing your company’s digital transformation
We hope that this introduction has provided you with some valuable information on how to approach your digital transformation. If it all seems overwhelming, don’t hesitate to seek help and guidance so you can adopt best practices as you get your transformation started.
Choose a reliable external partner that is an expert in digital transformation consulting with demonstrable successes in your specific industry.
At Forgestik, we can meet your needs from ideation to deployment to accelerate your digital transformation, reduce risks during implementation, and accelerate or compress timelines to reach completion.
Contact us now for a personalized offer that is tailored to your company’s needs.