Written by Liquid
Preparing for the future is essential, and for many companies digital transformation is a key way to innovate. Over the last few years, many companies have prioritized getting their digital transformation complete. If your business is looking to transition efficiently, there are numerous strategies that can help.
Transformation is an IT Priority
Digital transformation is most commonly known as integrating digital technology into the entirety of a business, touching on all areas. It fundamentally changes how a business can operate, while delivering value to customers. Plus, it is also a change on the cultural level and one that allows organizations to continuously change the status quo through improvements.
Digital transformation is a priority for many businesses, from small to enterprise companies. Keynotes at conferences, panel discussions, articles, and awareness of studies are a top priority when it comes to how businesses can stay competitive and relevant as the world becomes even more reliant on digital tools. Digital transformation has been an IT priority for years.
Where Transitions Impact the Most
Transitions further into the digital realm can positively affect all aspects of a business. The financial elements of a company often see the greatest impact when it comes to efficiency and benefits, at least early on. By digitizing financial information, companies can easily see where their finances are going, eliminate discrepancies, and prevent double payments.
The data can be organized in ways that can help drive a business's direction, too. The term digital transformation has become widely used, and in some cases, it has become a broad term. That said, rethinking old operating models, encouraging experimentation, and increasing the ability to respond to team members, rivals, and customers, make it quite impactful.
The Reason Companies Do Digital Transformation
While the term can mean many different things to many different people, why a business moves forward with digital transformation can point to what it means to the company. Some companies initially focus on improving their customer experience, while others are looking to use it to reduce staff friction, elevate profitability, increase productivity, or eliminate the need for staff doing repetitive tasks.
Increasing efficiency through digital transformation is a common goal. That said, it also gets into the leadership and culture of a company. Understanding what operating more in the digital realm means to your company is an essential part of the process, whether your business is financial, pharmaceutical, retail, service-oriented, or agricultural.
Digital Transformation is About Survival
An organization’s ability to adapt quickly is essential, particularly in a world where supply chain disruptions, time management issues, rapidly changing customer expectations, and fast-paced marketing is essential. For these reasons and many others, the strong demand for digital transformation is not going anywhere anytime soon. Use the following four strategies to assist in ramping up your digital transformation strategies.
Embrace Digital Transformation
There is more to digital transformation than purchasing and deploying new technologies. While it is an important part of the equation in many cases, there is a bigger picture to pay attention to as well. The stockholders and company need to buy into the change, and the leadership needs to promote the adoption of the technologies.
Businesses must look into their desired outcomes and commit to making them happen. Setting goals that are both clear and can be achieved is also essential. Use this information to draft a solution that can get your digital transformation off the ground and adopted.
Use Mobile Solutions
While it started as a goal for website designers, the term “mobile–first” has expanded since its initial definition. Mobile solutions are a fantastic way to increase automation, improve workflows and create improved experiences for customers. Teams can also benefit from improvements, and many professionals have stated that mobile adaptation is a large part of modern digital transformation.
Businesses can use mobile platforms to improve upon the manual processes that slow them down. Digital workflows can also be used on the go while helping companies exceed expectations. Fantastic things happen when a company can provide both online and in-person experiences that exceed expectations. In addition, employees can contribute no matter where they are.
Mobile adoption also provides many other benefits, including protection from disruption, cost reduction, and future-proofing. The goal is to improve productivity and efficiency, ultimately lowering expenses and creating better stability. The world is moving towards new technologies and replacing processes that are done manually, as well as manual workflows, with digital solutions that can also help provide valuable data that keeps companies more accurately forecasting for the future.
Make Employees Part of the Process
Companies looking into digital transformation should inspire employees to be a more collaborative part of the process. Employees should feel invested in the process, which will make them more willing to put in the work to educate themselves and get on board. Outside of this, a company’s staff can also provide insights into their needs and workflows. This is critical information when it comes to designing an effective technology-based strategy. Without gathering the necessary information from employees, user adoption can suffer, which is one of the most prominent reasons digital transformation initiatives fail.
Continue to Talk About the Benefits
Let your staff know about the benefits of digital transformation, and keep your employees engaged. When a company’s staff is engaged and invested, they are more likely to adopt changes. While some of this can be discussing the importance of digital transformation, it is also beneficial to consistently let employees know that they are an important part of the company and its overall success. Keeping them connected with the business’s brand is key when it comes to successful change.
Outside of this, the digital platforms a company adopts should help a business's team deliver the experience customers, vendors, and contractors deserve. Understanding the goals of a seamless experience and how all parts of a company and digital transformation should work together can help set the business up for success.
Focus on the Positives
There are many positives financial departments can get from adopting more digital solutions. Digital solutions like Liquid provide checks and balances, allowing people to double-check invoices and payments more easily, for example. Providing your finance department with more information that is easily accessible can also help pinpoint where things can be improved.
Many finance departments are hesitant to adopt digital transformation, preferring to stay in the comfort of the systems and processes they have been using. For teams that have transitioned successfully, however, they most often find they do repetitive tasks less often. They also report having more time to tackle other processes that need a human touch.
In addition, there is most often less stress when it comes to potential human error. Teams who stress less about the accuracy of the items handled by automated systems tend to have higher work satisfaction. Tools like Liquid, in addition to other digital transformations, can improve team members' happiness and employee retention. By communicating these positives, and others, it is easier to get your team on board, all while helping your company prepare for the future.
