The digital world continues to evolve, presenting us with new, exciting innovations almost daily, not only in our private lives, but in business too. Digital solutions help companies cut costs, improve quality, enhance customer service, drive efficiencies, and more. Indeed, today the digital world is so pervasive that businesses that don’t get on board, risk being left behind.
The benefits of digital transformation affect everyone – from your managers and staff, to your customers, to industry as a whole. Put simply – digital is good for business. Indeed, in a recent survey, 41% of companies reported that implementing digital transformation initiatives had enabled them to increase their market share.
So, what do you need to do in order to join the revolution? We’re not talking about ditching everything you’re doing right now in favour of a souped-up, digitized alternative. Once you’ve got your mind around the culture shift it entails, the process of harnessing the powers of digital transformation can be carried out gradually over time.
The first step is to think long term – define a specific end-point for your business’s digital mission, be it to increase productivity by X%, convert X% of leads into sales, or go completely paperless (Docomotion can help you with this one!!).
Next, set yourself SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and timely) goals to provide meaningful structure to your plans. Take an honest look at the way you run your business and think strategically about how much of what you do can be achieved by implementing technology. But don’t just focus on the bigger picture. Drill down to common day-to-day tasks, and ask for staff input about what they think could be done better, faster and more efficiently.
Getting your employees on board is critical to the successful roll out of any new digital initiatives, so make sure they know you value their opinions. Then, once your transformation program is underway, put in place the ongoing training and support they need to help them embrace the changes and succeed.
Consider appointing one particular person, or even a team, to have oversight of the project from beginning to end. It doesn’t have to be a technology expert, but should be a person who has the ear of your staff and can rally the troops to get them excited about the changes and how they will improve their work life.
Regularly take stock of how your staff, processes and the technological solutions you are implementing are working together, and what the changes you introduce are actually enabling you to achieve. Also, make allowances for the inevitable exhaustion that can set in after the initial excitement dies down. Make sure to publicize results as you achieve them, to help keep up momentum.
Finally, it’s important to be somewhat flexible. As we’ve already said, technology is evolving fast, so stay informed about new solutions on the market, and be open to the occasional deviation from your original plan – it could help you reach your goals faster!
