Aligning Digital Ability & Culture

  Digital change, or transformation is defined as “ the process of using digital technologies to create new — or modify existing — business processes, culture, and customer experiences to meet changing business and market requirements .” (sales f orce)   You may not even realise it, but digital change is all around us every day. A prime example of this is when COVID lockdowns struck. Businesses CEO’s, managers, and employees were forced to work completely remotely. While applications like Microsoft Teams and Zoom were already being used, how many businesses genuinely relied on them before COVID? Or better yet, how many businesses had to learn how to use them during COVID?                     Image Source:  https://mgnsw.org.au/sector/resources/online-resources/digital/culture-digital/                Why must we align Digital Ability & Culture?  After reading that you may as...

  An online article published by ThoughtFarmer (2022) states that in 2014, industry analyst Gartner defined a  digital workplace  as “An ongoing, deliberate approach to delivering a more consumer-like computing environment that is better able to facilitate innovate and flexible working practises”. To put it simply, the  digital workplace  portable work. As you may be able to tell, the  digital workplace  is just  digital transformation/change  but in practise. An example of a  digital workplace  can be as simple as having a shared working document that co-workers can access and work on at any time or having a video call meeting with your co-workers from home.                                     Image Source:  https://www.exoplatform.com/blog/digital-workplace-blog/ Why must we use a Digital Workplace?     While it is a very...

Now that we know what a  digital workplace  is, we must distinguish the difference between  identifying  a  digital workplace  and  creating  a  digital workplace . Trying to create a  digital workplace  can be very awkward, especially for a traditional business or workplace. The main difference that separates a  digital workplace  from the creation of one is the implementation of new or emerging technologies. “The problem with the word ‘transformation’, is that it can be a bit daunting, at the best of times.” (D. Rowles, T. Brown, Ch. 8, P. 56)  Digital Transformation  or large-scale digital change can be done in numerous ways. 1)       Test Case: -         “An action that may serve as a guide to the likely outcome of subsequent similar situations” (Oxford Dictionary)  2)      Planned Incrementalism: -      ...

Before taking on any kind of  digital transformation , it is important to consider  who  the change is affecting.  Digital stakeholders  are “the people inside or outside of your company who have vested in the product and its success” (J. Hensley). There are many  digital stakeholders  both inside and outside any company, examples of both can include customers, employees, partnering organisations, teachers, students, and educational institutes.    Image Source:  https://www.consultationmanager.com/7-tactics-to-maintain-positive-stakeholder-relationships/ Why Must We Understand Our Digital Stakeholders?   While it is important to know who your  digital transformation  decisions affect, knowing  why  you should understand and empathize with your stakeholders must be a top priority. There are a couple ways in which one could map the importance of their  digital stakeholders , sorting them in the appropriate cat...

While it is good to know what a digital workplace, stakeholder, and transformation is and how they work, it is essential to have a designated role for someone to lead all of these  digital changes . “Leadership is an essential ingredient in any change endeavour or cultural transformation. Period. With engaged, committed and aligned leaders, you stand a chance of success. Without, you face the guarantee of failure.” (D. Rowles, T. Brown, P. 78). In addition to a  digital leader , a strong  team  is also essential in a workplaces or organisations digital success or success in general.          Image Source:  https://www.chieflearningofficer.com/2021/10/26/human-centered-leadership-five-actions-for-the-new-paradigm/     In your own context, who is your  digital leader ?    After being asked that question, the first person you may have thought of was your  boss . Let me clearly distinguish the differen...

Obviously with any job involved with the digital world, you are going to need the appropriate  digital skills & talent  to survive that position. Digital skills and talent are quite self-explanatory, however, to put them into perspective they’re defined as “a range of abilities to use digital devices, communication applications, and networks to access and manage information.” (Unesco). Simple right? Well not quite. To keep up with and excel in the digital space you’re going to have to be a very specific person, a  T-shaped person .         Image Source:  https://www.business2community.com/communications/communication-in-top-eight-digital-skills-needed-01356787 T-Shaped People   Due to the intense pace at which technologies are changing, it is important to become a  T-shaped  person if you want to stand out in the digital world. An article by College InfoGeek states that “A  T-shaped  person has deep knowledge/skil...