- I keep harping on the fact that digital transformation
is much more than a technical transformation
because I think it's absolutely crucial
that you keep it in mind.
For instance, if you want your transformation
to succeed, you have to pay attention
to the needs of your employees.
We've talked a little bit about this already,
but let's talk about it again
because it's important.
As you prepare for your transition,
you should be engaging with your employees
both to get requirements inputs from them
and to start communicating about what's coming.
During the transformation process,
that communication needs
to keep happening regularly.
Make status available so that the team
knows where things are.
If there are things that employees need training for,
that has to be readily available to them,
and it has to be in language
that they'll understand.
Training is not something that should stop
when the transition's done.
New ways of working will bring new opportunities
for employees to step into new roles.
Along with your digital transformation,
you should also be developing
into a learning culture to enable that.
Employees feeling like they have a chance
to grow in their careers
is one of the most highly motivating factors
towards improved overall engagement.
If you want your workforce actively participating,
you won't undervalue their development needs.
Another huge motivating factor for employees:
making them feel like they're involved and being heard.
So, keeping an ongoing feedback loop open
should be another important piece
of your cultural growth.
Aside from the satisfaction employees will get
from having a voice,
there's a good chance that they'll share suggestions too.
And some of those will be absolutely golden.
These are the people who are working closest with the tools.
They'll be the ones who will spot
additional opportunities first.
Just in case you're wondering,
I believe that giving people a voice
and a chance to grow
is completely compatible with having an Agile mindset.
As soon as matter of fact,
I think taking an Agile approach towards digital transition
makes a lot of sense.
Rather than trying to make everything happen
in a monolithic mass,
how about breaking it up into bite size pieces
and giving it to Agile teams
to address in iterations?
It's something I definitely would investigate.