PART 2 - Digital transformation is hard - how to make it easier 

‍In our previous post, we highlighted some potential challenges you might experience in your digital transformation journey and why you should continue (or start) down the path of digital transformation for your organization. Now, in part two, we are going to cover five ways to make it easier for you, your customers, and your organization. 

Though there are many considerations when thinking about your digital transformation, the first and foremost step is focusing on and understanding your organization’s culture is the most important. Your organization’s culture is like a fingerprint, it is unique. Even if another organization is in the same industry and the same size, your digital journey will and should be different. Understanding your particular organizational culture’s ability to embrace and support change will allow you to approach the journey in a way that minimizes resistance and highlights your organization’s strengths. 

Second, there should be a strong and consistent focus on your organization’s strategic goals. Your organization’s strategy and vision should be the North Star for your digital transformation. Every step of your journey should take you closer to fulfilling at least one of your strategic goals. If a step in your journey doesn’t align with an identified strategic goal, you need to reflect on your strategy. Should your strategy be altered? Or should the planned initiative be dropped? It is also important to understand any objectives and key results leading your organization’s strategy, and ensure these match how you measure the success of initiatives that form your digital transformation.

Third, failure needs to be allowed. But not all failures should be treated equally. “Fail Fast” is now a common term and it should be. Ideas must be tested, and some of those ideas will inevitably fail. However, there should be a framework that guides this. Testing ideas needs to be a very thoughtful and intentional exercise, and should always include domain experts. It is important to pursue the balance between adequate levels of due diligence and testing ideas without creating significant risk or costs. Any idea should be tested in a way that can properly inform the future. If an idea fails and doesn’t provide a lesson, then it becomes wasteful. Failure should only be accepted if it aligns with the “Fail Fast” and “Fail Forward” methodologies.

Fourth, and this is perhaps the most obvious consideration, it is critical to have a strong organizational change management (OCM) plan in place. The OCM plan should be in place as soon as each initiative begins. OCM is often only addressed in a tactical way as part of a rollout plan, which is a mistake. Instead, engage necessary stakeholders and impacted people as early as possible, and make them part of the journey. Bringing colleagues together early in an initiative provides endless opportunities for further engagement and allows those impacted by the change to truly own a step in the journey. Also, some people believe OCM is boring and repetitive. It shouldn’t be. OCM plans can be fun and should play off of your organization’s diverse and unique culture. 

Fifth and finally, digital transformation is a never-ending journey and you should plan it as if it is living and breathing. It needs to be continuously nurtured. Organizations often fall into the trap of implementing technology as if it is the same as buying a physical tool. As an example, pretend we need to increase customer engagement (the “nail”), so let’s buy customer engagement software (the “hammer”). Now that we have a hammer, the problem is resolved….right? Digital transformation is the same. There isn’t a point where you are “transformed” and you can just stop. This is why it is so important to include “habit building” in your journey. Think about running. Getting out for a run is hard when you first start, but after making it part of your regular routine for a period of time, it becomes a habit. At that point, it is not only much easier to get out for a run, it is also far less physically painful because your body becomes better conditioned. 

The beginning of your digital transformation journey can be hard, there is usually a lot of heavy lifting and significant change that needs to happen. Establishing habits through the journey allows it to become easier as progress is made. Changes become less painful. Instead, your organization is “conditioned” for change. Once “conditioned”, it also becomes easier and less intimidating to tackle changes; so small positive changes will be made when improvement opportunities are identified. Necessary changes do not wait and grow until they require large-scale projects. 

Now that we’ve covered why digital transformation is hard, why you should still do it, and these five considerations to make your digital transformation easier, you should be all set for a pain-free journey. Almost. Digital transformations are never completely pain-free, but thinking through these will help ensure a successful transformation and reduce the pain experienced along the way. If you have read this far in the post, I have one more tip to share that will greatly help you in your transformation. Finding the right people to guide you and your organization makes the digital transformation road far less bumpy. This can be a partner organization - Dura Digital is an experienced digital transformation partner - or the right internal leader, but it should be someone who has experienced transformation before and has a broad enough perspective to consider and act on the items identified above. If you would like to discuss your digital transformation, contact us today... we’d love to chat with you.