Written by: Thomas Karlsson
What is a digital transformation?
The definition of a digital transformation can easily be described as the replacement of non-digital or manual processes to a completely digital process. Or the replacement of older digital technologies with newer digital tools and software systems.
Digital Transformation is more than a trendy tech word. A digital transformation is a complex process, which will impact multiple aspects of your company. Whether you're a small new startup or a big national company trying to boost your business, it is therefore important that you set clear goals with the transformation and work within a reasonable time frame to carry out the process properly.
Why is digital transformation so important?
Why is this digital transformation essential for today’s businesses? The answer to this one is simple - you will be able to save both time and money. With well-functioning digital systems, you will also prevent future frictions in the organization. If you implement systems that are kept up to date, you won’t have to worry about your business not being able to scale at your desired rate.
What are the biggest challenges?
Finding a digital solution that works for the entire organization is a well-known problem for many companies today. As a digital consultancy agency, we at Omnitas Consulting have encountered all sorts of problems our clients have had when trying to implement or design a new system themselves. There are, in fact, some problems that many of our clients have in common. Below we list the most common problems companies have today and suggestions for solutions based on our experience.
Friction in the Process
No matter the size of a change in an organization's workflows, the change will always be associated with various friction levels. It is not always the size of the change that will determine the friction. Sometimes a small change can have far-reaching consequences for the employees. If the process is not well planned out, it will become a huge bottleneck and the main focus of the employees' frustration.
Based on our experience, we can underline that a carelessly conducted pre-study is the problem for many companies we meet. Our recommendations in these cases are to make sure to map the work process from all perspectives before change begins. We will go through the importance of a pre-study a little further down in the text.
Inefficient Digital Tools or Systems
Many companies use digital systems and tools that are not up-to-date or adapted to the business's challenges and needs. This will definitely result in lower efficiency. If these tools do not integrate with each other, employees also have to spend far too much time on manual reporting and unnecessary administration, creating frustration and confusion.
When reports and submissions are made manually, there is also a risk of missing or losing important details. This can affect the workflow in general and can lead to a loss of overview of the organization's ongoing projects.
Therefore, it is important to look for digital tools and systems that you can integrate with your existing ones. Alternatively, implement a new master system such as monday.com, where you can gather everything in one place.
Technical and Functional Requirements
Technical and functional requirements are incredibly important elements of a successful procurement. Most organizations today do not have the required skills in-house to map relevant requirements. Poorly designed requirements can have big financial consequences and leave you with a software solution that meets all your requirements but still solves none of the problems.
There is a risk that your requirements direct you towards a system that is far too expensive in relation to what you need, as you pay for a lot of extra functions that do not add value or desired effect. In the same way, an underestimation of future functions needed will limit your possibility to grow within the solution, in the long run, forcing a new procurement much sooner than expected.
The digital solution should be adapted to your organization and not the other way around. When a team is too focused on technology rather than solving a problem, the project is likely to fail, and you will meet resistance when starting over.
What are the stages of digital transformation? And where should you start?
Everyone encounters different challenges in a digital transformation. Each process will be unique and adapted for your specific unique needs. That being said, there are standardized methods, tools, processes, and exercises that you need to adjust to facilitate your operational challenge(s). We recommend following all the steps listed below based on years of experience as a digital consulting firm. We ourselves follow these steps with all our clients.
4 Important Stages of Successful Digital Transformation
We have designed and implemented digital solutions together with many types of companies. Based on our experience, we can see clear factors that contribute to success. Below we have listed 4 stages that we believe different types of digital changes should undergo for a successful transformation.
1. Analyzing and mapping
Never underestimate the importance of a good and well-planned pre-study. Let the analysis take time and ensure that no important aspects are forgotten. Below we have gathered some methods we at Omnitas Consulting use in the pre-studies to gain insight into the companies we meet. And to make sure to identify the challenges and needs of every specific company.
Surveys and interviews
Starting a change with a survey and deep-selected interviews can be very beneficial in understanding the current situation and the mood of the organization. You can design the survey either around clear, predetermined KPIs or use the survey to understand which KPIs to focus on to increase the average overall value for the organization.
Workplace observation
Depending on the problem definition, workplace observations might be a very good tool to understand how the work is being done in reality and not only depending on verbal accounts. That being said, the downside is that it is rather time-consuming, and one workday is usually not enough.
Business blueprint/flowchart
A blueprint/flowchart can be used to understand what needs to be done to achieve the desired effect. With a few additions, the flowchart can be enhanced to become a Critical Path Analysis (CPA) which will help you identify standard runtime, time dependencies, and the most vital and critical steps in your process/workflow to focus on supporting them.
Designing of KPIs
Understanding and designing relevant KPIs that can be tracked and measured can be a minefield and something a lot of organizations struggle with. A good KPI needs to be both relevant and measurable. It is quite common to see subjective or value-based KPIs, which in the end makes it impossible to follow up the true performance.
2. Choosing new digital tools and systems
Organizations of all sizes meet different challenges in different processes. This means that one solution does not fit all, and you need to have a tool that can be tailored to your bespoke and ever-changing needs.
There are, in fact, some hands-on Dos and Don’ts that every project-/change manager should have in mind when planning to implement a new effective digital tool in the organization. If you want more hands-on tips for choosing the right digital tools and systems, read the Omnitas dos and don'ts list.
