As businesses continue to get more dependent on technology for scaling up, the amount of investment and focus targeted at advanced technologies have continued to increase. So it is no surprise that companies have spent more than US$1.3 trillion in 2020, for digital transformation.

In recent years, organizations that have digital DNA running through their processes and systems have demonstrated sustainability and better adaptability to changing work environments.  Even then, many companies fail in their digital transformation efforts, because of rookie mistakes.

One such mistake is confusing digitization with digital transformation. While digitization refers to the process of aiding the team with technology making them more efficient, digital transformation is the complete integration of technology in every part and process of the organization.

If you are initiating a complete digital transformation, here are a few things that you should consider.

1. Be Prepared For Cultural Change

The fact that you are initiating a digital transformation for your organization means that you need to be prepared to make major changes to its structure and culture. One of the best ways to ensure that the performance of your team remains consistent is to be prepared for the imminent cultural change.

Before you even embark on your digital transformation journey, you should ensure that you encourage digital development and transformation as one of the core values of your organization.  Having a digital culture can make your digital transformation journey much easier and more effective.

As is the case with any major change, your digital transformation efforts could be met with resistance. Have people on the management team who are willing to assume the role of “cheerleaders” for the transformation. This would help you tackle the pushback that you may get from your team as a result of the changes, and be beneficial in the long run.

2. Create a Digital Adoption Strategy

One of the side-effects of a comprehensive digital transformation is that your team may not be prepared to adapt to the many changes that are a part of it. Organizations should actively look for ways to help employees adapt to the technological changes that come with digital transformation.

For a successful digital transformation, having a strategy to encourage digital adoption within your team is necessary. This can include detailed training sessions and tailored efforts to educate the employees about the technological changes taking place in the organization.

If you have implemented enterprise-grade software as a part of your digital transformation efforts, you can integrate a digital adoption platform to increase digital adoption among your stakeholders.

Digital adoption platforms offer detailed walkthroughs, product tours, and tooltips to increase the rate of adoption among the users, and ensure that they have knowledge of all the features and their uses.

3. Activate a Feedback Loop

A major mistake that you can make while carrying out an organization-wide digital transformation is alienating the management from the rest of the team. The onus of managing any pushback, and the major part of the implementation efforts does lie on the management. But the end-users are often a great source of important inputs that can maximize efforts.

It can be something as simple as reporting a bug to point out a major loophole in the way you have structured the new technological policy. A productive feedback loop can thus be initiated where the management will be able to identify the gaps in the implemented systems and fill them right away.

When you do receive constructive feedback, make sure to acknowledge and appreciate it, and then announce once you have implemented the feedback. This will make the users feel valued, and motivated to keep providing feedback.

4. Make Course Corrections

When you implement a major digital transformation project, you need to consider having more flexibility in terms of including any additional features or elements. Digital transformation projects are usually carried out with a set budget in mind, however, it is always a good idea to leave some scope for additions or omissions at later stages.

Agility is considered to be one of the hallmarks of successful digital transformation in an organization. Setting up goals and a strategic roadmap to be followed is quite essential to the transformation efforts, but being able to adjust as the need arises is also equally important.

Approaching the transition to a completely digital environment with plenty of technological advancements is highly imperative. Additionally, such an environment requires the team to be adaptable and flexible in regard to changes that may be implemented as a result of the digital transformation.

Bottom line

Digital transformation is undoubtedly a massive undertaking, regardless of the size and scale of your business. It entails changes at almost every level, and process, which is bound to impact all your stakeholders. Maintaining clear communication and imparting a defined roadmap for the change is quite important to its success. But even more important is knowing the considerations that you should keep in mind while strategizing and implementing the digital transformation.