In Business World Our world has changed dramatically in the last two decades, with the universal boom in smartphone usage and internet connectivity, even in the most remote locations. Money has become digital too, from cryptocurrencies to online banking. Unless your organisation keeps pace with the digital transformation, your business will likely be left behind.
If you’re feeling overwhelmed by this rapid transformation, hold tight, because it will only grow. Customers today expect services rendered at breakneck speed and want a seamless experience across all touchpoints. Whether you are a big corporation or a new-entrant startup, embracing digital transformation is extremely important.
Modern businesses can now time-travel into the future by embracing a 360-degree digital revolution. Think of it as the entrepreneurial variant of the DeLorean time machine, like the one from the Back to the Future series.
So, how exactly can you achieve this? In this article, we explore organisational digital transformation (ODT).
Table of Contents
Stronghold Your Security
Cybercrimes have become extremely commonplace and cost UK businesses £21 billion annually, but only 15% of businesses have formal cybersecurity plans in place. Therefore, if you want to get ahead of your competitors, you must have your cyber security essentials in place. This will include taking the following proactive steps:
- Installing firewalls, malware and VPNs so that you interact with only trusted networks.
- Remove system access for people who have left your organisation or no longer need access to that system. Choose multi-factor authentication (MFA) to reduce the chance of unauthorised access.
- Offer regular cybersecurity training to employees so that they are updated with the latest security protocols.
Make e-Learning Your Best Ally
Companies that instill a culture of upskilling and constant improvement will have better outcomes than others. The best part about e-learning is that you wont have to send your employees on extended leaves for their training. Your employees can now choose to undertake either online HR courses or technical courses depending on their area of expertise without compromising on their daily work commitments. Whether it’s an efficiency course or in-depth diversity and inclusion training, e-learning makes it all possible.
By offering online training and learning opportunities, as an organisation, you can reap the following benefits:
- E-learning courses are more cost-effective than full-time traditional courses.
- By providing opportunities for upskilling and reskilling, you can retain your top employees and also boost their engagement and productivity.
- For some industries, regular training is mandatory, and online courses enable employers to keep their employees updated with the latest developments.
Increasing Digitisation of Non-Tech Sectors
Not just the IT industry, but non-tech industries like property management, construction, finance and healthcare are increasingly adopting technology. For instance, if you’re a business owner offering residential block management in London, you may upkeep and maintain your properties manually. However, technology can now be used to streamline your operations and help you stay updated on all the tenant and owner maintenance requests, leading to better tenant satisfaction and higher rental income yield.
Yet another industry that is using automation to improve work quality is the biomedical waste processing sector. Using automated clean in place equipment can help regulate certain processes. These are some examples that prove that digitisation is the way forward.
Adopt Eco-Friendly Measures
Digital transformation is helping companies become more sustainable as it is reducing the dependence on paper. Today, you can do everything digitally—from depositing money in your account to maintaining an employee roaster.
In a traditional non-tech industry like construction, digitisation is helping them reduce their carbon footprint considerably. For instance, on-site towable site offices would contain important paperwork like site plans, evacuation plans, licenses, etc.
However, these documents are now available digitally. You can upload your site plan, licenses, and project management documents, all on a single tablet or computer. This not only saves time and effort that you’d ideally need for organisation but also helps you become more environmentally conscious.
Engaged Employees
Using AI or technology doesn’t mean substituting your employees. Rather, it can be used to improve their working conditions. Here’s how:
Better Work-Life Balance
Using AI assistants and technology, organisations can now automate mundane workflows, thereby opening up opportunities for better collaboration and reduced time. Technology also enables employees to work remotely, which means your talent pool is no longer limited by geographical boundaries.
Employees can now work from overseas without needing to relocate to deliver their work commitments. Moreover, your in-office employees also have the liberty to work from home or when travelling.
Better Communication
A successful company is built on effective communication, and digitisation has helped to bridge this communication gap. Whether you are interacting with clients, employees from other branches or external consultants, effective communication is now achieved within seconds, thanks to digital communication tools.
Software and applications like Skype, Teams, Slack and Google Meet enable smooth collaboration without needing in-person meetings. With ease of screen sharing and video conferencing, digital communication has become a mainstay. Even though these technologies have been around for a while, the lockdown brought on by COVID-19 has made us more aware of their many advantages.
Employee Health and Wellbeing
One of the biggest benefits of digital transformation has been the ability to offer employees flexibility and prioritise the health and safety of workers. For example, your workers can now work remotely from their homes if the outside conditions are harsh.
Companies can now provide employees with access to smart technologies like wearable devices and smart surveillance technologies. This will enable employers and managers to better understand if the working conditions are deteriorating or non-conducive.
Increased Customer Satisfaction and Business Growth
The top two benchmarks of a successful company are happy customers and continued revenue growth. Digitisation makes it all possible. Wondering, how?
- When you embrace digitisation, your company can deliver services faster. For example, if you are running a social media marketing company, you can now use technology to generate graphics and content much faster than if you were to do it manually.
- Reduced operational costs. Your profit is determined after deducting overhead costs, operating expenses and raw materials from the selling price. Using digital transformation, you will be able to significantly reduce operating costs. Automation can replace manual tasks, thus saving time and reducing costs. Businesses can optimise resource utilisation with the help of AI-enabled analytics.
- Data-based insights can help you make the right decisions. Technology, automation and and AI analytics can help you make data-backed decisions. One great opportunity that technology offers is that every interaction is documented. This can be like gaining access to information that can enable you to make decisions and set goals for business growth.
Challenges Associated with Digital Transformation
Digital transformation is the strategic way forward, and to remain economically viable, you have to embrace technology. However, like everything else around you, digital transformation also has its own shortcomings.
- Bridging the gap between legacy and digital systems can be difficult. You’ll have to carefully consider the challenges and plan the transformation with minimum disruption.
- Many older employees will often struggle to keep pace with new technologies. As an organisation, you will need to offer continuous training and learning opportunities.
- The costs of adopting technological advancements can be expensive. For smaller organisations, this can be the biggest hurdle. Costs will include talent acquisition, upgrading legacy systems and offering the right training. It is essential to chalk out the expenses and ROI (return on investment). Therefore, as a business, you need to monitor important KPIs and always stay on top of the tangible returns.
Wrapping Up
Digital transformation is the key to success in 2024. If you are yet to embrace automation in your workplace, then you will be falling behind your competitors. Overcoming the hurdles of digital transformation will require strategic planning and forethought. However, the merits of embracing automation far outweigh the challenges.
To make the successful shift to a digital-first organisation, you need to invest in the right staff and technology and keep abreast of regulatory compliance. The next ten years will see a growing prevalence of AI and automation in every walk of life, as non-tech industries are awaken to the merits and benefits of automation.
We live in a technologically advanced world, and if you do not want to be swept away by the tech tsunami, you must prepare to stay ahead of it.