5 useful lessons for any digital transformation project

For over 10 years, I’ve worked as a digital transformation and strategy consultant.

In that time, I’ve worked with a wide range of charities and non-profit organisations. However big or small the organisation, whatever their mission, I’ve found there are a few common themes which come up time and time again.

Here are 5 lessons I’ve learned. Incorporating these into my process over the past three years has helped me get to better results for the client. I hope you’ll find them useful too. 

1. Clarifying concepts at the start saves confusion down the line

While working with one client, I noticed that they seemed to disagree with me on things I thought were obvious.

When I collaborated with senior leaders in another organisation to identify priorities for digital transformation, they were unsure why I kept talking about anything but technology.

So we slowed down, and took the time to go over the basic digital transformation questions again.

As I spoke to them more, I found out that they were unclear on the meaning of a lot of the terms we were using. 

But most importantly, they were still not totally clear about ‘why’ of digital transformation: what specific benefit it would bring to the organisation. 

These situations reminded me of colleague’s advice years ago: “It’s better to repeat than to assume knowledge”. So I went over the benefits and opportunities again. Together, we explored why digital transformation is so disruptive, and why it isn’t just about technology. 

Learning from those experiences, I now invest time during the first stage of my digital transformation process clarifying the definitions of key terms like digital maturity, digital transformation and a digitally mature organisation, so that everyone is on the same page. I also insist on clarifying the contribution to an organisation’s mission and linking it to the organisation's strategy and planning. 

2. Digital transformation is a culture and a mindset shift

A lot of people think digital transformation is just digitising systems and processes, but it’s so much more than that. 

You won’t succeed in your digital transformation programme if you hold on to old expectations and structures, while simply adding a bit of new technology. 

The most successful teams and organisations are the ones that are willing to update their approach. They recognise that new technology implies a new mindset, new ways of working and are ready to pilot and experiment in order to find them.

Agile, the approach used in the software development industry, has a lot to teach us about how to get the best out of people and teams while creating an effective end result.

Agile is more than a project management methodology. It’s a set of principles, a culture and mindset.

In the past few years, I’ve learned that bringing aspects of agile culture into my digital maturity and strategy work helps organisations become more digitally mature - more prepared for the 21st century challenges.

3. Collaboration creates powerful outcomes

For people to agree and buy into something, they need to understand why it’s worth doing.

To understand that, they need to be given time and space to think and discuss.  

It does take more time to do it this way. And it requires senior managers to give teams the freedom they need, to participate as equals. 

The process may be challenging. Disagreement and conflict can occur. But the outcome will be much stronger and more effective because it’s the output of team’s collaboration, not something that was imposed on them by one person. 

I found that my team coaching skills and tools come in very handy here, allowing me to facilitate the discussion, use conflict within the team constructively, respond to people’s energy levels, while maintaining a strategic vision and guiding people towards a solution. 

4. Articulating the value pays dividends

If it’s not clear what an organisation will get out of digital transformation, it’s understandable that many people’s first thought is “oh not another project for my to-do list.”

We have to take the time at the beginning to define and communicate the value of digital transformation. It’s not a nice-to-have, it’s a strategic necessity. 

Defining the value will look different depending on the type of organisation. For health charities it might be about streamlining service delivery, or reaching more and more varied people across a wider geographical area. 

For campaigning organisations, it might be about building a global movement of people who share the vision of that organisation, who can advocate, donate money and share their stories. 

In the first stage of my updated three-step process, I take the time to discuss with stakeholders where digital transformation can bring the most value to their organisation. Then, looking at all the potential areas, we find the top priority to focus on, informed by their specific circumstances and opportunities.

5. There’s no such thing as over-communicating

Digital transformation is a process of changing an organisation. Any information gaps lead to feeling of uncertainty amongst staff.

Because when there’s a lack of information, it gets filled - often by assumptions, rumours and misinformation. And once people believe something, the only way to change that is to tell a different story. 

I help my clients tell the story of their digital transformation process:

• Why the organisation is engaged in digital transformation, 

• What that means, 

• What the timeline is, 

• How decisions will be made, when and by whom,

• When people will have an opportunity to feed back, ask questions and engage more deeply.

• What other organisational processes will impact and will be impacted by the digital transformation process

This is the story that needs to be repeated. It doesn’t matter how often you think people have heard it, tell the story again.

You can share the story in a number of ways. For example, on the Intranet wherever people can see updates, in presentations at staff meetings, at special drop-in sessions, or in workshops with teams or departments. 

As part of my updated three-step process, I support clients by creating the communications plan, roadmap for change and the story for the digital transformation process itself. I also design and facilitate co-design sessions and discussions leading to the creation of new plans or ways of working.