How can you improve digital workplace transformation?
Now that you have a greater understanding of what digital workplace transformation is, you are likely wondering how your organization can enact such change. While no two companies will have the same exact roadmap for digital workplace transformation initiatives, there are basic guidelines that you can follow. These steps for transformation include :
1. Assess your current digital workplace
Before a worthwhile transformation can take place, you need to understand your current system and its strengths and weaknesses . Coordinate with all of your departments (not just IT), and survey employees regarding the tools they use every day. Ask for opinions as to what would make their jobs easier and interpret the data for common issues. Then evaluate which of these issues are the biggest contributors to productivity loss and job dissatisfaction. Ensure these problem areas are high priorities of your digital workplace transformation plan.
2. Set a clear vision
Once your assessment is complete, work with leaders throughout the company and solidify a coherent, unified vision. If your proposal is muddied or otherwise unclear, it runs the risk of employees not buying in because they don’t understand the benefits. A digital transformation needs to be championed from the top down . Currently, over 50% of transformation efforts are led by either the CIO or CEO. These C-level executives should unify and sell the program to lower management, who then need to sell it to their teams. Each employee should be able to see exactly how the initiative will help them.
3. Foster communication, collaboration and connection
These are three of the main issues that digital transformation seeks to improve. The modern workplace requires that employees are seamlessly able to communicate and collaborate . Your transformation plan must put these considerations at the forefront. The days of emailing all company information are long gone.
Your solution should encompass messaging applications, internal wiki pages to spell out policies or provide updates on projects, and social media-inspired toolsets that increase engagement and connection. These tools should run on different platforms, such as mobile and desktop across common operating systems. The LumApps social intranet is one such solution that incorporates all of the functions listed above and presents them in an elegant central user interface that’s easy to understand.
4. Provide the necessary training
Any workplace change is stressful for employees. In fact, data suggests 55% of workers going through a change to business processes suffer from prolonged stress . Stress can lead people to resist necessary change because the fear of the unknown lies at the heart of many types of work-related stress.
This means one of the most effective ways to alleviate these anxieties is to provide the proper training on new tools and business processes. Break down the tools, and explain why they are being implemented. This allows employees to come to grips with the change and get comfortable with it. Once they’re more comfortable, the resistance should dissipate.
As such, it’s very important to ensure that any new technology solutions you utilize are well-documented by your IT department or the third party vendors that created them. Most social intranets were designed with ease of use in mind. Combined with detailed documentation, a social intranet can be a powerful ally during your transformation project. Your training team can develop a targeted curriculum of training for all of the teams that will be using it.
5. Be transparent throughout the process
Transparency is important because it allows employees to feel like they are part of the process . People will know where the company is on its roadmap, and everyone can work together to overcome common obstacles. Hiding problems may seem effective at reducing panic, but rumors and gossip can break through and undermine it. It’s best to be truthful about issues along your journey and reach out for feedback regarding how to get past them. This builds camaraderie and team spirit as well. In fact, corporate transparency has been shown to have a host of beneficial effects, and the old adage of “honesty is the best policy” rings true.
Follow these guidelines and adapt to your specific business needs as required so that your digital transformation projects succeed. In the modern business world, organizations without rich blueprints for their technology solutions will find themselves at a significant disadvantage. All industries are becoming increasingly digitized, so embracing this shift will help your company prosper.