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What Is Digital Transformation, And Why It’s Important For Your Business?

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What is Digital Transformation? 

Digital transformation marks a radical rethinking of how an organisation uses technology, people and processes to fundamentally change business performance. The result is an elemental change as to how a business should operate and how they can continue to deliver value to customers. As well as that it can also be described as a shift in how organisations think, and can lead to letting go of traditional well-known business practices and introducing new streamlined, efficient, adaptable and accessible practices.  There are a variety of other definitions for Digital Transformation of course. Agile Elephant highlights the ways businesses will need to rearrange current practices, different ways of thinking, leadership, and why there is a need to incite innovation and improve all forms of customer and employee experience. 

COVID19 has also disrupted the working environment and presented new challenges for employers. Digital Transformation however has helped overcome these obstacles and bring new processes that will improve on outdated ones leading to more efficiency in businesses. Remote working is also a huge change instigated by the outbreak, but it has the potential with the right investment of technology to help businesses become more agile and provide employees with other flexible options.

 

Why is Digital Transformation Important?      

Undertaking Digital Transformation for a business is necessary to survive and thrive in a constantly changing digital landscape.  Businesses are taking this on board and are making it one of their top their priorities, it is no longer a suggestion for the future or one to sit on the back-burner. It is predicted that global spending on the practices for Digital Transformation will be $1.97 Trillion, that is according to the IDC. They also predict that digital transformation investment will steadily build with a compound growth rate of 16.7% between 2017 and 2022.       

Further predictions also mean that by the end 2020, digital strategy will and should delegate a capital budget of at least 10% of your business. This indicates the need to develop, and digital transformation as a vital investment. When it comes to digital investment, companies are planning to increase their investments by up to 75% during the period of the next 12-18 months. There is also a huge focus on data visualisation and machine learning.  

The vital move for businesses now is speed, as companies all seem to be at different places in the digital transformation process. IT Leaders must work fast to prove that digital transformation will lead to increased efficiency for the whole company. 

 

Digital Transformation Frameworks    

The level of Digital Transformation required will vary within each organisation. However there are some recurring themes within current frameworks and case studies. These are frameworks that all businesses should research further as they begin the process of transformation. Factors that are often mentioned include but are not limited to:

  • Strategic Objectives
  • Operational Excellence
  • Operations Architecture
  • Business Case Development
  • Solution Selection

Making Digital Transformation a Reality: Connecting CEO Vision ...

Successful organisations operate with a clear business direction, using a vision, roadmap and framework that define the way forward. Without these crucial strategic instruments, businesses would focus only on solving today’s problems and fail to create continuous value. But does your organisation have a clear digital strategy? The answer, most likely, is “no.” This has created an untenable situation for many companies, considering that IT is increasingly interwoven into the very fabric of most businesses, markets and societies.  

New digital solutions offer an opportunity to improve how organisations compete and create a foundation for outperforming rivals near and far. A white paper from Cognizant introduces a framework that organisations can use to develop a digital vision and build new business models based on digital opportunities. They have provided examples of organisations that have disrupted their industries by rethinking their approach to doing business, and recommended various approaches to jump-starting your organisation’s digital journey. 

 

Leading a Business Transformation  

In order for a business to continue to deliver exceptional customer experience and exceed expectations, CIO’s are now working alongside key executives and making new beneficial decisions. These are changes that include re-skilling employees, starting up innovation labs and beginning experimentation’s with new technologies. 

When embarking on implementing digital solutions within your business the key question to ask should be; what are the intended business results you want to attain and what experience do you want your customers to have? From here it begins with these outcomes, the business models you are pursuing and basically working backwards from that point.  It is imperative to understand your customer journey map and lifecycle.

Source Picture: Campaign Monitor 

Customer Journey Mapping Will Improve Your Company's Bottom Line ...

3 Top tips  to help Transform your business:

Have a set list of objectives: Define a clear strategy and plan. Find out what you want your business, employees and customers to experience. Where are the pain points or bottles necks with your business and how can you introduce technology to solve these problems. 

Welcome an adaptive design approach: Adaption is a huge part now of the digital transformation process with focused KPIs now outdated. Being adaptive in design will allow for CIOs to make changes quickly. Successful transformations are a result of being adaptive. Business leaders who reported success were those who were likely to look at monthly changes to their overall strategy. 

Adopt agile execution. Encourage risk taking, enabling even lower-level employees to make decisions, fail fast and learn.  

 

Key Digital Transformation Roles  

While emerging tech and revamped processes are crucial, it is also important that you have the right staff staff in place to lead your business through the transition.  

