SECRETS TO SUCCESS
It’s now more important than ever for organisations to embark on a digital transformation journey. With COVID-19 having accelerated the need for the digitalisation of business processes and highlighting the importance of digital adoption, companies need to – if they haven’t already – rethink their engagement strategies if they want to reach the workforce in this uncertain digital era.
Despite it being common knowledge, as the often-cited study from McKinsey states, ‘70 percent of digital transformation efforts fail’. Unfortunately, it seems navigating the journey to a successful digital transformation is easier said than done. But why?
There are multiple reasons, however the overarching one is obvious…not identifying what digital truly means to your organisation. If there isn’t alignment on the basic principles of the digitalisation, then this lack of understanding ultimately creates a domino effect leading to the implementation strategy falling apart. To break down this concept further, we look at the key elements required for a successful digital transformation.
Clarify benefits to get buy-in
When embarking on a transformation journey, direct and indirect resistance within the organisation is unavoidable. To combat this, you must have a clear understanding of the benefits transformation will bring, and communicate these effectively to the whole business. Firstly, get key stakeholders aligned on the intended outcomes, forging a mutual understanding and setting a clear roadmap. Map digital capabilities to the benefits for the business and employees, then build a change management plan that will help people clearly see the WHY and the WIIFM of the change. Often neglected as not seen as a priority investment, timely and impactful internal comms content will serve to inform and include your workforce in your transformation journey.
Set realistic milestones
For most companies incremental change can be relatively disruptive, so changing everything at once could set you up for a much higher chance of failure. It’s great to be ambitious with your transformation goals, however meticulous scheduling and prioritisation of these targets within a strategic plan will make achieving them more likely. Focus on the areas that matter most based on their value, time to impact and effort required to achieve outcomes…this should afford you some early wins!
Upskill your workforce
Employees are at the heart of digital transformation yet, according to IDC research, 75% of respondents admitted their organisation was finding it challenging to recruit employees with the required digital skillset. Google, Microsoft and Salesforce, like countless other companies, are aware of this hurdle and investing money into new programmes to upskill their workforce. The pandemic has created new opportunities and enterprises are developing new partnerships, products and services – however these will only succeed if driven by a workforce equipped to handle automated processes and digital innovation.
Tech, with a human element
Implementing new technology without addressing the human element is very risky. With digital change, come cultural and behavioural, and thanks to COVID-19, work environment changes. It’s a lot of change and people need time to adapt and embrace all these changes. Communication is key…clear, informative and regular communication.
Own the change
One of the fastest ways for even the most meticulously planned strategic roadmap to fail is if there’s no leader driving it forward. Although it is a digital transformation, all responsibility should not lie with the IT department. For a transformation to succeed it requires endorsement and commitment from the senior leadership team, who can bring credibility and trust to the project, and therefore have a huge impact on user adoption.
To sum up
Overcoming the odds starts with knowing the WHY of the change and conveying this very clearly to all stakeholders; how it affects them and the future of the business. Plan your roadmap from the start, communicating regularly with the workforce to really get them engaged and on board. Keep in mind that even the longest journeys are made up of many small steps.
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Chatloop
Andrew Barlow – CEO
Rachel and the DXdesign team bring a unique blend of experience to digital transformation projects with knowledge of all the leading HCM technologies and processes. Coupled with a wealth of design expertise, clients get the best of both worlds in one package. I actually don’t know anyone else who has this breadth of experience.
MirrorWeb
Harriet Christie – COO
What an experience with the DXdesign team! They were working with a pretty vague brief, but they brought the little we had articulated to life, and enhanced it so much more than we were expecting. Their attention to detail is wonderful. The result is a polished and informative video that really professionalises our business and the product we’re promoting to prospects. We had naively assumed we could produce a video internally using various software platforms, but the output is drastically different. If you’re in need of a promotional video, leave it to the experts! Cannot recommend them enough.
LACE PARTNERS
Kat Bernardes – Director, People Experience
The DXdesign team are awesome. We worked together on a complex project for a client with tight timelines and they excelled in a) adapting their approach to speed up design and delivery, b) working in a partnership model to present a coherent front to the client and c) delivering high quality products.
Equinix Inc
Carol Dunham Ackerman – Senior Director, Transformation Programs
From their innovative storyboards to dependable production approach, Rachel and the DXdesign team are a pleasure to work with, from concept through final editing. The videos they produced for Equinix were effective, engaging and accurately captured our messaging. I look forward to working with them again in the future.
BELL CANADA
Angel Prescott – Associate Director, Corporate HR
I had a lot of fun working with Rachel when we made training videos for the original launch of SuccessFactors at Bell. Despite deadlines being tight, the videos being produced in English and French, plus working in different time zones, we had a successful delivery. Rachel is extremely organized, and manages stakeholders effectively and has copious subject matter expertise when offering solutions. I highly recommend her.
Motormax
Jonathan Haycock – Co-Founder & Director
Working with DXdesign has been exceptional and the video produced far exceeded our expectations. It looks professional and fits perfectly with our brand. They have been a pleasure to work with, from filming with a professional and experienced crew through to the editing process, where they were flexible and responsive to our requirements.
LACE Partners
Rachel Mawson – Tech Adoption Practice Lead
I love working with DXdesign. They are quick to grasp business context, they understand how to elevate technical concepts turning it into something engaging and they always come with innovative ideas. We regularly work together to bring to life system changes, such as Workday, with a focus on driving user adoption.
ADAPTECO
CHRISTIAN GEISSELMANN – FOUNDER / CEO
DXdesign are amazing to work with. Their attention to detail from the outset and the clear process they work through on every project means that you know exactly what you will get as a final product. Communication is second to none and the quality of support and the end product is excellent, and they represent excellent value for money too.
Hinsdale Humane Society
Tom Van Winkle – Executive Director
The value of the work done by DXdesign far exceeds the price of their services. In today’s world of constant communication, it’s imperative to create messaging which resonates with our adopters and donors and DXdesign did just that. Their ability to create light hearted, fun videos and QRGs with engaging messages was something I don’t find in most agencies with whom I speak.
Agents2Change
Mary McGuire – Change Consultant
Rachel was my content development partner, when creating a global training program for the rollout of Workday. Rachel and her team did an excellent job in creating some very high quality materials that made the whole experience and launch hassle free. If you want to realise the substantial investment in a cloud platform, by helping staff to get to grips with it quickly, I would highly recommend DXdesign.
