According to the event Cultura Digital Latam, carried out by the training consultancy Exec, digital transformation is about people engagement. The concept, which defines a state in which operations and processes are totally dependent on new technologies, should begin to be implemented with employees, even before the tools.
The characteristics of this term are customer focus, agility, and cost reduction. To learn more about how to achieve innovation with this phenomenon, follow the article.
When did digital transformation come about?
The concept of digital transformation is recent, however, has gone through some resignifications. For that reason, it’s hard to specify when the term came up. Many entrepreneurs still think that the term refers to the indiscriminate use of loose technological tools, as they appear in the market. However, we will see later that this is something deeper.
We can, however, dwell on its most current meaning. This version was updated at the beginning of this century and began to address new technologies in the market, such as Big Data, Business Intelligence, Blockchain, the Internet of Things, Cloud Computing, and Machine Learning.
From that moment on, the concept began to represent a complete change in the culture of companies. Not only the use of some tools but the final state of scanning of all processes of the company. Technologies take on the central strategic role and control operations, allowing greater agility, efficiency, and fewer costs.
With this new paradigm, new companies and different ways of doing business emerged. These organizations focus on providing a differentiated experience for their customers, strive to meet the needs associated with the technological world, and invest heavily in smarter management, characterized by the use of data.
What is your current impact on society?
With the democratization of access to technology, people and companies meet with ease. Customers seek mobility, autonomy, and practicality for day-to-day decisions, and modern companies try to offer this. Digital transformation generates innovation without major difficulties and obstacles, making everything easier and more agile.
This phenomenon offers more speed and contributes to the resolve immediately. Even the expression “internet time”, used by developers to describe how everything is very fast in the virtual environment, makes a lot of sense in this context.
Thus, it is easy to realize that the relationship between consumers and brands has changed as well. Customers are more demanding today because they have several options and can select the one that best meets their goals. They prioritize some principles and seek a company that adapts to their values. Therefore, the approaches of managers should accompany this change.
Another impact of this concept is the focus on some key concepts, such as collaboration, creativity, efficiency, and innovation. These terms should not only be studied but applied in order to provide the changes that companies need.
Is it possible to survive in the market without adhering to this trend?
If we are talking about digital transformation, we are also talking about a considerable increase in competition. After all, the internet and new technologies provide the ability to open a business more easily and reach the ideal audience without spending too much. Therefore, investing in this phenomenon is an important strategy to ensure competitive advantage.
Transformation is already a reality today, and companies that don’t look at it are already losing money, opportunities, and profitable businesses. The more managers think and are in doubt about whether they should join or not, the more they lose to competitors.
If companies decide not to join, they will see their customers change and embrace different alternatives. As other companies evolve into more efficient business models, the resilient organization will remain cost-free and manageable, without taking advantage of the best that technologies offer.
How to prepare for digital transformation?
Let us now deal with the main pillars of transformation and how it is possible to prepare for this phenomenon.
Survey of areas in need of immediate change
One of the first steps is the survey of areas that need profound change. Of course, we are talking about a cultural process, which requires all sectors to be aligned, but we need to start with some key points. It is necessary to plan well how this will be done in order to start the process successfully and stimulate the evolution of digitization.
Employee engagement
As we have already said, the transformation is unfeasible without the support and engagement of the company members. It is important to educate employees well and ensure that everyone is dialoguing in the same language, with the same objectives. Preparing people will be crucial to make the use of technologies the best possible and for the innovation-oriented mindset to be truly implemented successfully.
Cultural change
It is also important to focus on the company’s cultural revolution, which is essential for the phenomenon we are discussing. The management mindset should keep pace with new trends, focus on new tools and prioritize efficiency, cost control, and customer satisfaction. Technologies should be viewed differently as a central element in administration.
This cultural change must be driven by the constant search for evolution of processes and approaches. It is essential to focus on the relevant points of this phenomenon, such as those we have already mentioned: collaboration, creativity, and innovation.
Process automation
One of the concrete strategies for the implementation of transformation is the automation of processes. It is the first practical approach of a company that seeks to achieve this level of market compliance. This process begins with some specific operations, monitoring the results, and should be followed by replication to other areas.
With this stage, the company starts to depend even more on the technologies, with greater autonomy for the tools. In this way, you can eliminate operational bottlenecks, operating errors, time losses, and cost uncontrol. Thus, employees are freer to work in more strategic and creative roles.
Focus on customer experience
The customer experience is one of the biggest focuses of companies in this phenomenon. The goal of digitizing processes and deepening the necessary cultural changes is to create a closer relationship with the consumer, meeting their pains in a segmented and precise way. Therefore, to enter this phenomenon, the focus on the client is one of the most relevant points.
Digital transformation totally changes the dynamics of companies in all sectors. From customer relationships to employee management. For this reason, it is important to learn about this concept and its implications, but also to invest in the steps necessary to make it a reality.
After all, in times of high competition, not aligning with this phenomenon is losing money and positions in the market, in addition to risking the sustainability of the business.
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