Are you preventing digital transformation as the Chief Operating Officer?

Enterprises in today’s technology driven world are rapidly undergoing digital transformation.

However, for some companies, there are numerous obstacles in the path to achieving complete digital transformation.

Higher level executives in certain organizations may tend to object to digital transformation, and prevent the company from embracing this change and going digital.

Often times, a lack of sufficient technical knowledge is the reason behind such resistance.

In this blog, we’ll look at some of the concerns that chief operating officers (COO) have around digital transformation, and how those concerns can be answered, along with possible ways to end and overcome resistance to digital transformation!

Common Concerns Surrounding Digital Transformation

Changing the way people think is tough.  Changing the way an entire organization thinks, and their culture, is extremely difficult.

Most resistance to digitization is believed to stem from issues pertaining to the technology itself, however this is usually not the case!

The rearrangement of employees, their roles and responsibilities, and modification of processes due to new technology, is usually what causes friction when trying to undergo digital transformation in the workplace.

Let’s look at three common issues that digital leaders face when trying to push for a change towards digital:

1. The Need for More Research

When attempting to introduce game-changers in any industry, there is always the classic stall technique of asking for more research to be done.

It must be understood that research can definitely be done, and research should be continued upon initiation of digitization.

However, digital transformation should not be prevented due to not having “enough research”, as simply put, there will never be enough research!

Check out this free checklist on 30 Questions you should Ask when Inquiring about Enterprise Printing Solutions!

2. Circumstance Incompatibility

“Digital transformation is not compatible with the given circumstances and culture of our company!”

Many business leaders claim that their organizational culture along with their business’s circumstances are not suited well for digital transformation.

The primary objective for digital leaders in such scenarios, should be to unravel the layers and find out the specifics, and the exact reasons behind why a company’s circumstances and culture are not a good fit for digital transformation.

Often, the underlying issues are in fact non-issues, or simple problems with easy workarounds!  If it helps comfort the resistant decision makers, a cost-benefit analysis of the change towards digital should be done.

3. Lack of Financial Resources to Support this Change

The lack of money available to organizations may be a valid point when arguing the case against digital transformation.

However, it is often also used as an excuse to resist change.  For this reason, it is crucial for digital leaders to explain the returns of adopting and integrating technology, and digital transformation.

Equally important is the highlighting of costs associated with staying behind and not transforming digitally.

Ways to Overcome and End Resistance to Digital Transformation

Ultimately, digital transformation enables improved and efficient workflows, a primary concern for every business.

However, getting senior decision makers to understand this can be tough, as some may see the shift to digital being counter-productive towards their existing workflows and processes.

Some strategies for overcoming this resistance include:

Focus on experience, not technology: The goal in digital transformation is improving user experience, not technology.  Tell decision makers more about the new and improved experience, and less about the complicated technical details. Conveying this to decision makers is vital for obtaining acceptance!

Involve non-tech savvy decision makers: Allow resistant decision makers to experience the technology before encouraging them to undergo digital transformation. It makes a huge difference when they can experience the practical difference technology makes in their lives!

Plan for the transformation: As with any successful project implementation, the planning phase is key!  Training users, ensuring the presence of technical support, and gradually transforming while prioritizing urgent needs is essential for a complete and successful enterprise digital transformation.

Are you ready for digital transformation? What barriers are between your organization and the transformation towards a digital enterprise setting? Let us know!