Digital transformations are an imperative as today’s leading corporations need to build bionic capabilities in order to harness the potential of disruptive technologies and integrate them into new processes, organisation models, and ways of working. This necessity has been accelerated by the pandemic. However, the digital transformation journey has proven long and cumbersome for a lot of organisations, and few have seen their efforts fail to produce the expected outcomes. New BCG research shows that 70% of digital transformations fall short of cloud contact centre features their objectives, often with profound consequences. In this article I will discuss what accounts for such a high failure rate and what can we do about it?
- Fuzzy definition and lack of shared vision
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Lacking a clear definition of digital transformation is one of the key reasons why companies struggle to connect digital strategy to their business. Too often leaders believe they have to move quicker than they’re comfortable, leaving key employees and stakeholders out of the planning phase or without proper briefs on where the business is headed. If no one agrees on where they are going, why they are heading in that direction, and what they aim to achieve, it is close to impossible to succeed. Without a clear shared vision people typically retreat to the comfort of their team or group and keep their heads down. Breaking free of this approach starts by the understanding that digital transformation is as much about the human element and people as it is about technology, if not even more.
While CEOs, CIOs or board members still have the sole responibility of drafting the overall business visions and growth objectives, everyone in the organisation need to be involved in defining the ‘’why & how’’ of the change, and consequently involved in the multitude of decisions that are made in the course of the journey. At the end of the day, it is the employees and middle management who will carry out the responsibilities of implementing the new changes on the ground, whether it is changes of processes or technological tools.
2. The problem with siloes
Alignment problems often stem from siloes between business divisions. This often leads to a race for digitisation instead of digital transformation. This occurs when top management is more focused on how to solve individual business unit issues, or making new tech investment in isolation of the entire organisation ecosystem.
It’s critical to ensure that everyone is on the same page at the beginning, and understands the organisational challenges as well as those facing their respective teams/departments. When assessing new processes or new technologies it is vital to take into account how they integrate with others, share data & insights, and most importantly how it affects the workflow across the wider organisation.
3. Difficult journeys aren't taken alone
The ability to succeed with digital transformation all depends on the people of your organisation. Lack of experience and/or expertise in digital transformation leads to basic mistakes such as unrealistic goals, lack of a clear strategy, underestimating risk, and not allocating enough resources. Many organizations underestimate their own internal talent, skill sets, and capabilities. They decide to embark on a major transformation alone.
Take a more serious view of your partner ecosystem, pick the right technology partners, and consider them an integral part of your execution strategy. Staying ahead of the game without specialised help is too difficult because new technologies, along with faster pace and execution are becoming the norm.
4. Lack of continuity
Social, commercial and technological change continue to accelerate. Apart from development capabilities, leaders must acknowledge that once digital becomes an integral part of your business, the organisation must prepare for a state of perpetual change and continuous improvement. The organisation needs to be agile, while still staying true to long term goals and overall vision. There must be a culture that allows employees to challenge the existing and always seek to reinvent the organisation. To do so, the organisation must embrace life-long learning as a core value and invest in acquiring and developing talent. But above all, top management must be prepared to put words into action and acknowledge that digital transformation is not a simple exercise.
5. You're only as good as your talent
You need talent to win a championship, and the same holds true for successfully reengineering your business in the form of a transformation. It is widely recognized that digital change requires employees to learn new skills, but in addition to learning new skills, focus equally on unlearning old habits and obsolete practices. It is equally important to acknowledge that change management is not only limited to top-level management but needs to be embraced by middle management as well as the wider organisations.
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