CIO Insights on Redefining the Workplace, Winning the War for Talent

According to Nicola Dorling, a key element of successful digital transformation is focusing on the organisation's strategy and business model before implementing new technology. "Many organisations want to build into the technology, the existing business processes," she said. "So, if we're really transforming our business, why are we building exactly the same thing that we have today?". The key questions for organisations to consider in the planning phase are “what is the business model that you’re trying to get to? Where are you going to, and why are you going there?”.

Parth Gandhi acknowledged that not all digital transformations are successful, and that a key challenge is avoiding "spaghetti on the back" – a tangled mess of processes and systems that are difficult to untangle and improve. For a successful transformation, he recommends on focusing on the people side of transformation and engaging employees in the process to ensure success.

Kirk emphasised the need to strike a balance between technology change, organisational/people change, and process change. "Many transformations are nothing more than implementation projects," he said. "But transformation is a very valid topic. It’s about creating fundamentally different business outcomes or a step change in performance, not just an incremental improvement. A butterfly doesn’t come out of a cocoon and just walk faster than a caterpillar because it has longer legs. It’s fundamentally different. So, getting balance right is critical."

Digital transformation initiatives are fundamentally changing the way organisations do business. Digital transformation often involves large scale technology projects. However, these projects do not always have to be complex. Kirk Downey said the key to some of his most successful transformation projects was in fact keeping it simple.

“Transformation is a word used all over the place, and often it comes down to large scale IT implementations. For me, I’ve always looked for simplicity. A highlight of my transformation career was as CTO British Gas in the UK. We spent half a billion on ERP systems to simplify customer experience. There were 10,000 call centre agents. Keep things simple, keep it straight. Keep it small.”.

Digital transformation is often discussed in terms of the latest technologies and systems that are transforming the way businesses operate. However, as the panel emphasised, digital transformation is ultimately about the people who use and are impacted by these technologies.

Kirk shared with the group the importance of understanding the needs and challenges of the people who will be using a technology solution in order to deliver a better user experience. "Walk a mile in the shoes of the people you’re delivering for – look outside in," he said. "Go sit with the users, think about the users, rather than just looking at the functional side. We’re a world that’s becoming overloaded with information and technology and systems and processes and all kinds of complexity – distribution of workforce – and so if you don’t really understand what is driving these people and the issues, and the challenges they face, you won’t be able to improve that experience for them."

By focusing on the people side of things, organisations can make the process of digital transformation easier and more effective. In Parth Gandhi’s own words “You do digital transformation with your people, not to your people. So if you bring your people with you, then it makes the whole journey a lot simpler”. By keeping people at the core of digital transformation, a culture of innovation and collaboration, where employees are empowered to contribute to the success of the business, is created.