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Digital Transformation

Expanding Our Organisational Digital Capability

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Digi Skills is an employability and digital training agency that supports those that have low digital skills or those that are furthest from the job market. As a business, we work within our communities to upskill those that are entering into employment, changing jobs, or simply wanting to upskill themselves to be more connected and educated. Our aim is to reduce the digital divide by giving everyone the chance to learn new digital skills.

What we do:

We have been extremely successful at delivering digital training workshops and 1-1 support to over 5000 people on over 100 different topics over the last 7 years. These workshops include:

  • How To Get Online
  • Online Safety & Scam Awareness
  • Careers – Creating a Digital CV and Cover Letter
  • Video Interviews and Video Calling
  • How To Work From Home
  • How To Build A Business
  • Staying Organised With Emails And Calendars
  • Improving Your Health Online
  • Managing Your Money
  • Using Public Services

 

Over the last two years, we have seen the demand for our services sore as Covid19 changed the digital landscape forever. This included how people apply for jobs, how and where we work, and how we can safely stay connected to our friends, family, and work colleagues.

 

Why we needed to increase our digital capability:

As an organisation we needed to be able to strategically engage with past and future attendees and offer further support & digital skills training. We knew that our learners wanted more support and we wanted to be able to help them, and follow their journey. We also wanted our organisation to be more sustainable, increase our organisation’s digital capability and improve our own use of technology. Good Things foundation helped make this a reality.

With the support from the BT Digital Capability fund and Good Things Foundation we were able to develop, test and deliver an idea to make our organisation become more effective and efficient for our learners and staff. This included:

  • Creating a centralised platform and introducing a new CRM (Customer Relationship Management) system
  • Create a social media strategy for retargeting previous learners with updated information and new courses available for further learning
  • Execute a marketing strategy with selected user groups. Educate and inform our community on further signposting and courses available

 

This project helped us re-engage previous learners and support our staff to understand the previous learner’s goals and future ambitions. This also helped reduce administration time and improve the customer/learner journey. We were also able to effectively recruit new learners via social media advertising and email campaigns by strategically creating tailored messages that would spark the interest of each user group and demographic. We were also able to inform our volunteers and digital champions of events and workshops that were available in their area so they could inform those that may not be connected online YET!

 

What we achieved together:

We achieved amazing results with some learners getting new jobs, older adults getting online for the first time, some even learning how to use a tablet and send an email for the first time. School kids getting an injection of inspiration to open their eyes to a world of possibility and other diverse groups learning how to video call their families that live all over the world. Reducing the administration time and working smarter as an organisation allowed us to expand and win new business and also have a bigger impact within the community.

 

What’s Next:

Moving forward we hope to build on the great work that Good Things Foundation has helped us create and expand our digital skills resources, support, and digital capability. If anyone Northern Ireland area needs support with digital skills training as an individual, community group, or business please feel free to get in touch.

 

4 Technical & Transformational skillsets in high demand

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Businesses digital transformation requirements have accelerated with the additional demand on technology due to current circumstances. Technical and Transformational skillsets are highly sought-after now more than ever. With any change you will need people who can play various critical roles and keep your business operational, relevant and accessible. Digital transformation is about more than the technology needed to create the transformation: In fact, the technology typically takes a back seat to the other capabilities needed to make your digital transformation a success.

So, with regard to building your team, you may need to think outside the box, moving beyond the typical IT talent pool and skillsets. Building out a team of people who can flex their technical muscles when needed but can also pivot to call upon their non-technical expertise will help your organization meet the growing digital demands of IT and the business.

As a business or hiring manager focus on the areas that enable people and processes to accelerate your company’s strategy. Lead in areas such as enterprise service management, IT branding and communications, technology business management, digital adoption, and change management – all of which require skills beyond the purely technical. Likewise, other areas of your team could expand into roles including, digital solutions consultants, delivery managers, and process improvement/automation specialists.

 

4 skillsets that are in high demand

So what should you be looking for, besides the requisite (and important) technical skill sets? Consider the kinds of people listed below – and don’t be afraid to bring people onto your team who don’t have a traditional IT career path. Folks who have not spent their whole career in IT can add some unique perspectives and take the team in directions not previously considered.

Consider how potential team members could play these roles in your organization:

1. Connectors

It goes without saying that the IT team of the 21st century must be able to work with its partners across the business. But looking for connectors means finding those people who not only are good with people but also can make connections across the organization.

Connectors know people as well as the work that is happening across the organization.

They are tuned in to what is happening, not only in IT but also in other areas of the business. They know people as well as the work that is happening across the organization. They know if an initiative in IT for the finance team is related to an initiative in another area of IT supporting the sales team – and they know the people to talk to in order to make the connections.

2. Challengers

Challengers are the people who help us ensure we are doing our best work. They think critically about the path forward and are not afraid to challenge the status quo. This is different from someone who always questions things and puts up roadblocks: Challengers think strategically about the path forward and ask the “what if” and “why not” questions that are critical to any transformation.

3. Agilists

While traditional agile methodologies are important in transformation activities, an Agilist in this context is someone who can adapt to changes and unexpected turns. By definition, transformation is “a thorough or dramatic change in form or appearance” – so successful digital transformation efforts must include people who can recognize the need to change direction and quickly pivot to the new plan. They model how to effectively respond to change and will help others adapt as well.

4. Navigators

If we need to change course, navigators ensure we adjust our GPS settings to account for the re-routing across all aspects of the initiative.

Digital transformation by its very nature can be a bit chaotic and can veer into the tendency to chase the next “bright shiny object.” Navigators define the route and help keep the ship headed in the right direction; they remind us where we are trying to go and the path we agreed to take. And if we need to change course, they help us ensure we adjust our GPS settings to account for the re-routing across all aspects of the initiative.

As the IT landscape continues to evolve, how we support and partner with the business will continue to evolve as well. Focusing on both technical and transformational skillsets in your business will set the stage for success today and in the future. For more information on how to hire digital experts for your business or find a job that will challenge you, please get in touch.

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. 

 

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