Especially for companies that have been doing things a certain way for a long period of time, change can be painful for both companies and individuals. If you’re currently undergoing a digital transformation or thinking about it, then you should be aware of some of the mistakes that many business owners make.
Deep changes require change management. Regardless of the size of your operation, some things can make your desired change ineffective, which could lead to expensive problems that can delay achieving your desired objectives.
When we break it down, people don’t change unless they want to, unless they have a reason that is backed up by consistency, progress, and effectiveness. Let’s focus on a couple of digital transformation mistakes you should avoid and how you can hopefully be more successful in accelerated productive change.
Digital Transformation Mistakes and How To Avoid Them
You’ve probably come to realize that even with the great benefits that come with digital transformation and strategy, there is room for error. Here are a few things you should watch out for before you get started.
Focusing Too Much On The “Digital” Aspect
The first of three digital transformation mistakes you should avoid is getting too hung up on the digital aspect part of the change. When you break it down and consider your reason for the change, it’s about business transformation, and technology is simply the means to achieve this end. The pitfall comes when business leaders spend all of their effort on designing and funding technical solutions without spending time thinking about how it will affect the business as a result.
Your plans for digital transformation should start with a plan on how you want your business and your people to work differently. Though the platform created might make certain aspects of work more efficient, it might fail in maximizing or optimizing the return on your investment. The tech side is only a way to get the most of your plan for business change. Don’t just start taking on new digital initiatives just for the sake of the trend. Make sure that any new technology you invest in has a sense of purpose backing it up so that your team can focus on the future success of the business.
Not Acknowledging The Individuals That Make Up The Company
When business leaders looking to invoke change forget about the individuals make up the company, their efforts for digital transformation can quickly fail. Every team in your organization sees your business through a different lens. They likely have different interests and a different set of core beliefs. Each individual also sees things differently, and most likely have their own idea about what is the most important thing.
Most change-management programs focus on trying to persuade people as to why they should change without giving them the bigger picture. Change means uncertainty and a lack of confidence in the new system, so they might not be excited about implementing processes or procedures they aren’t familiar with.
If your organization is trying to execute one or more digital transformation projects, then we caution you to carefully consider how those projects will affect the entire company, team by team. When you only focus on one specific area, then the organization as a whole will no longer be unified, which could cause problems down the road. Our advice is to make sure that your digital transformation strategy is working in coordination with each of your teams to see how your changes will affect the other.
Lack of Communication and Inconsistent Strategy
The third major mistake is the overall lack of communication. It’s no secret that communication is the core of successful digital transformation. Your entire company must be on the same page with what the main goal is for each project. When this is clear, it will be easier to organize your projects and make sure they are purposeful and necessary.
Specifically, we want to caution against overwhelming your organization with too many digital transformation initiatives, as this is when communication begins to crumble. Every person in your company should be aware of what digital changes are occurring and why they are occurring. When communication is consistent and solid about the reason why the company is implementing change, then it will help the individuals be more prepared and eager to help with the change.
Additionally, we believe that lack of communication goes hand in hand with a lack of strategic planning. Your business goals will not be able to scale and grow if your teams aren’t working together consistently across all channels. It’s important to consider each phase of the process that will not only impact your employees but the overall customer experience as well.
You might even build the best digital transformation tech in the world, but if you’re inconsistent with the execution, then your opportunity for success can fly out the window. As soon as you start building your systems, consider every aspect of how the transformation will affect your business – from communication to daily changes, to overall customer experience.
OnScreen Can Help Make Your Digital Transformation a Success
Though digital transformation and all the steps that come with that can seem overwhelming, but our point isn’t to scare you. Instead, we hope that you will now be more aware of how to start implementing the changes or at least know what to avoid when working with a third party company. We know that digital transformation teams implementing SAP often work against deadlines and they can quickly get short on resources. OnScreen can help you increase project success rates by reducing the amount of time spent on developing projects and also reduce training development and support time.
We allow you to rapidly develop interactive guides on-screen to help your business users complete updated processes error and frustration-free.
When you’re ready for a better system, a better way to implement change, and increase your business efficiency, then we can help. Contact us today and let’s discuss some possible solutions to maximize your efforts and make sure you reach your goals.