Technological advances in the past decade have transformed how businesses across industries operate. Nine of ten corporate executives indicated they have undergone at least one recent, large-scale digital transformation project. If your company isn’t incorporating technology into your operations, you risk falling behind the competition. Embracing digital transformation makes your company more agile and adaptable as market conditions shift. However, digital transformation challenges can keep you from reaching your goals.
Why Digital Transformation is Essential but Often Challenging
Incorporating technology into your operations makes it easier for your team to communicate and collaborate. Various platforms automate tedious tasks which makes your team more productive. Digital transformation also helps you collect and analyze data more accurately to guide decision making.
Common digital transformation challenges often impede your progress, making it harder to reap the benefits. According to McKinsey & Company, 70% of digital transformation projects fail to meet expectations. Understanding the biggest digital transformation challenges makes this failure rate less daunting. It will help you create strategies to overcome them and successfully bring your operations into the modern age.
Top Reasons Why Digital Transformation Programs Fail
You know that the right tech platforms can boost your business but implementing them often falls short. Prepare to face these challenges before you get started to improve your chances for success.
Lack of Clear Vision and Strategy
Many company leaders know what they want to achieve with digital transformation but fail to clearly define it. Neglecting the visioning and strategy phase of the digital transformation process can confuse your company’s leaders. You may experience business units with conflicting goals or face department leaders who don’t understand why you need to make changes at all.
Lacking a clear vision and strategy for your digital transformation program also makes it harder to prioritize projects. Digital transformation is a complex process that’s easier to tackle in phases. Your vision and strategy helps you determine which areas of your business need it the most.
Resistance to Change Within the Organization
Some of your employees may be more wary of changes which can make them skeptical of digital initiatives. You might face people at all levels of your company who don’t understand how new technology will help them. Some may also think that they will lose their jobs once the digital transformation process is implemented.
Complex Technology Integration
Unless you’re fully old school and operating with pen, paper, and filing cabinets, you are already using technology in your business. For digital transformation to be successful, you need to integrate new tech with your legacy systems. Without careful planning and process management, these integrations can disrupt your business.
Sometimes, your new technology is incompatible with your old systems so you have to replace multiple platforms, which is expensive. Other challenges include having to manually migrate your data and having to train your employees on new technology such as cloud computing and data analytics.
Skills Gaps and Insufficient Training
Unless your existing workforce is already tech-savvy, you may have skill gaps. This doesn’t necessarily mean your team won’t be able to use new platforms, but they might not understand all the features. If your team isn’t using new software to its full potential, you probably won’t see the results you were expecting from your digital transformation program.
How to Overcome Digital Transformation Challenges
Navigating the biggest challenges in digital transformation leads to a successful transformation. Use these strategies to address common issues facing digital transformation efforts.
Define a Clear Vision With Realistic Goals
Trying to overhaul your entire digital landscape at once is a bit like thinking your can climb Mount Everest with no preparation. Start your process by identifying the main reason you’re making these changes. Rank and prioritize your business objectives and identify how you can align new technology with these goals.
Once you’ve reached consensus on your main goals for the project, articulate your vision. Decide how your investments in technology will transform your business and develop the steps you will take to reach this vision.
Break your primary goal into smaller goals and objectives you can realistically achieve.
Build a Culture That Embraces Change
Even if you have a firmly established company culture, you can still teach your employees to embrace change. Start with clear and transparent communication and make it part of your management strategy.
When you’re making big changes to policies and processes, always tell your team why you’re doing it. Listen to their concerns and address them so they know you value their input. Finally, make the potential benefits of your changes clear to get your team to buy in to your vision.
Plan Technology Integration Carefully
When you’re working on your goals and vision for digital transformation efforts, take time to assess your current technology infrastructure. Note existing gaps and how new technology can fill them. Map your current processes and how you’re using technology. Interview users at every level in your company to see how they’re using tech and what features might make their jobs easier.
Clearly understanding your existing technology and infrastructure will help you look for new digital solutions that integrate easily or that you can implement without disrupting daily operations.
Invest in Upskilling and Training
Interviewing your team to assess how they use technology will show you potential skill gaps. Incorporate upskilling into your employee development program. Create training programs to help bridge your skill gaps and make people feel more comfortable using new technology.
Once you’ve invested in new technology, build training time into your schedule. If your employees are too busy with their everyday jobs to learn the new technology, they won’t use it to its potential.
Setting Up for Digital Transformation
As leading providers of supply chain technology, Surgere knows about digital transformation. We have helped multiple clients across the globe to evaluate their tech needs and deploy digital transformation solutions. We can work with you to understand your facility and create a roadmap that helps you meet your goals effectively. Don’t try to manage digital transformation on your own. Contact us and let us help you.
