Digital Transformation Survival Guide

February 3, 2021 | Jonathan’s Technology Solutions, Inc. | Rebecca Hatala 

Before stepping into IT Marketing, I was in IT Staffing, primarily recruiting technical talent resources for companies undergoing digital transformations and IT implementation projects or recovering from those types of IT projects. When you identify pain points and consult with business leaders on their technical skill gaps day in and day out – patterns emerge. 

Digital transformation projects have some all-to-common pitfalls, and it became painstaking to see them repeated time and time again. 

I felt compelled to try to simplify my insights and turnover a guide worth reading…

Hopefully, this guides at least one company to make smarter decisions along the digital transformation journey.

1. Tips for the Selection/Vetting Process

Smart B2B Technology Selection: The market for B2B software is ridiculously rich with options. Some people will be more eager, passionate, and convincing in selling you their solutions, and some will not have your best interest in mind. Remember that no matter how popular- touted-or-successful a technology solution is by others, it does not directly equate to being the best option for you. 

Considerations to make when qualifying IT solutions: 

  • Scale and Scope: This one is most relevant in digital transformations that aim to automate customer-facing processes (examples: Marketing Automation Technology, CRMs, Email Marketing Solutions). A good rule of thumb is that if you aren’t already paying someone full-time to do what the software efficiates, it might not be worth the investment until you have the proper people resources to see you get your return on the investment. It often indicates the solution might be too robust or too far out of scope for your organization’s current processes, resources, and needs.
  • Primary functions: Always make your purchasing decisions based on how well that platform or product does what you need it to do- not what else it can do. 
  • Compatibility with your Tech Stack: Does it integrate well with your tech stack, or do competitors offer extensions and integrations that would be more fluid with the other components of your IT landscape?
  • Compatibility with your culture: Will this be user-friendly enough that you can see your team adapting to it? If you have technical skill gaps, now is not the time to ignore them and purchase software that won’t be utilized appropriately. This is beyond having one IT admin but making sure you will take technology adoption up with your entire team.

2. Operational Resources (aka Leadership)

Operational Resources: Companies often budget for B2B software and underestimate the operational component it takes to ensure the investment is worth their while. Someone needs to facilitate change management, technology adoption, and the proper utilization of the technology. Adopting any new technology before planning out the operational oversight and IT project manager is a big but common mistake that causes project delays and sometimes major losses in data, organization, and harmony amongst the team. 

I’m on the side that says, if you do nothing else, do this. Delegate one individual to take the lead and choose wisely. They will know how to minimalize any obstacle to the best of their ability within their allotted resources. There are many ways to do anything; IT professionals tend to have their own styles, approaches, and processes. Too many opinions and input over trivial matters tends to delay timelines, cause headaches and arguments that aren’t beneficial to anyone.  

How quickly can things get trivial? 

  • Usability: How well is the team adapting to using the platform from an end-user perspective? Is the technology being used correctly? If not, what’s the first course of action to take? -Changing the interface or working with the team more on technology adoption?  
  • Functionality: What percentage of functionality are we currently operating on from the platform, and is it behind our timeline? What steps need to occur, and in what order? 
  • Optimization and Integration: What else can be done to increase fluidity in the tech stack and continuous improvement measures? What can we do to ensure maintenance, upkeep, and proper handling for the longterm?

Depending on company size and the type of digital transformation, this can be a project delegated to an existing employee or an experienced outsourced resource. 

3. Technical Resources

Technical Resources: In most cases, a digital transformation requires any combination of (1) upskilling existing employees, (2) hiring, and (3) outsourcing to fill any technical skill gaps. 

Again, if an operational head is delegated for full project oversight, they will have this covered as their first expense write-off. But in their absence, the value in investing in people who can conduct the technologies properly is not seen until quarters later, when numbers show that ROI is not returned. Judging digital transformations on a scale of 1 to 10 by the level of complexity provides us with a rough framework for how to think about the technical requirements.

Skill requirements depend on the scale and scope of the digital transformation or IT project: 

  • Small (1-3): The customer success team and learning resources from the software you purchase should be enough support.  
  • Medium (4-7): Evaluate whether you need to upskill or promote an existing employee/s or if you need to bring in someone experienced full-time or outsource some work to avoid problems. 
  • Large (8-10): You should consider consulting with an IT team to oversee your digital transformation’s success, and/or you should consider hiring someone full-time alongside them for long-term success. 

The advice above was flushed out from these three pain points I identified in client consultations and conversations with candidates taking me through their work history and experiences with certain companies:  

  1. Companies were operating on platforms that weren’t best for their scale and scope– costing them money and frustration that could have been avoided with better vetting processes. 
  2. Digital Transformations and IT implementation projects gone-wrong because they lacked clear leadership from an operational standpoint (Either not having a figure in place or having multiple with shared responsibilities, and lacking a united vision or approach) 
  3. Decision-makers not willing to invest in building the right people team or underestimating the competition and cost of skilled technical workers. They either underpay their people and so they lose them somewhere along the way or they don’t put the resources in place at the beginning. It all comes down to living within your means. Don’t buy something unless you can operate it or you are aware of what it will take for you to be able to operate it. 

In any digital transformation journey, obstacles will arise regardless of preparation because progress does not come without its challenges. There are tons of more in-depth resources out there for those who want to dig deeper!

We will be discussing this topic throughout the year as digital transformation is still a priority for the majority of CEOs and IT leaders polled in 2020. 

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