6 Do’s and Don’ts of Digital Transformation Every New IT Leader Should Be Aware Of

According to a survey conducted by IDG, 89% of companies have already adopted digital-first business strategy or are planning to get one. This clearly shows that the majority of businesses are striving for digital transformation. Businesses that have not already jumped on the digital transformation bandwagon are planning to do so.

 This pandemic has accelerated that trend. If you are a new IT leader, digital transformation can be complicated and stressful. Throw in the pandemic shifting consumer behavior and adapt quickly to the changing dynamics, your job becomes even more challenging.

What’s more, new IT leaders are more likely to stumble and make mistakes along the way than experienced IT leaders when it comes to digital transformation. That is why it is important for IT leaders to know the do’s and don’ts of digital transformation so they don’t end up making those mistakes.

In this article, you will learn about six digital transformation do’s and don’ts every new IT leader should know about.

6 Do’s and Don’ts of Digital Transformation

Here are six do’s and don’ts of digital transformation new IT leaders should know about.

1. Do Communicate Your Goals

Digital transformation can be tough especially when it involves automating all the business processes of an organization. Your employees might get overwhelmed by information overload. Moreover, frustration can creep in especially when they are uncertain of processes. As a budding digital transformation leader, your job is to create a communication plan that highlights the goals

This can go a long way in mitigating fear, uncertainty and employee burnout from digital transformation efforts. To achieve this, you need to start by communicating your digital transformation goals. When you try to digitally transform your company, you are bound to find resistance. You need to address all the issues your employees might be facing and provide them the information to overcome those hurdles. Tie every activity with a purpose and make it clear to everyone. Once everybody knows what you are doing and why you are doing it, your digital initiatives succeed.

2. Don’t Lose Track of People

The first thing that pops up in your mind when you think about digital transformation is emerging technologies, such as 5G, dedicated server hosting, AI, etc. There is nothing wrong with this mindset but the problem starts to occur when it comes at the cost of ignoring people altogether. You should put people at the center of your digital transformation program.

 At the end of the day, it is people who manage tools and processes, not the technology itself. That is why professional mobile app development Company in Toronto put customers first. Amazon is famous for its customer-focused strategy while Apple is also following in its footsteps when it comes to putting people at the center stage, whether they are their employees, customers, or any other stakeholder. You can also keep people in the spotlight and achieve similar success with your digital initiatives.

3. Do Focus on Employee Experience

Did you know why employees tend to resist digital transformation? Because it will negatively impact employee experience. Not only do they have to start from scratch but they also have to deal with the extra workload. As a digital transformation leader, you need to tell them how digitally transforming your company can benefit employees. Once they realize that it is beneficial for them, they will support it, play their part and also be happier doing so.

Here are some of the ways you can use to improve your employee experience

• Provide employees with career growth opportunities
• Educate and train employees
• Help them acquire new skills and polish existing ones
• Increase employee engagement by asking them to give their feedback

4. Don’t Follow Others

Just because your competitor is using a particular technology for digital transformation does not mean you should do the same. Your business needs might be different than theirs so you should only opt for technologies that facilitate digital transformation. Avoid following the herd and jumping on the next big thing just because everyone else is doing it. Conduct a feasibility study and assess your needs to identify whether technology is actually useful for your web design business as well offline business and its customers or not. Make your team focus on technologies that are helpful for your business, not on hot technology trends.

5. Do Define Success

Just like setting goals is important, so does measuring success. You need to define what success really means for you. Defining success is not enough especially if you are not measuring your progress towards your digital transformation goals. Goals can help you create a strategy and guide technology implementation. This will make it easy for you to transform your organization digitally and deal with challenges that you might face along the way. Training results, project results and customer satisfaction are three key metrics you should keep an eye on.

6. Don’t Have A Small, Isolated Team

If you want to succeed at digital transformation, you need a team that is larger and integrated. Involve representatives of all the stakeholders in your team. The larger, more diverse and integrated your team will be, the easier it will be for you to take advantage of their diversified skill set throughout the process and gather the support needed to make your digital initiatives a hit. People who offer different perspectives and expertise are critical for the success of your digital transformation. This means that your digital transformation team must contain everyone from IT professionals to HR professionals and even middle and senior managers from different functional units.

Conclusion

It is hard to deny the fact that businesses are going through a paradigm shift and are looking to transform their work processes. The focus is slowly but surely shifting towards digital transformation. If you can do it the right way, you can reap its numerous benefits but sadly, it is easier said than done especially if you are new to the game then do a zerg rush. That is why it is important for emerging digital transformational leaders to stick to the basics and follow the best practices rather than chasing the next big thing when digitally transforming their companies. This way, they can achieve success more often than failure.

What things do you do and avoid when digitally transforming your company? Share it with us in the comments section below.