Software engineers, cloud computing specialists and product managers remain key roles for companies seeking to roll out new products and services. DevOps leaders galvanize software development by merging development with operations, enabling companies to continuously iterate software to speed delivery.

Also, in high demand are data scientists and architects as companies want to extract trends and insights from a vast array of data. Digital transformation also lean increasingly on machine learning and artificial intelligence.

IT departments are also in need of a variety of expert roles when executing a digital transformation plan for a business. These roles include UX designers, digital trainers, writers, business analysts and workplace technology managers. For further insight into knowing who your key players are check out: 4 critical roles for digital transformation

 

What next…

Digital transformation has revolutionised and changed operations in all the key areas of businesses. Traditional business practices will become outdated and will need to be replaced with new efficient practices that will improve ways of thinking and experiences. This kind of transformation is important as businesses that do not adapt to this new transformation could be putting themselves at a disadvantage.  

If you would like to find out more information on digital transformation and how it could impact your business or career, please get in touch with one of our digital experts. 

 

TECHNOLOGY & CORONA VIRUS

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TECHNOLOGY CAN REDUCE THE IMPACT OF CORONA VIRUS WITHIN THE WORKPLACE.

The Corona virus outbreak has had a huge impact on the world. Continued precautions recommended by health experts have seen the postponement of many public events. Sporting events, movie releases, music concerts have all been cancelled. It has even led to the Special Olympics being postponed.

One environment in particular facing absolute disruption is the workplace as workers are being sent home or businesses are shutting down until the outbreak has ceased. The hospitality sector is a clear example of this. Hotels bookings have dropped 15% throughout the UK and custom for restaurants has also declined with the postponement of the six nations Rugby Match against Italy. Premiership games set to play out this week have also been called off.

Companies are looking at other options such as working remotely from home. Working remotely is now a more common practice and has been made more possible by the rise of technology.

Best cloud computing services – at a glance

  1. Amazon Web Services
  2. Microsoft Azure
  3. Google Cloud
  4. IBM Cloud
  5. Oracle Cloud

The cloud has also proven to have become a huge asset in the midst of this outbreak and become a solution to the problems faced by businesses and schools. Team meetings and collaborations are now being hosted via the cloud. Education has now too joined the cloud so students can still keep learning whilst being at home without their education being disrupted by the corona outbreak. Indeed technology has proven how in the face of a crisis like this it can provide solutions that will benefit both employees and employers.

In the meantime, here are three tips to reduce the impact of Coronavirus within the business.

  1. Build resilience into your businesses. Form you own continuity plans on how your business will deal with COVID-19. Having good plans in place is just good business practice so if you haven’t any in place then taking a bit of time now to do so will be best for your business all round. Some of this summary by Allen & Overy is perhaps aimed at large businesses but a lot may be relevant to consider for SME’S also:

A few points to have in mind would be:

  • How will you continue to operate your business should home-working be required?
  • How will you manage resources should someone in your business have COVID-19 or need to self-isolate?
  • How will you manage contractual risks should you default due to COVID-19?
  • How will you manage finances should COVID-19 impact your business?
  • How will you manage your supply chain?
  • How will you managing your customer/client relationships?
  • Have you got business continuity insurance in place?
  1. Keep up to date with government advice and information. Of particular interest to you will be the advice in respect to employers and businesses:
  2. Please keep the your  Team informed of:
  • Recent and future travel plans for your staff
  • Any instances of self-isolation,
  • Any instances of suspected or confirmed cases of COVID-19.

As an employability business, we work with cloud technologies to allow us to conduct client meetings and candidate interviews. This will reduce the amount of travel and face to face connection required throughout the recruitment process. For more information on how we can help you meet your recruitment demands virtually please get in touch with one of our consultants via  hello@2icglobal-com.stackstaging.com

 

How did VW reimagine their business through human and AI collaboration?

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Take a new approach that uses artificial intelligence to bring out the full power of people and enhance job creation. Move beyond deploying AI for automation alone and push into the new frontier of co-creation between people and machines.

Don’t just automate, collaborate The Volkswagen Microbus is the definition of an iconic design. Just saying “VW Bus” conjures a mental image of the 1960s mainstay; even people who haven’t seen one in person can immediately picture it. So, when VW decided to reconceptualise the 1962 Microbus, the company wanted to stay true to the vehicle’s historic design—but update it to be lighter and greener in line with today’s standards. To solve this problem, VW partnered with engineering software services leader Autodesk to experiment with generative design tools and create new jobs.

