How to shape a successful strategy for your digital transformation
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HOW TO SHAPE A SUCCESSFUL STRATEGY FOR YOUR DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION
After ChatGPT burst onto the scene in late 2022, organisations have been racing to unlock the value of Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI). Fast forward a few years, and while awareness and uptake have accelerated, can the same really be said for adoption and implementation?
A study by EY indicates that 90% of organisations are still in the early stages of GenAI maturity, “either running proofs-of-concept or developing capabilities in isolated pockets of the business.”
It's hardly the world of work ‘revolution’ that so many predicted – and feared. Nonetheless, GenAI has become an integral tool for many, enabling customer service agents to resolve issues up to 34% faster, software engineers to deliver 26% more code, and data scientists to complete tasks in 10% less time.
From isolated progress to transformative change
As my colleague James Milligan outlines in our latest report, “we need to move from siloed, ‘AI-enabled’ efforts that improve individual or team output, to enterprise-wide technology solutions that fundamentally reshape how work is done.”
The key to unlocking these organisation-wide changes? A cohesive and coherent strategy. Below, I outline five key considerations for shaping a successful strategy to guide your digital transformation.
Characteristics of a successful strategy:
Measurable
Most senior executives are well-versed in illustrating return-on-investment from existing technologies.
The challenge that Deloitte identified is that many leaders still demonstrate the impact of their digital investments using traditional measures. This serves to “shortchange the real value” that these investments generate, especially for newer technologies such as GenAI.
And with tech budgets tightening, it’s more important than ever to ensure you’re capturing the entire value-add of your investments. Alongside financial and customer-driven metrics, organisations need to consider how they wrap in the "hard-to-quantify workforce KPIs", including talent mobility, employee retention and workforce diversity and inclusion efforts.
Strategic
Your digital transformation strategy must be in lockstep with wider business ambitions. Building your digital strategy from the perspective of tackling a technology challenge, rather than taking a ‘whole organisation’ approach, will limit the scope and success of your efforts.
Our report explores how a ‘rebrand’ is needed to shift from seeing technology implementation and adoption as an IT upgrade, to understanding that it’s about shaping a foundation for innovation across the entire workforce.
Data-driven
Joe Peppard states that many organisations haven’t completed the “required foundational work” in preparing their data, rendering their wider transformation strategy irrelevant.
“Poor data quality – incomplete, biased or unstructured – affects AI performance in the same way it can have an impact on any other technology.” It means that while you can have a clear strategic ambition, without data, you lack the historical knowledge that is critical to future decision-making.
Data will determine the success of your digital transformation, making it a fundamental component of your strategy. As Nadine Wirkuttis explores in ‘The Future of Work’, data is “where most organisations will need to spend considerable time and money, cleaning and organising... to ensure it is in the right format and the right place, to deliver the greatest impact.”
Pragmatic
Technology is often seen as a ‘silver bullet’, but your digital transformation alone will not solve all the challenges you face.
Organisations need to spend time educating themselves about the technologies available. AI for example, is not one product, but a variety of tools and solutions that are used in tandem to increase efficiency. Equipped with this understanding, leaders can then explore how they redesign their workforce to enable stronger human and machine collaboration - including but not limited to – GenAI.
And the reality is that many businesses just aren’t ready. Phasing out ageing technology estates, cleaning and preparing data, defining ethical guardrails and embedding digital literacy must precede GenAI implementation, a timeline which James Milligan predicts will take “between five and ten years, for most businesses”.
Ambitious
Your digital transformation strategy should be driven by a desire to solve difficult challenges that span your entire organisation. You shouldn’t limit yourself within the confines of current technologies, as this will restrict your strategy to solving just for immediate needs.
McKinsey offers a tangible indicator of ambition: “If a digital transformation is not delivering 20% or more improvement in your earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation, you’re probably not creating ambitious enough road maps.”
Ultimately, every organisation has access to technology. It’s how you deploy these innovations to create a competitive differentiator that will separate you from your competition.
Shaping a successful strategy, with our support
A coherent strategy is a key to success, but you’ll also need the right skills, structure and stakeholders to turn your vision into a reality.
‘The Future of Work, How AI is impacting your workforce’, explores four interlinked pillars that are vital to your digital transformation efforts, collated from the lessons learnt in leading digital change with hundreds of organisations.
Download your free copy today, or contact our team to discuss how we can support you.
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AUTHOR
Nigel Kirkham
CEO, Enterprise Solutions at Hays
Nigel Kirkham has spent the last 30+ years driving growth in major global businesses. A strong, transformative Chief Growth Officer, he brings a Big 6 Consulting Partner background as well as large-scale BPO and outsource business experience. A blend of strong business acumen and C-level operating experience help deliver high revenue growth and business expansion.
His most recent positions include TMF Group, the global Financial Services business where he sat on the ExCo as Chief Client Officer; Avanade, the JV between Accenture and Microsoft, a global tech giant and largest implementor of Microsoft technology in the world, where he was Global Head of Sales; CSC (Computer Science Corporation), the tech giant (now DXC Technology), where he ran several Industry Verticals, including Financial Services, Retail & Consumer Goods, Transport and Technology.
Prior to this he ran Xansa’s consulting business in the US, where he was based in New York. He also spent 12 years in KPMG Management Consulting, the last 5 years as a Partner in KPMG Consulting in the UK. In this role he also spent 4 years in the Middle East, setting up and running KPMG’s business in the Lower Gulf, where he was based in Abu Dhabi.