No matter what size or industry an organization is operating in, any modern-day business should now be a digital business. Whether you’re working in fabrication, recruitment, or a process outsourcing agency, the rapid digitization of the world will affect the way companies go about their operations. To stay competitive, brands must revamp their processes and adapt to the demands of the digital age.
Before you start making adjustments to your operations, you must always remember that growing your business in the digital world starts from within. Firms that emphasize the importance of company culture perform better and have higher chances of succeeding in their digital transformation efforts.
In fact, studies show that 90% of culture-focused companies claim that their culture was a significant factor in helping them accomplish their digital transformation efforts.
Even though every person is an avid user of digital technology, integrating innovations into your company can be very overwhelming. Technology has the power to shape behaviors, and if left unmanaged, it can be detrimental to your organization in more ways than one.
Before you discover how an excellent culture can help your company adapt to the world’s digital transformation, you should know why it matters in the first place.
Why Does Company Culture Matter in Digital Transformation
To simplify things, being a digital organization means that you’re a company powered by the latest tech innovations. However, digital transformation deals more with just updating your machines or improving your products. In your digital transition, you won’t only experience changes in your day-to-day operations, but you’ll also deal with changes in individual and company behavior.
Company culture refers to the values, characteristics, and behaviors that define the social and individual interactions within an organization. Aside from your company’s mission and vision, your culture acts as the code of conduct of your employees.
Regardless if they’re entry-level staff or department heads, a distinctive culture ensures that all members of your organization behave in a manner that is beneficial to the entire company.
With the fourth industrial revolution within reach, focusing on technology will allow you to stay relevant. But, if integrating the latest tech comes at the expense of your culture, you may be hindering your employees from being the best versions of themselves.
To fully become a digital organization, it’s vital to foster a successful company culture that values growth, transparency, and open-mindedness. Here’s a list of how certain company characteristics can help you deal with digital transformation smoothly.
- Transparency
Whether it’s a professional basketball team, a squad of soldiers, or a group of event organizers, effective communicators are required for any successful project. Transparency inspires teamwork, and companies that practice a culture of open communication have meaningful relationships in the workplace and better inter-departmental collaboration.
In the case of digital transformation or any kind of transition, you, along with your department heads, will have an easier time discussing the benefits of your proposed changes. Since communication lines are always open, it’ll be easier for you to know the sentiments of your employees and how it affects them.
On the other side of the fence, your employees will have a better understanding of why you’re making these adjustments and how it impacts the organization. Do employees feel that the new HR program can improve individual and team dynamics? Have you thoroughly explained the reasons why you’re implementing new software?
At the end of the day, optimizing performance is the goal. Knowing what your employees feel about these adjustments should help you decide whether you should push through with the proposed changes or not.
- Data-Driven
Data-driven companies are consistent, well-managed, and optimized. Other than using analytics for the creation of your sales and marketing strategies, you can use data to back up the adjustments you’ve made. Apart from being transparent and walking the talk, you should know that the most effective way to convince your employees is through results.
In this case, you should take some time to call for an all-hands meeting. If you’ve recently implemented AI into your customer service operations, yet most of your staff are still quite skeptical of the adjustment you’ve made, showing how the company has improved since it’s integration is the best way to hammer your point home.
Simply discussing change isn’t enough. By demonstrating wins and other metrics concerned with your company’s improvement, it’ll be easier for your employees to get on board with you. At the same time, giving credit where it’s due will also motivate them to work harder.
- Growth and Accountability
Organizations that encourage growth and accountability know that change doesn’t happen overnight. Behaviors and patterns are developed over time, so you should expect certain obstacles to arise. If you’ve just switched from one task management or other helpful tools for better communication, some of your employees are bound to have a tough time.
Digital illiteracy is a major challenge when it comes to digital transformation. When implementing a type of software, you should expect that some of your staff will be more comfortable using these as compared to others. Employees that aren’t as proficient may end up getting frustrated and feel like they’re being left behind.
To empower and aid your staff who are used to traditional methods, you should offer the necessary training. Upskilling their digital competencies will require a proper learning plan, so you may want to invest in mentorship programs and seminars.
- Disruptive Thinking
Businesses that get comfortable doing things the same way eventually fall victim to complacency. Since they’re reluctant to innovate and find new methods to improve operations, they tend to stick to their comfort zones and have a hard time accepting change when it’s necessary.
Companies that encourage disruptive thinking are filled with creative, open-minded, and flexible employees. Since they make it a point to go beyond standard processes and continuously improve operations, they’re quick to accept new ideas and are open to changes if it’s beneficial.
Looking at things in detail, employees who are willing to experiment and take risks will eventually develop themselves into excellent decision-makers.
Adapt to The Digital Age
Executives shape your company’s culture. As the world continues to transform digitally, your organization’s values, as dictated by senior officials, need to be reassessed and refreshed to stay relevant in the market. Similar to how traditional office practices and policies don’t match the demands of the modern age, the same principle can be applied when reshaping your company’s interactions.
Failed digital transformations occur because leaders aren’t able to change mindsets or build characteristics aligned with the applied changes. Even though the defining elements in digital transformation may vary depending on the industry an organization is working in, the consequences it can bring are able to threaten the stability of kind of any company.
Even if your employees have been with you for quite some time, you can’t go along with the assumption that they’ll gladly adjust for you just because they’ve been ordered to do so. For the shift in dynamics to be successful, your organization must actively foster the characteristics that were mentioned above.
Organizational changes will take some time before they come to fruition, so remember to stay patient. As long as your company culture has the right values, you’ll be able to adapt to any changes brought upon by technology.
