Digital transformation : my experience

This is a huge subject. Thus, I will only give my opinion after 4 years in a big group conduction its digital transformation. Because, while discussing with different persons from different companies, each time challenges sounded familiar and similar.

Digital transformation is not about digital and I.T

To me, technologies allow us to do thing differently, usually in a faster way and often more collaboratively.

Less paper, more communication, more information (and ways not to get lost in it), ways to know better your clients, give better customer's experience. You can communicate not only with limited paper but with VR, videos, podcast, audios, more articles and texts, quizz, webinar.

Digital changes the interactions : B2B, B2C, B2B2C, Patient2doctors...

Digital changes the interaction internally.

It also changes the ways with live, consume information directly and indirectly.

One word is redundant here : it changes...

So, like every other change, it needs to be explained. People need to understand WHY they can use the changes and HOW, doing WHAT.

From what I heard, there is usually in big old companies 20% of early adopters and more than 50% neutral. They do not feel concerned. They can see they work changes, their objectives are different. And then, instead of embracing the change or reading about it to have constructive arguments against changes, people are just saying they are not happy.

This is normal.

Let's put ourselves in their shoes.

And listen to this video of Maud Bailly. CDO @Accor. HERE

For instance, we are a person (what ever the gender, it does not matter), and what ever the age, who has been working for the past 15 years in a company. Doing your job in a certain way. And let's be positive, we are good at it.

Well, the market your industry is in needs to evolve and the company needs to adapt to stay competitive. Thus, it evolves, it transforms with new technologies, new means, news ways of working.

But, remember, we are an employee in a big group. Thus I can see the company changing but I feel lost. And I might say : "even if I want to do things right, I don't know how to do it", "I already have too much work, I can't manage to learn new technologies", "I do not care, I will leave the company soon", "It is for young people, I am too old for that", "HR departements are not listening, I feel lost"...

Well, I thinks that's too bad a end of a story.

3 steps could answer par of the challenge. And one advice : start with volunteers !

Acculturation

This is the WHY. To motivate people to follow, a good way is to explain. Transformation is not a drama. It is a cool necessary new adventure. Like all living things : adapt to survive.

How to do so ? Couples of examples :

- The role of the head is crucial. The CEO of the company and top management explain HOW the transformation helps the company. A bit a vision usually is expected from collaborators.

- Have inspiring experts/testimonials talking about it in your company; take volunteers to discover how it is done outside. Let them bring best practices and broadcast it internally in your company. To give examples, dynamism, rythm.

Answering questions like "Look, Dear Sales team, at GROUP X, they rank top in the customer success experience, they do it differently, let's see how and learn".

They learn something new how their job. It is a win-win action. Not paying a visit to some random service doing a total different job they could not even see similarities with.

Do not make it complicated. We do not ask people to be digital experts. Thus, it is the time to remember that words are powerful and to use them carefully to motive and boards the teams. One ship, One direction and a Vision. After all "why are we putting so much money to transform ? " that's a pretty natural question. A kid would start saying "why ? "....

Ways of working

Let's use the new tools that could help the employees doing their job with more comfort and efficiency !

Does this dialogue sound familiar and yet ineffective :

- Hi, I need to work on the same documents with my colleagues. Some a quite heavy. But we need to work on it at the same time and be sure we have shared to latest information. Could we use service like Slack ? or even Google Drive ?

- "there is no way you can use these ! Not (company name) standard. Not too sure abut security". Please put it on the company's server and share the link by email to your colleagues.

OR

"The global teams are working on an internal solution. Please wait".

Tools exist ! No need of having too many more. That is not the point. The goal is again : Comfort and Efficiency thanks to existing tools. You can have the DSI teams works on the security or internal rules to make sure the is no abuses.

But I think rare are the employees who are not using Wetransfer to work with external agencies.

>> Pick a few tools, that answer the needs and train your team. In presential session and leave them tutorials and ask for (rewarded?) ambassadors.

>> to know what they need, understand their work and ask them. Agencies a dealing with this every days. Couples of names at the end of this post.

Communication

Last but not least, communicated. Not too much. Not not enough. Hard is not it ?

And I must say that I can share examples I liked but not the perfect recipe.

As usual, when starting an action. Start's giving the voice to the kid inside you : "WHY".

Why should I communicate ? What kind of behavior am I expecting from the persons I want to talk to?", then "HOW". Knowing them and which channels of information they use...what is the most efficient way for everyone to work on this without having to work twice the usual time ?

Examples :

• Internal Daily Journal News. "today, this team has done this, and learnt that".

• online best practices internal forum

• human ressources

• ambassadors

• guide-line and tutorials

• inspiring interventions and workshop

WE ARE HUMAN AFTER ALL (like a lots of singers say)

I think we need to remember that companies are made of women and men. Also, machines but not 100% yet ? :)

Women and Men need to be trusted as adults and taking into consideration.

Remember that people have 8h/day to :

1. get to their goals by doing their jobs

2. Manage to learn how to do more

3. have time for talks (I am not talking about reunionite here")

4. Have the time to deal with all the daily emergencies

5. Understand and see how they can evolve to always be comfortable and motivated by they job to be good at it.

Conclusion 1 : without help, very few could managed to do so.

Conclusion 2 : I truly believe in the Human Ressources and in the Management to remember the beautiful work they do : Managing talent. The right person for the right job at the right time.

Fews companies that you could meet with and lectures:

• https://hubinstitute.com/

• https://www.mckinsey.com/

Readings :

• https://blog.marketing-management.io/4-lectures-indispensables-pour-comprendre-la-transformation-digitale-de-lentreprise

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_transformation

Podcasts :

• https://soundcloud.com/vlan_podcast/van-8-la-transformation-digitale-ne-peut-etre-quune-intention-avec-claude-chaffiotte

• https://soundcloud.com/vlan_podcast/vlan-21-transformation-digitale-la-realite-est-loin-des-effets-dannonce