Generative design enables iterative collaboration between human engineers and artificial intelligence: humans provide design goals and constraints to an AI system, which outputs a wide range of feasible—though sometimes unexpected—solutions. From there, the parties continue to iterate, with the machine generating ideas and human co-workers curating and refining them.

The VW and Autodesk collaboration ultimately created parts for the Microbus that were lighter and stronger than any prior designs. The AI, for example, inspired a tree-like design concept for the wheels that made them 18 percent lighter than a standard set. The generative approach also allowed VW to reduce the time spent getting from development to manufacturing—a 1.5-year cycle was reduced to just a few months. Those metrics were big wins. But what was more important was how VW got there. The designers credited generative design and their AI collaboration with creating structures they could never have created on their own.

This and similar experiments from across industries reveal a stunning reality: businesses today are realizing only a fraction of their AI potential. Leaders got to a point of advantage by plugging AI and other tech tools into existing workflows, focusing on automation and execution. But simply using AI to make their organizations run faster and cheaper limits its impact. Now, leaders are leveraging the potential of AI systems to transform not just how businesses do work, but also what they actually do. AI is becoming an agent of change across the organization. To capitalize on this, businesses need to reimagine AI’s role in the organization. Artificial intelligence offers one of the key advantages that have let startups disrupt decades-old incumbents: the technology doesn’t approach a problem based on years of experience or inherent human biases. It hasn’t yet learned what not to try. But AI can’t reinvent the business on its own and humans will still require jobs. To tap into the unique strengths of the technology, businesses will rely on people’s ability to steward, direct and refine AI. Enterprises will need to engineer the opportunity for human employees  to couple their unique talents and knowledge with the limitless capacity of machines to explore new possibilities. Those that do so successfully will build the next generation of intelligent businesses—where humans and AI systems work together to reimagine what’s possible.

This trend isn’t limited to generative design. Leaders are beginning to recognize the tremendous potential of enabling humans and machines to inspire one another and work together. Take Open AI’s MuseNet, an AI that collaborates with humans to compose music, without people needing expertise in composition or technology. A human provides a starting sample, a target style and instrument preferences. MuseNet uses what it’s learned from hundreds of thousands of musical files to make suggestions about the next segment of a composition. The process repeats until a novel piece of music is created, the result of a true collaboration and division of labour between human and machine.

73% of organizations report piloting or adopting AI in one or more business units.

What are you doing to promote the collaboration between humans and AI?

How can businesses improve engagement with their most important asset — TALENT.

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A worker is no longer the average 9-to-5 employee. Rather, an organisation’s people are its talent, representing a diverse range of individuals including brand ambassadors, gig economy workers, social influencers and partners. These individuals reside both inside and outside the walls of the organisation.

In this new world of talent, it is important for businesses to recognise that their collective workforces often comprise individuals from different backgrounds and diversity who come with differing perspectives, experiences and goals. Organisations that acknowledge and value each individual’s experience place the entire person at

the centre of what they do, aiming to create a sustained and connected experience for all their people. To create an environment that values all people, bold leadership should champion the human experience and help ensure that the workforce is included.

Integrating the talent and customer experiences we see a common theme—the human connection matters more than anything else. Successful organisations should account for all humans within their ecosystem (including the workforce) and align them with the organisation’s purpose.

 

How businesses can unlock the talent experience.

Having understood how to engage customers beyond the walls of the organisation, many business owners are embracing the challenge of creating deeper, more meaningful engagement with their people. Drawing on research, we outline specific strategies that show how many companies are supporting the talent experience:

 

  1. Build a symbiotic workforce and customer experience.

 

Your workforce can be your best ambassador. Being authentic to your workforce, leading with values and supporting collaboration across the organisation strengthens the human experience for all people and helps provide an environment in which your workforce can thrive. Take the example of

 

  1. Value personal interaction.

 

In the new world of work, it can be difficult to evoke loyalty in the workforce, with more than half of all workers thinking about leaving their jobs according to a recent report on talent in the workforce. Retaining people typically requires building real relationships. Companies often design tech-enabled sensing and monitoring systems to track and gather feedback on the talent experience. However, the challenge is to identify the appropriate time to implement and use feedback rapidly. Pulsing surveys sense how and whether the workforce is having a good experience and whether they might leave the company. Making them a routine practice can enable real-time course correction if a person is contemplating changing jobs. Unlock the value of data to understand how and whether people are fulfilled in their work, but do not lose touch with the value of personal interaction. Many workers especially value opportunities to build relationships with each other and with leadership. Find time to meet face to face and use pulsing survey data to assess how a person is feeling in the moment to share positive stories, praise and mitigate challenges.

