Article provided by Investec Business Cash Solutions
Investec Cash Investments recently held its bi-annual Business Matters event. This is a series of events exclusive to Investec Cash Investments clients which aim to provide access to current, innovative thought leadership as well as the chance for attendees to be in touch with like-minded peers.
Last month we gave an “economic snapshot and what it means for your business”. This month, we focus more on employees and how you, as a business owner can assist them in moving forward, through change. Mike Perk, Managing Director of WWC, shared four ways to future-proof your employees.
There’s a reason why 84% of companies fail at digital transformation.
It’s a hard fact to accept, but the reason why so many companies fail at digital transformation is because of their employees and leadership. Mike Perk, who runs a digital transformation advisory agency says that people are naturally change-averse, and need to be taken on a four-step journey before they will embrace digital enhancements in your company.
The following are four key areas businesses should focus on:
- Create a vision: As a leader you need to give your staff a reason to believe by helping them see how digital transformation could improve their work lives. Give them real-life examples, take them through the journey and get excited with them.
- Establish innovation micro-hubs within your company: Find people who are passionate about digital transformation and let them work together in hubs. To encourage innovation, it’s important not to apply the same restrictive corporate rules to these hubs as in other areas of the business. They should be allowed to fail as they search for the right solution, as long as they continue to search. Fail fast and fail forward.
- Invest in upskilling staff: Perk explains that you can’t just send staff on a course and expect them to change how they work or use new systems. Businesses should give their innovation hubs a decent budget to experiment with and should invest in sustained, continuous training for staff.
- Be a digital leader: The traditional hierarchical structures breed excellent managers who run and maintain the status quo, but very few true leaders who challenge it. To be a digital leader, you have to lead by example and show your staff how they can adapt to using new technology without feeling threatened by it.
In conclusion, it is possible to move your business towards digital transformation with the right people and vision in place.
Investec Business Cash Solutions is a proud partner of the NSBC.