How digital transformation puts people at the forefront

Within the scope of digital transformation, there are many ways to look at how it impacts on businesses and most importantly, its employees. There are misconceptions around technology, mainly that the advances are making way for people to be replaced, either partially or altogether.

According to a recent study by ZDNet and Forrester, the unexpected and last-minute transition to remote working in March last year could mean failures for businesses in 2021. This isn’t because of technology, however, but down to people being excluded from the change management process.

Our approach to the digital workplace focuses on the importance of educating staff on new technologies and ensuring they understand how it affects their role, whilst ensuring that they are an integral part of digital transformation.

The surge in remote working isn’t just changing how we work, but changing whole business models in the process. Businesses that used to measure success by focusing on physical metrics, like store footfall for retail and student presence for universities, have had to reimagine their long-term plans and adapt extremely quickly.

The reality is that none of this adaptation would have been possible without technology. Students wouldn’t have been able to continue learning without online classes, and hospitality would have closed completely without platforms that enabled a delivery service.

A positive digital transformation experience comes from challenging the hierarchy and encouraging company-wide collaboration to communicate how changes will benefit each individual role.

Having open channels of communication throughout the business, not just within management teams, means that any concerns expressed by employees regarding the security of their role can be addressed. With the prevalence of redundancies and furloughed workers, this is an understandable consideration for employees.

Putting people at the forefront starts by working with them to create solutions to accommodate changes, whether it’s offering them an entirely different role, opportunity for increased responsibility or a different work schedule. Employees are more likely to refuse initiatives – such as digital transformation – if 1. They don’t understand them 2. They feel excluded and 3. They fear redundancy.

In summary, digital transformation wouldn’t be possible without people, as we are the ones who implement it, especially in the digital workplace and internal communications space. Technology isn’t something that will replace us; it’s something that facilitates remote working through platforms such as Microsoft Teams for improved communications, regardless of location.

If organisations can see technology as a help, not a hinderance, digital transformation will inspire the workforce to continue striving for business growth in these challenging times.