 

  1. Go beyond the four walls.

The marketing function and the CMO already serve as brand ambassadors for customers. In the new world of work, it can be increasingly difficult to uphold values and understand who aligns with your purpose outside of your walls. Similarly, what it means to be part of the workforce is changing dramatically, making it even more important for companies to have oversight of every person’s “talent experience.”  The goal is to bridge gaps and better account for the collective customer, workforce and partner experience.

 

Improving-the-talent-experiece-Graffiti-Recruitment

 

In this new world of talent, it is important for businesses to recognise that their collective workforces often comprise individuals from different backgrounds and diversities, who come with differing perspectives, experiences, and goals. Embrace IT! If you would like to explore other options to improve your talent engagement or need support on expanding your already fantastic team then please get in touch, we would love to hear from you. 

Why is January the Best Time to Find a Job?

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January 2020 – Is the Best Time to Find a Job

During the Christmas period it can be a struggle to search for a new job, but once that’s over it is a brand-new year, and some say it is the perfect opportunity to find a new career. January has been classed as the hunting season when it comes to finding a new job. So, if you are one of those people that has ‘find a new job’ on their New year’s resolution list then listed below are some reasons why January is the perfect month to job hunt and what you can do to prepare yourself.

Why is it the best month?

Employers are looking for new employees

In the New Year employers are feeling motivational and are eager to see what talent they can employ. They have a clearer mindset at this time of the year as they are less likely to be tied down to deadlines and projects. As January is the month for job hunting, there is a lot more competition for employers to choose from. Having a greater talent pool will enable employers to choose carefully resulting in a greater chance of your CV needing to impress them.

New budgets

The first few months of the year are normally the best times to apply for new jobs. Many job deadlines close at the end of January, so it allows for candidates plenty of time to apply within the New Year. Employers are also given a new budget at the start of every year, so this gives candidates a better chance at finding a new job and being hired. The salary is the main factor a candidate will look at when applying for a new job, so linking this with a company’s new budgets may mean the company will have more money to give to candidates.

What you can do to prepare yourself

Update your CV

When applying for new job in January it is essential that you keep your CV updated to keep track of your most recent skills and progression. Your CV is the first thing an employer will look at and it is your chance to stand out from the crowd, therefore making it a crucial factor when you are trying to start a new career. The key areas of your CV that you will need to keep updated are:

  • Your skills (technical and soft)
  • Employment history
  • Work experience
  • Qualifications

Once you have updated your CV it is important for you to understand exactly what job you are looking for. Applying for jobs you are marginally interested in will not benefit you in the future as this will impact your engagement, performance and success. Instead of applying for any job, try and find roles that you are passionate about and perhaps create a list that aligns with your personality, skills and interests. From this you are able to understand what companies you want to apply for and why.

You can also register with a recruitment agency that specialise in your area of interest and skills. Having a professional confidant in the industry can help you find jobs that may not be advertised on generic job boards.

 

Practice interview answers

For some it may have been a while since you have been interviewed and therefore it will be beneficial to practice some generic interview questions. If you have been invited for an interview, do not wait until the night before to go through potential interview questions, you should start preparing as soon as you can. The majority of employers will always start with questions about yourself such as ‘Tell me about yourself’ or ‘What do you do in your spare time’. Following this they may ask you some competency questions which are based on your previous experience and certain situations you may have found yourself in. Competency based interview questions are a good way of an employer finding out how you would handle certain situations if they were ever to arise, and this can say a lot about you. It is also a good idea to know what you are looking for from the jobs you have applied for. This way if you are asked during the interview process, you can answer in a matter of seconds.

Some companies will have a long interview process which can last a few months, whereas other companies may invite you in for an interview within the next week. Therefore, you should always be prepared and have an interview outfit ready, so you feel well equipped for when the day comes. You can check out other interview hint and tips here: https://2icglobal.com/interview-hints-tips/

 

Update your social presence

Although your CV and cover letter will be the first documents an employer will look at, it is also beneficial to keep your social channels up to date. Recruiters may look at your LinkedIn for example to see if your experience matches up with your experience on your CV. More employers are using LinkedIn and may want to view your profile before calling you. You should ensure that you have a professional photo on your profile, your work experience is up to date and you have the relevant skills listed as this can be a decider for some employers.

 

Good luck! We wish you the best in achieving your career goals this year, and hope you’ll be in touch with us if you’re looking for a change so we can help.

