Don’t overlook the human element in digital transformation
The global pandemic gave businesses around the world the opportunity to take stock and gain valuable lessons – including in the way that they adapt their business strategy around core pillars of people, processes, and technology. One of the main challenges of digitization is the human element: Digital transformation requires more employee training and transition to new operational demands.
Telefónica Tech, Pipol’s mother company, has made a survey among 810 IT professionals that gives insight into what technology solutions their businesses relied on during the pandemic and how these would serve them in the long run.
The survey found that 47% of IT decision makers reported a need for greater collaboration from the business to make better ICT decisions. 44% of respondents also said that although they realized greater technology efficiencies, they now need people-based processes to catch up with technology. 39% reported that they need greater employee training and/or education to meet new operational demands.
Post-pandemic top challenges
More than anything, the survey emphasizes that there is a human connection that needs to be facilitated throughout any digital transformation initiative. As we come out of the pandemic, we need to:
- Address the scarcity of talent and digital dexterity.
- Enable multiple and competing business outcomes. The need to stay ahead of the competition during a period of rapid digital transformation can’t be underestimated.
- Redesign work for a hybrid model. It is well-recognized that there are many benefits to the continuation of remote working, with the office still needing its place. But of course, allowing workers the flexibility to work where they choose comes with its own hurdles.
This demonstrates that for infrastructure decisions to be driven by long-term strategy, we need to think beyond technology to completely reimagine the way businesses operate.
Next steps
For businesses in the recovery phase of the pandemic, the strategy should be less about using technology to fight fires and much more about planting digital seeds for the future. Businesses should:
- Consider the application of technology holistically across the whole organization.
- Identify where your skills shortages exist by creating an inventory of the skills that your employees already have and highlight any shortfalls.
- Make sure that the right people are using the right technology, but also consider that there may be a reluctance from employees to embrace new technology.
- View training as an ongoing initiative to make sure that the benefits of a digital solution are ingrained among teams and business divisions
