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With the success of a digital transformation strategy heavily dependent on employees actually using the digital tools that are deployed, a new breed of “digital adoption professionals” are emerging to take technology-led transformation outside of IT, writes Clarence Dent, ANZ Regional Vice. President at WalkMe.
According to the Australian Institute of Company Directors (AICD), digital transformation is touted as a key way to increase productivity – and customer and employee satisfaction – yet 70% of transformation efforts fail.
Even if they succeed, it can take years to get people to fully embrace the new digital capabilities and realize the expected value. Counterintuitively, AICD found that people, not technology, are at the heart of most transformational failures.
Investments in digital transformation continue to gain momentum today. A WalkMe survey revealed that the average company invests $48 million annually in digital transformation projects. These projects range from transforming the customer experience, increasing supply chain and manufacturing efficiency, and removing internal bottlenecks to unleashing innovation through a smoother work experience for employees.
Therefore, as digital transformation becomes increasingly important to business, who is responsible for it must evolve if organizations are to reap any lasting benefits. If businesses don’t rethink how the real and virtual worlds intersect, they won’t be able to optimize products, acquire talent, manage assets or delight customers.
And digital isn’t just changing business. The Australian Government has set itself the goal of being among the top three digital governments in the world by 2025 and is committed to a continued focus on building the digital capabilities it needs to deliver its policy outcomes.
Technology adoption is key
Echoing AICD’s conclusion that people make or break digital transformation initiatives, the WalkMe study found that more than two-thirds (68%) of businesses took the logical view that success depends on employee and customer acceptance of new technology. However, investments in enterprise software will only be successful if and only if employees and customers understand them without getting confused and use them in the right way.
This raises the burning question of who should be responsible for driving and sustaining digital adoption? Currently, almost three-quarters of businesses (70%) do not know who is responsible in their organizations. Unsurprisingly, the lack of leadership in this area means that the majority of respondents (60%) also do not yet have a strategy in place to support digital adoption.
The AICD, in partnership with OpenDirector, is tracking the level of digital skills among ASX 200 directors. It has found that digital literacy is low in Australian boardrooms. In its latest report, only 11% of CEOs considered experience with enterprise-wide digital transformation to be the most relevant experience for CEOs to navigate today’s uncertain operating environment. This was despite most CEOs explicitly emphasizing that the best organizations should have an innovative mindset.
So while at the highest level most businesses recognize the importance of digital adoption, a lack of accountability creates greater risks. This is compounded by the lack of real measures for digital adoption that companies and governments use. Despite knowing that adoption is critical, less than a quarter (22%) of businesses use adoption as a KPI for digital transformation success.
If businesses don’t measure digital adoption, they can’t track how successful they are.
Success requires a new set of skills
Forward-thinking companies are investing in a new type of professional whose designated role is to drive digital adoption: digital adoption professionals.
Digital adoption professionals can take on the challenge of ensuring that employees and businesses take full advantage of the technologies at their disposal in the face of an ever-evolving technology landscape. People with the right skills will prevent businesses’ digital investments from going to waste.
With research showing that businesses consume nearly $100 million annually in costs due to the inability to get full value from their technology investments, the benefits of hiring such professionals are significant.
These roles can be entirely new hire positions, or existing employees can take on the role in addition to their existing duties. The exact name of these experts varies, but the essence remains the same: digital adoption can and should be professionalized and should involve a number of departments and processes.
In an ideal world, these professionals should work with a digital adoption platform to make it as easy and seamless as possible for employees across the business to use the wide range of apps and software at their disposal.
Digital responsibility goes far beyond the IT department
Businesses plan to invest significantly in digital transformation in the next three years. According to the research, this will include an average spend of $7 million among small businesses, $22 million among medium-sized businesses, and more than $31 million among large businesses.
Given this level of investment, IT departments can no longer bear sole responsibility for the success of digital transformation projects. Uncovering and flagging digital friction, opportunities to save money and opportunities to reap rewards from existing technology investments is too much for IT alone – adoption requires top-down engagement and a new class of professional specialists to emerge to champion change. .
The goal is to transform a technology suite of disjointed, confusing user interfaces into a consistent and easy experience for employees to truly do their best work.
Supporting these new professionals as integral members of the change management team is now a priority, particularly as Australian directors do not favor the disruptive risk of emerging technologies to the same extent as their overseas counterparts, the AICD says.
Less than one in ten (8%) of all ASX 200 directors could be considered digitally skilled, while only one in eight (12%) had STEM skills. With a typical board having nine directors, this means on average that ASX 200 boards are only now approaching the point where they have at least one “digital director” among their members.
Today, every CEO has a responsibility to know how technology will affect their organization. Just as financial literacy is a basic requirement for directors, so is technological literacy.
Achieving maximum value from digital investments
It’s important to remember that the success of a digital transformation strategy largely depends on whether employees actually use the digital tools that are deployed. There is no point in investing in technology if it is ignored or avoided.
The problem will only get worse. WalkMe’s latest “State of Digital Adoption” report found that businesses are adding an average of 17 new apps per year. With the typical enterprise employee already working with around 27 apps, it’s no wonder that organizations surveyed believe they’re only using 50% of their apps’ potential.
Effective use can be achieved through a strategic approach to the challenge. Business impact measurement should be done regularly and dedicated roles should be established to drive continuous progress.
The emergence and subsequent adoption of digital adoption professionals will help leadership teams meet their digital goals by improving user and customer experiences and ultimately increasing the return on technology investment.
Read also
https://www.consultancy.com.au/news/4322/research-six-trends-in-the-digital-transformation-landscape
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