Change is the new constant for SMEs

In the second of our 2-part discussion on Digital Transformation, we dive deeper into the trend, identifying relevant examples from within the Small and Medium Enterprise market sector, and highlighting commonly used Tricks and Tips to guide your journey.

 

The Five Pillars of Digital Transformation

• While Digital Transformation is not just about the tech, it is still an important component that can optimize business efficiency. Ramp up your digital services design, collaboration, and content production rapidly to keep customers engaged.

• For example, many gyms have launched online content for Spinning to engage with customers amid COVID-19 restrictions. The campaigns invite participants to use their spin bikes at home and offer them a range of instructors, beats, and ability levels to choose from. Instead of 20 spin bikes, a typical session can now accommodate 1000 customers at a time – only limited by your broadband service and marketing campaign.

 

2. Customer Experience

• A good Digital Transformation is customer-driven, with a solid customer experience to get sales. Focus your advancements on the things that your clients value. Switch your mindset from being product-focused to being customer-focused.

• For example, many restaurants have made the change to offer a weekly meal service to customers who are now forced to stay at home, as opposed to promoting their traditional food and menu harder. Both traditional in-house meals and subscription models can co-exist when the new normal returns.

 

3. Company Culture

• Staff must be in lockstep in terms of the outcomes to be achieved. Build a culture of innovation and experimentation where testing, trial and error, and learning are embraced.

• For example, enable remote work by using collaboration tools to stay connected with your team via virtual conference platforms. But be aware of the following:

Staff are embracing change.  Help them understand changes and take ownership of the change. Encourage open communication and collaboration to overcome change resistance.

Workloads might have changed. Help people recognize the part they’re playing and how they contribute to value creation. Ensure that workloads stay balanced despite any reassignments.

Upskill to address talent scarcity and skill gaps.  If some or even all of your employees just aren’t equipped for the transformation, ensure they have the training and support they need to be successful in the new environment -- rather than assuming they can no longer do the work.

Work culture might have shifted. Remote work presents new benefits and challenges that can influence your entire company. Ensure that staff are not afraid to ask questions or challenge existing ideas and that they all stay committed to similar values and priorities.

Reinforce employee engagement.  Learning, engagement, and retention are linked. Ensure staff remain engaged when not in the office and participate in work activities. Overcome the sense of isolation from remote work by encouraging virtual team events, games, and competitions using online resources.

Your workforce may need to be cross-functional. Developing talent agility requires cross-functional, collaborative teams to be the norm and abandoning a silo mentality. 

 

4. Business Requirements

Drop nice-to-have features and operations. Focus on the core business functions that will help you achieve your desired outcomes when preparing your roadmap.

 

5.  Business Environment and Digital Landscapes

Digital Transformation efforts should involve understanding what competitors are doing, what customers are expecting, and what the current technology landscape can deliver.

 

Tips for Your Business

 

Objective Alignment 

Review and understand the business outcomes you want to achieve for customers.  Define and measure the benefits customers will realize.

Be Bold 

Don’t be threatened by big changes in favor of incremental steps.

IT Integration 

IT must be viewed as a co-creator in the business for delivering new value for customers.

Constantly Design 

Establish a program of tweaks for your transformation strategy, including reallocating talent.

Execute with Agility 

Encourage risk-taking, enabling even lower-level employees to make decisions, fail fast, and learn.

Disrupt yourself 

Attempt to pre-emptively change, rather than react to competitive pressures.

 

Conclusion

Business leaders who embrace transformation have to be willing to both innovate and experiment to outpace rivals who are also adapting. A business that truly embraces Digital Transformation will be agile and flexible in the face of any possible future.

To this end, since the start of COVID-19, Digicel Business has been working with new and existing firms to help their organizations complete Digital Transformations and address new challenges within the shortest time possible. However, this has only been made possible by adopting an integrated approach involving people, processes, and technology.

Digital Transformation is no longer a nice to have. In the age of Covid-19, it has become imperative for all SMEs to survive and thrive. Understanding what that means and how to implement it for your business is the key to competing in the current technology and customer-driven landscape.

Click here to read The Rise of Digital Transformation in the War against Covid-19 – Part 1.