The future is digital. A lesson we learned in 2020. Only if we act quickly, we’ll be able to create and adjust to the next normal. Digital transformation is on the lips of everyone, from CEOs, managers, employees, mayors, or other officials, and any other person that went through 2020.
The coronavirus pandemic dramatically influenced our lives to the extent of how we behave, how we socialize, shop, or work. So, we can see the coronavirus pandemic as a catalyst for change. A change in society, economy, corporate behavior, and, of course, at a personal level. This kind of change is comparable to the ones made by the two world wars humanity faced in the 20th century. And it happens fast.
Digital transformation is picking up the pace
Because of COVID-19, the CEOs are rapidly switching to digital, fundamentally changing the business landscape. Even before the pandemic hit, it was estimated that around 92% of the companies thought about changing their business model due to the improvements brought by digitization.
For many of them, digital transformation is the only way to survive. But for a proper transformation, any business should consider two main factors: first, the transformation must happen at the core of the business and through the development of new businesses.
So, which are the core principles a CEO must consider to move ahead?
Flexibility and speed
Speed is something that we learned in the 20th century. It should have been enough for us to be able to adapt fast to changes. But it wasn’t. The speed with which the coronavirus pandemic hit, caught us off guard. It turned out that all the systems that supported the business were not so fluid and adaptable to face the current crisis. The new business model should be about building in new modularized systems for quick switch-outs, redundancies, and to devolve decision-making based on some clear guidelines.
Take bold actions and assuming the risk
A major crisis like this can be overcome by taking bold actions in response. Half measures or incremental changes do not provide enough economic power for the companies to come out of this crisis in a strong position or to come out at all. Regardless of the action taken or how bold it is, one must always be aware of the risks.
A holistic approach
The coronavirus crisis showed us that the systems we used in our organization were week. These flaws emphasize the need to make sure that digital transformation initiatives take into consideration the complete assortment of dependencies and build in cross-functional mechanisms that incorporate systems, people, and procedures across the company.
Why is digital transformation necessary?
The process of digital transformation requires CEOs to take a step back and reevaluate the plans about what needs to be done, by whom, and when, for all the employees, from the management level to the front line. It also implies the look at how customer behavior changed. On the B2B side, research made by McKinsey showed that the digital interaction with B2B customers has increased by 30% since the COVID-19 crisis started, making it twice more important than before the pandemic. The key here is to be very specific. Every person needs to know exactly what to do and what is his/her role in the entire process.
Is a more agile operating model a good approach to increase productivity?
Until 2020, this method was used almost exclusively by IT companies. But the pandemic forced companies from other industries to work remotely and to adopt a different kind of strategy in order to make things work. Typically, there are 50 people or less that make 80% of the decisions, depending on the size of the company. Using the agile method gives you access to hundreds of brains that can work together for the end result.
Another good method that can be used successfully is videoconferencing. Videoconferencing is the new normal now that we can’t go to the office yet. It is fast, productive, and easy to use. It can be used for meetings with the team or with the client, eliminating the need to travel for business.
Rethink your talent strategy
Besides all the new technology that can help your business, keep in mind that people are also important. Because of the economic impact, the CEOs are faced with difficult decisions such as cutting costs and people.
However, CEOs must think of a strategy that allows them to keep the right people, talented people, and also building skills for the other employees they already have. For this, there is training. Of course, the training itself went through a profound change. Training companies must scale the programs built for how people actually learn best: shorter, “bite-size” learning modules tailored to the individual and delivered when they’re needed as part of a thoughtful learning journey.
Why invest in new technology?
2020 showed us that technology is no longer to be ignored. We have to embrace it and use it to its full extent. Nowadays, 79% of organizations worldwide are only at the beginning of the digitization process. But they’ve highlighted a point that’s been made before but can no longer be ignored: technology is a core driver of value, not merely a support function.
Robotic Process Automation is one of the top technologies that enable true potential in an organization.
RPA will make your company productive, efficient and anything in between. It will free your employees to focus on more important tasks, train for higher positions within the company, and bring new ideas for business development. Customers will be more satisfied because they will get the attention they deserve and the answers to their questions faster than ever.
RPA can be implemented in all industries, from transport, logistics, insurance to manufacturing, banking, and even restaurants.
Curious about what can a robot do for your company? Check out the video below.
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