Digital Transformations Are About People

When most of us think of digital transformation, we think of industry 4.0, Information Technology and Research & Development. 

A strong digital transformation strategy encompasses the value given from a multiple number of stakeholders and voices within an organisation. After all Digital Transformations are about helping people to make better decisions and take quicker actions. History shows that without the perspectives from all user groups the likelihood that the strategy will fail is great, resulting in white elephant projects, redundant processes, inadequate assessment and training processes and roles that do not fit in with the company mission and goals.

HR Can Provide Valuable Perspectives

We help organisations to place more emphasis on HR as a central strategic arm instead of an individual business unit. The reason behind this is to be able to create teams who can ensure that the workforce is receiving the right training and that professional development is in line wih the strategic changes that are being implemented along the organisation.

But too often HR is overlooked when it comes to implementing digital transformation initiatives.

“People are at the core of what you do. Your ability to even access data for digital transformation is dependent on the people that you have,” Lind said. “Not considering the impact on your people and culture is one of the biggest reasons digital transformation fails so often.” 

When people aren’t considered, digital transformations are often unsuccessful. The point of digital transformation is to optimize workforce utilization—the goal is to have people spend more time on the tasks that bring value to both the company and themselves, and less time on the non-value-added tasks. A narrow view that tech is the only answer without thinking of people leads to frustration and unsuccessful initiatives. 

Digital Transformation needs to be adaptive

workforce planning has to move away from reactive to proactive trends, more of a talent acquisition approach rather than recruiting approach. In turn the questions in the workforce planning should also focus on the technologies of tomorrow and therefore continual adaptations to the learning process. This requires a far closer interaction between HR and other business units within a company. COVID-19 has shown how quickly roles within companies have to be adapted, this has to be reflected and supported by digital processes and tools.

Significance Of Change Management In Digital Transformation

The process of change management involves continuous improvement and a cultural shift. It should be supported by a “culture organisation” that specifically helps with change management, especially during periods of intense change.

We are creatures of habit, however the future will show that only people and businesses that are really successful are those that welcome change and new technologies.

The need for Alliances

At the end of the day, everyone needs to understand and support digital transformation efforts for them to perform to expectations and bring value. This is why it is crucial to ensure that the right leaders are in place. Bad decisions in recent years, could slow down your company increasing the gap.

There needs to be leadership in place that can guide your workforce to enthusiasm and appreciation of how digital transformation will benefit their work and careers.