Our personal recommendation
It is important to find digital tools and systems based on your presented problem and desired effect. To make your new solution run smoothly with the entire organization, it's crucial to work with digital platforms that everyone will find effective and easy to use.
In the majority of cases, our implementations are based on monday.com. There are many reasons we recommend the platform to our clients, no matter the industry or company size. monday.com as a Work OS offers a level of customization and flexibility no other service allows while still being easy to set up without being a developer. monday.com is a great master system filled with functionality tailored to most verticals, industries, and use cases.
If you work with a master system, or a Work OS as it’s called, such as monday.com, you will be able to gather all the workflows and processes in one place - giving you full access to all relevant data and insights around your business and its operations in one place.
Do you want to know more about monday.com? Read more about monday.com on Omnitas site.
3. Implementation
Describing and designing a competent workflow based around both hard KPIs and cultural values is just a starting point. Successful implementation needs to be planned, communicated, and managed to facilitate acceptance and, in the end, drive adoption.
Change management
Change management is about guiding individuals, groups, and organizations from where they are today to a desired final position in a structured way. Change management is about creating relevant behavioral changes that match the desired effect. A well-designed system will contribute to the desired understanding and behavioral change, but no matter how good a system is, it will always require operational rules and people who make the right decisions based on the information presented within. The level of involvement and driving force in the change management process will heavily influence the time commitment needed.
The power of communication
A successful change is based on long-term goals and employee involvement. If your employees do not feel that they are involved and can influence the transformation, there is a risk that they will lose their commitment, which will negatively impact the adoption of your very awesome new system or workflow. It is important to be transparent from the start and answer questions that arise throughout the journey. Why are we making this change? How will it affect your work? What support will you get? Will you be educated? What is the next step?
4. Adapting to the changes
As described in the paragraph with challenges, changes in an organization can cause a lot of frustration from employees. When it comes to digital change, the risks of friction are even greater.
In a company, there are all kinds of people with different technical experiences and habits. Some will have no problems at all with the new digital tool or system, while others will need more support and training.
Support and training
Strengthening your team through positive reinforcement is an important part. As mentioned above, new digital solutions will not be equally difficult for everyone. It is therefore important that you know your employees and can be supportive throughout the process.
All organizations should set aside time for support and training. Preferably more than what is needed. If you give your team a time frame that is too tight, it will negatively affect their attitude and performance.
Who should lead digital transformation projects?
Opinions vary about who should lead a digital transformation within a company. Regardless of industry or the digital transformation, talent is key. It is crucial to have the right people in the right place.
Many times, both management and employees feel safer when an external change manager supports the process in an objective way. Getting an outside resource for some or all stages of a digital transformation could be very beneficial from a few different perspectives:
No preconceptions based on “knowing the organization.”
No personal stake since the consultant is, in the end, not affected by the implementation.
Truly objective perspective making sure the recommendations are based on neutral optimization with the big picture perspective.
Through the consultant, you get access to wide experiences, lessons learned, and best practices from a wide range of industries.
You know your business best. The important thing is that you spend time analyzing the need and draw conclusions accordingly. If you are going to carry out the digital transformation yourself, it is important that you are aware of the time required to ensure a workable process. In many cases, we see that companies have far too little focus on pre-analysis. Many want to jump on the implementation right away. This often leads to the process taking much more time, as you have to start over.
Successful Digital Transformation Example
As a digital consultancy agency, we at Omnitas help companies digitize and streamline workflows regardless of industry or size. Digital transformation in various sizes and shapes is what we breathe. In the following example, we want to demonstrate the opportunities created when you get help from an external party.
How we built streamlined workflows in only 25 hours
Together with our client MyEllevate, our implementation consultants at Omnitas consulting completely automated their core workflows in only 25 hours. This was made possible by the platform monday.com and the integrations by Integromat. But also thanks to a structured pre-analysis carried out by the client themselves.
We built streamlined workflows, which helped them to automate processes and get rid of unnecessary administration. Now they have a CRM system that manages all their workflows in one place. We also integrated and automated their billing system, and all their shipping orders are now placed automatically. We built this custom two-way synchronization thanks to monday.com being highly compatible with the power of Integromat.
This is a great example that showcases the value of using an external expert for your digital transformation. We are aware of what is offered on the market and are knowledgeable enough to think outside the box. The digital solutions we offer always meet strict requirements, regardless of whether the solution comes from one of our partners or us.
Book a Free Consultation
If you have stayed with us through this entire guide, you must really need a digital transformation. Luckily, this is where our worlds collide. Book a meeting with us by this link, and you will get a 30 minutes consultation for free.
As mentioned earlier, getting an outside perspective on your processes and way of working is always beneficial. No matter your presented pain points or your desired effect, Omnitas will assist you throughout the entire process.
We will set up a workshop to discuss the relevant workflows and processes to understand the current way of working and future desired effects. After the workshop, the team at Omnitas will put together a suggestion on how to move forward (solution design and implementation plan).
Written by: Thomas Karlsson
Thomas Karlsson is the CEO and foundingpartner of Omnitas Consulting. Throughout his career, Thomas has been working with organization, processes, and workflows. Through his systematic and scrutinizing "no-nonsense" approach, he tends to effectivize most organizations. With a background in the Swedish armed forces (Director of personnel) and later as the COO of a Growth Consultancy Bureau in Stockholm, Thomas has acquired more than his fair share of experiences in management consulting. He has today positioned himself as one of the, if not the, leading consultant on monday.com and workflow enhancement.
