Digital transformation is a long process, full of challenges, and the slightest mistake can lead to failure. This paper summarizes six common problems that may be encountered in the process of digital transformation, and gives suggestions to deal with them.
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Time for digital transformation
Digital transformation is an inevitable choice to adapt to digital society and digital economy. So, when is the transition? Is there a good time to start a digital transformation?
The essence of digital transformation is business transformation, which is to make the organization gain more profits and maintain market competitiveness in the future. Therefore, the biggest principle to judge whether the current time is suitable for digital transformation is to look at whether the organization needs to transform in business.
Two questions need to be seriously considered and answered. First, will the development of digital technology bring new opportunities to the industry? Second, will cross-industry organizations use digital technology to disrupt their own industries?
If the answer to both of these questions is no, then we can take a long-term plan, deliberate layout, and gradually carry out digital transformation. After all, digital transformation is a long-term, risky and capital-intensive activity. Digital transformation works when the organization is running well and there are no external threats. However, when the digital transformation encounters setbacks and enters into difficulties, the decision-makers who decided the digital transformation at the beginning will easily become the target of public criticism, thus leading to the shelving or abandonment of the digital transformation.
Of course, if the answer to either of these questions is yes, then there is no better time for an organization to embark on a digital transformation. Because in the era of minute and minute, any hesitation will miss the opportunity to transform, for the organization buried the hidden danger of failure.
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Should the model be disruptive or incremental
Generally speaking, the success probability of traditional enterprises is not very high when they adopt the subversive change mode. Disruptive change means that everything is new, new models, new technologies, new management ideas, etc. Although the new models have been proved effective in other organizations, whether they can play a role in this organization still depends on the degree of the organization’s mastery of these new things. As the scope of change expands, the forces that resist change will increase, so relatively speaking, gradual change can improve the success rate of change.
However, if the organization has reached the brink of survival, and digital transformation is the only means to recover the decline of the organization, then the organization can adopt a radical change mode. Because when the organization walks on the brink of failure, those forces that resist change will disappear, and employees will go through all the difficulties with the organization to strive for the success of change.
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How to resolve the resistance of digital transformation within the organization
A very broad change, such as the digital transformation, will encounter greater resistance in the transition. So how can the organization resolve this part of resistance well?
(1) Establish an independent company to carry out digital business
Traditional organisations with a long history and deep pockets face greater resistance. The long-formed organizational culture and traditional ideas cannot be changed at once. For such organizations, rather than “slow fire” change, it is better to “start from scratch” and set up a separate company to focus on digital business.
The establishment of a new company can effectively separate the transformation forces from the transformation opposition within the organization, which is conducive to the implementation of new business models, new management concepts, new organizational structures and emerging technologies, so as to form a new organizational culture in line with digitalization. New companies, as the forefront of digital transformation, can also effectively accumulate advanced experience in digital transformation, and in turn apply it to the digital transformation of traditional organizations.
(2) Analyze the demands of opponents of transformation and communicate sincerely
Different people will have different reasons for opposing the transformation in the organization. It is very necessary to sincerely communicate with opponents about their ideas, concerns and appeals. Through sincere communication, we can find out the deep-seated reasons that hinder the transformation, sort out and formulate corresponding solutions. For example, for those old employees who lack digital skills and worry that they are not qualified for new positions, they can be given training opportunities; For those old employees who do not understand digital transformation and new management ideas, they can be arranged to observe and learn from the leading enterprises in digital transformation. For older workers who are worried about losing their jobs because of the digital push, job swaps can be arranged;
(3) Have the courage to break one’s wrist
Of course, there may be opposition groups within the organization that cannot be moved no matter how we communicate with them. For these people, the organization should show the courage to break one’s wrist. No matter who has made contributions to the organization, they should resign from the organization.