Top 11 Skills Wanted By Employers in 2020

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The 11 Most Important Job Skills Every Company Will Be Looking For In 2020

As the world evolves to embrace the 4th industrial revolution, our workplaces are changing. Just as other industrial revolutions transformed the skillset and experience required from the workforce, we can expect the same from this revolution. Only five years from now, 35 percent of the skills seen as essential today will change according to the World Economic Forum. While we’re not able to predict the future, yet, here are the eleven most important job skills every company will be looking for in 2020.

1.  Data Literacy

Data has become every organisation’s most important asset—the “fuel” of the 4thindustrial revolution. Companies that don’t use that fuel to drive their success will inevitably fall behind. So, to make data valuable, organisations must employ individuals who have data literacy and the skills to turn the data into business value.

2.  Critical Thinking

There’s no shortage of information and data, but individuals with the ability to discern what information is trustworthy among the abundant mix of misinformation such as fakes news, deep fakes, propaganda, and more will be critical to an organisation’s success. Critical thinking doesn’t imply being negative; it’s about being able to objectively evaluate information and how it should be used or even if it should be trusted by an organisation. Employees who are open-minded, yet able to judge the quality of information inundating us will be valued.

3.  Tech Savviness

Technical skills will be required by employees doing just about every job since digital tools will be commonplace as the 4th industrial revolution impacts every industry. Artificial intelligence, Internet of Things, virtual and augmented reality, robotics, blockchain, and more will become a part of every worker’s everyday experience, whether the workplace is a factory or law firm. So, not only do people need to be comfortable around these tools, they will need to develop skills to work with them. Awareness of these technologies and relevant technical skills will be required for every job from a hairstylist to an accountant and everything in between.

4.  Adaptability and Flexibility

As quickly as the world is changing, the half-life of skills is constantly reducing. Therefore, people need to commit to learning new skills throughout their careers and know they must be adaptable to change. Important to this is understanding that what worked yesterday isn’t necessarily the best strategy for tomorrow, so openness to unlearning skills is also important. Additionally, people must be cognitively flexible to new ideas and ways of doing things.

5.  Creativity

Regardless of how many machines work beside us, humans are still better at creativity. It’s essential that creative humans are employed by companies to invent, imagine something new and dream up a better tomorrow. Tomorrow’s workplaces will demand new ways of thinking, and human creativity is critical to moving forward.

6.  Emotional Intelligence (EQ)

Another area where humans have the edge on machines is with emotional intelligence—our ability to be aware of, control, and express our emotions and the emotions of others. This ability will be important as long as there are humans in the workforce since it impacts every interaction we have with one another.

7.  Cultural Intelligence and Diversity

Organisations are increasingly diverse, and effective employees must be able to respect differences and work with people of a different race, religion, age, gender, or sexual orientation. Also, businesses are increasingly operating across international boundaries, which means it is important that employees are sensitive to other cultures, languages, political, and religious beliefs. Employees with strong cultural intelligence and who can adapt to others who might perceive the world differently are also key in developing more inclusive products and services for an organisation.

8.  Leadership Skills

Leadership skills will be paramount for not only those at the top of a traditional corporate hierarchy but increasingly for those individuals throughout the company who are expected to lead in the 4th industrial revolution. Enabled by the support of machines, there will be more individuals who are in decision-making positions, whether leading project teams or departments. Understanding how to bring out the best in and inspire every individual within a diverse and distributed workforce requires strong leadership skills.

9.  Judgement and Complex Decision Making

Machines might be able to analyse data at a speed, and depth humans are incapable of, but many decisions regarding what to do with the information provided by machines must be still made by humans. Humans with the ability to take input from the data while considering how decisions can impact the broader community, including effects on human sensibilities such as morale, are important members of the team. So, even if the data support one decision, a human needs to step in to think about how a decision could impact other areas of the business, including its people.

10. Collaboration

When companies are looking to hire humans in the 4th industrial revolution, skills that are uniquely human such as collaboration and strong interpersonal skills will be emphasized. They will want employees on their team who can interact well with others and help drive the company forward collectively.

11.  In addition to the skills listed above that every company will be looking for in the 4th industrial revolution, there are several self-management skills that will make people more successful in the future, including self-motivation, prioritisation/time management, stress management and the ability to embrace and celebrate change. Those people who have a growth mindset, are adept at experimenting and learning from mistakes, as well as have a sense of curiosity will be highly coveted in the 4th industrial revolution.

Learn how to implement and execute these top 11 skills in preparation for your next interview. 

 

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. Bernard Marr

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