FINAL WORD

However , unless all employees that need access to the premises know from day one both the new process and fully understand why it has been put in place , the system will fail before it has started . The net outcome ? The new practice is far less effective than the manual procedure that it replaced because it results in people getting locked out of their work premises and therefore unable to do their jobs .

Transposing the issue to an enterprise operations context , it continues to throw up problems . Suppose a business introduces an organisation-wide collaboration platform to streamline communications and organise tasks and workspaces with the aim of making it easy for everyone to work as effectively as possible . Fulfilling this objective requires everyone to know how to use the new tool – but also to be committed to the reasons for it being introduced . Without this engagement , it is likely that people will continue to use their old channels , risking messages being missed or duplicated .

An evolving business environment

There are many , many scenarios such as the two above , in which tech-based projects that are not correctly executed are neither effective nor efficient , meaning they have the potential to significantly undermine the integrity of business operations .

At their core , these issues have their roots in technology being viewed as technology . That might not sound a problem , but it misses the crucial point that this technology is used by people – and those people need to feel invested in deploying the new systems if they are to be truly valuable and meet the goals of the project .

It is a situation that is increasingly raising its head as paper-based functions die out and organisations look to automation to adapt to the evolving working environment and improve operational efficiencies . Or to phrase it in popular parlance , business transformation .

Today ’ s tools are fundamentally changing business processes . But for their implementation to deliver long-term value and return on investment , enterprises need to consider the overall objectives of the project and how the changes that it introduces will impact them overall .

Technology is vital – but not the whole story

Taking a 360-degree view helps to illustrate why introducing tech-driven change can be a challenge . Technology projects are driven by the IT team , who may also have initiated the venture in the first place , and whose day-to-day way of working is – understandably – based on resolving a problem with a technical solution .

There ’ s no question that technology underpins most of today ’ s organisational operations . However , it cannot operate in isolation – a Boston Consulting Group assessment of Digital Transformation projects found that the proportion of companies reporting success was five times greater among those that focused on culture than those that neglected it .

In short , success requires a business change strategy that transcends the technical implementation to encompass the whole enterprise .

The importance of ( the right ) partnerships

Most major technology implementations involve at least one third-party tech provider , the selection of which is critical . As with any implementation , the right technical skills are obviously essential . But more than that , any organisation looking to change the way its business operates needs partners with the intent and ability to fulfil a strategic role , one in which they understand why this is important and have a team able to work with the enterprise on its complete business transformation journey .

A strategic partner helps to identify and address the specific needs and challenges of the organisation in question . But in recognising that the IT project is part of a wider vision that fuels the organisation ’ s growth strategy , it goes much

IN CONTRAST , GOOD BUSINESS TRANSFORMATION EMPOWERS EVERYONE TO USE TECHNOLOGY TOOLS EFFECTIVELY TO DO THEIR JOB BETTER .

Cavan Arrowsmith , UK Managing Director , Turnkey Consulting

www . intelligentcxo . com

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