Recognising digital transformation as key to your organisation’s success in the post-pandemic landscape isn’t the same as understanding how to plan, implement and assess the processes that create the change.
A digital business transformation strategy is the roadmap for your journey. But how do you create and implement such a strategy across your organisation?
Here are 5 tips that break down how to approach your digital business transformation strategy for a smooth, effective transition into the digital-first future:
Get the digital transformation model that’s best for your business
A tailored roadmap to digital maturity will:
- Help you reach your unique business goals
- Leverage the organisation’s strengths and address its weakness
- Meet your organisation’s unique definition of digital maturity
No two enterprises are alike, so no two digital transformation models or implementation strategies should be either. Before you implement an existing digital transformation strategy, or create one, consider whether your tools and tactics are suited to your business needs and goals.
PRO TIP: Strategic innovation consultants are there to sense-check your intended digital transformation model and are experts at crafting bespoke digital business transformation strategies. Reach out to them with impunity. Find out about our consultant services and book a free consultation here.
Stand on the shoulders of giants
Boost your chances of success by researching digital transformation models and how leading enterprises have rolled-out their digital business transformation strategies. Learn from their mistakes and their successes through sources like McKinsey’s article, Digital Transformation: Improving the odds of success, or this detailed literature review on digital maturity models published in a Mendel University journal.
McKinsey’s research, for example, offers a great high-level summary of 5 practices executives that head up successful transformation projects choose to follow. These include: laying out clear priorities, investing in talent, committing time and money, embracing agility and digital enablement. Meanwhile, diving into the Mendel University literature review is a quick way to introduce yourself to 22 digital maturity models from across multiple industries, in one article!
These are just a taste of the available sources out there. Don’t forget to mine the wealth of information available in webinars, conferences and podcasts, either!
Prepare your organisation for the change
Change is stressful. An organisation-wide change like full-scale digital transformation can negatively impact your team unless it’s managed with care. Preparing your team for the change can be a linchpin of the project’s success.
A team that knows what to expect (even if that’s to “expect the unexpected”) will find the change less stressful. Regular, clear communication can have far-reaching positive consequences, such as minimising churn and eliminating unnecessary delays during implementation.
Start with the basics
Fix the essentials first, such as technology basics, and prioritise your initiatives conservatively in general. While your digital transformation agenda should be prioritised, it pays to roll out implementation systematically — which may seem to slow things down at first.
However, you’ll look forward to steady, efficient progress implemented with minimal errors and a high rate of adoption across your organisation.
Be prepared to iterate
Every digital transformation strategy or digital transformation model needs to be revised along the way. While you roll out implementation, be prepared to iterate on process and tools. According to McKinsey, businesses that revise their strategies regularly are more likely to be top economic performers in their sector.
While agile approaches deliver refined results, they can feel more labour-intensive. This is where outsourcing to strategic innovation consultants can help. You’ll be able to craft and implement (and iterate on) a digital transformation strategy that’s tailor-made for your business and goals.
