How to start the Digital Transformation Journey

Many businesses acknowledge the value of digital transformation today. Sadly, they are losing out on the many benefits of digitally transforming their business because of their inability to start the journey.

Our previous article on “How to Digitally transform your Business” promised to provide a practical and simple step-by-step process for initiating your digital transformation journey.

The point is that digital transformation is not a goal, it’s a journey. A continuous cycle of transformation using technology initiatives to achieve your business goals. Technology keeps evolving so businesses who want to transform digitally will have to evolve to ensure a continuous successful transformation. But where do they start? Below are the key steps in initiating your digital transformation journey.

1. Identify desired business outcome

What do you want to achieve as a business? What are your business goals? Establish long-term goals for the business and break them down into short-term and intermediate goals. Remember, knowing where you are going is the first step in getting to your destination.

2. Assess the current state of your business

This assessment will focus on your company leadership, company culture, employee skill sets, operations, technology tools, customer experience, etc. the objective assessment of your company situation will serve as the foundation for driving your business transformation journey.

3 . Determine the Gap

Measure the difference between your current business status and your business goals (Delta of steps 1 & 2).  This will enable you to determine the resources and the time needed to achieve their set targets.

4. Create a digital transformation strategy

Document how the business can employ digital initiatives to achieve company goals. It should outline the strategic objectives, technological tools required, department and individual roles, implementation schedule, and budget. This will serve as the blueprint for embarking on your digital transformation journey.

5. Get the Executive and Employee buy-in

Lack of executive and employee support has affected the successful implementation of implementing digital transformation strategy.  So involve the executives and employees of the business at the beginning of the journey. Make them drivers, not passengers if you want your digital transformation strategy to succeed.

6. Provide Training & Support

The continuous communication of the value of the implementation of the digital strategy to the entire organization will enable you to have their buy-in. However, to enable them to be effective in implementing the strategy, you need to train them all especially key drivers (department & unit heads) of the strategy and provide continuous support.

7. Launch the Digital Transformation Journey

Commence the implementation of the strategy by setting the commencement date and key milestones timelines. Have regular meetings to review implementation challenges and provide practical measures to deal with them.

8. Keep up with Constant Technology changes

Technological tools, employee needs, and customer expectations keep evolving. Your digital transformation journey strategy will be successful if it’s designed to function in the dynamic and evolving technological world

No matter how effective your digital transformation strategy may be, you will encounter some challenges. Your success will depend on identifying these challenges before they come up and designing possible solutions. The next article will focus on overcoming the challenges of implementing a digital transformation strategy.

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