Whilst investment in new technology can help a business to reap rewards, it’s the people using it that will drive truly successful digital transformation.
Our previous blog has looked at how to create a roadmap for digital transformation, touching on the importance of buy-in across your entire organisation. For a business to adopt new technology to drive efficiency, every team member from trainees through to senior management needs to understand the ‘what, why, when, who and how’ behind the changes.
And it’s a two-way street – lines of communication need to be open and effective to allow for authentic employee engagement before, during and after new technology is adopted.
This blog will explore the strategies for, and benefits of, engaging with employees to ensure a smooth transition as your organisation undergoes its digital transformation.
Where to start?
It all starts at ground level. You won’t be able to create an effective map for digital transformation unless you fully understand the pain points felt across each department of your organisation, and to do this you’ll need to engage with staff from the beginning.
Whilst management may have a good sense of the areas and technologies that can drive efficiencies, bringing your whole organisation on board from the outset will benefit the process in two important ways.
Firstly, it will allow you to garner feedback which may not have been effectively communicated to or through management. This will help you to spot the common themes across departments and the entire organisation, or highlight issues which may have been overlooked by others.
Secondly, it will bring a sense of inclusion to your team, showing that their voice matters when it comes to key decisions and that their feedback is valued as part of the bigger picture.
Embed a pro-digital mindset across your organisation
As part of garnering feedback from your teams, it’s crucial that they understand the ‘why’ behind it. You will need to be an ambassador for positive change and an advocate of digital growth.
Nobody likes change for the sake of change, and with any organisation there will be some reluctance to adopting new ways, and some employees with a “we’ve always done it this way” mindset. By extolling the virtues of digital and showing examples of its effectiveness, you will be able to bring employees with you on the business transformation journey with a forward-thinking positivity to drive change for good.
Communicate the benefits
An important message to communicate to your organisation is how the right technology, adopted in the right way, can improve efficiency and be a catalyst for advancement and innovation – better for your customers, better for your business and better for your employees.
On an individual level, digital transformation also provides opportunities for employees to upskill, learning how to use new systems and technology. This can be an attractive part of their professional development and help to encourage that all-important positivity and understanding.
Whether using off-the-shelf technologies or investing in bespoke software solutions, experts in close consultation with your organisation will help to steer you onto the right path.
With benchmarking done, objectives set and solutions fully considered, you can now create a comprehensive roadmap to digital transformation success – your sat nav to guide you through the entire journey.
But it doesn’t end there – you need to get your passengers on board before you set off…
Senior management buy-in
Whilst engaging with all employees from the bottom up, it’s equally important to bring a top-down approach into your engagement strategy. Across your entire organisation, your key messaging regarding efficiency, innovation, personal development etc will need to be reinforced whenever possible.
Your senior management team will form one of the key lines of communication, so you need to ensure that they are on board, fully briefed and have a comprehensive understanding of your digital transformation roadmap.
This will allow them to engage with employees, respond to queries and address any concerns. Most importantly, it will help to stop the flow of disinformation from spreading. Having that ear to the ground will give you an insight into the factors your employees are concerned about, and allow you to react accordingly.
A useful tip at this stage is to formulate some FAQs. What are employees likely to be concerned about and what might they ask? Considering all questions and responses, particularly the most difficult ones, will give your senior management confidence to engage with their teams in line with the company stance.
Employee champions
Another subtle way to reinforce your messaging is through word of mouth throughout your organisation. There will be certain influential individuals who will be able to communicate the positives of your digital transformation roadmap to their peers. Knowing who these individuals are and providing them with the information they need to communicate the positives of your strategy to their co-workers will complement your ongoing bottom-up, top-down approach to employee engagement.
At this point it’s also worth considering the fact that there may be ‘difficult’ employees who could be resistant to change and become a disruptive influence on the process. Identifying any potential blockers and considering a plan to mitigate their influence will help to keep you on the front foot.
Lines of communication
Knowing how and when to communicate with your organisation regarding the progress of your digital transformation is going to be an important part of your engagement strategy.
Communicate too often and they might become disinterested or oblivious to the ‘noise’ of the project. Equally, communicate too infrequently and there could be a feeling amongst employees that they are being kept in the dark.
Initially, establish when and how you will communicate updates across your organisation, and make sure that everyone knows when and where they can access information.
It may sound obvious, but you should also reassure all employees that if they have any questions or concerns, they can speak to their line manager or the person in charge of your digital transformation project.
Having two-way communication channels open will help your project to succeed, allowing any issues to be addressed way in advance of the adoption of any new tech. It will also ensure that employees are briefed on the project and know everything they should expect, from the schedule of training through to testing and the final rollout.
Keep going
Digital transformation, and the associated employee engagement, is not a sprint, it’s a marathon. Armed with your roadmap you will know how to get there – the key is to maintain focus and drive forward with positivity and optimism.
Your hard work in communicating your messaging across your organisation will help to keep your most valuable assets, your staff, right behind you. With the right mindset and planning, before you know it you’ll be ready to cross the line and reap the rewards of your digital transformation.
At Parseq we make it easier for you to benefit from optimised document, financial and payments processing through digital transformation. If you would like support with any part of your digital transformation journey including employee engagement, please get in touch.
