4 Steps To Surviving Digital Transformation

There's no doubt that we are in the middle of a revolution in technology (and therefore the businesses that knowingly or unknowingly rely on technology). As nearly everything becomes software and change happens quicker & quicker, businesses are being asked to transform themselves or be changed

So how does an organisation survive in a world where digital transformation is now the norm?

Embrace technology
It is no longer important for just your company COO or CTO to have all the senior level technical knowledge (although even some of these don't!). Instead other Exec roles such as Commercial Directors and CEOs now need more than just an awareness of what IT can deliver.

Hire the best people

This is very easy to say and often one of the hardest things to achieve. Hiring talented and motivated staff with a personality & approach that matches your company is incredibly difficult. Do you care if they don't wear business attire? Do you mind if they sometimes work from home or outside of the core 9 - 5 hours?  Do you want to pay them what the market (e.g. your competitors) pays?

Hint: If you don't have a huge network of digital contacts, make sure you know and use a very closely aligned recruiter.

Stay fast and agile

Don't just ask your staff to work faster and faster, there is a limit to the amount of output an individual or team can deliver - despite the 'lean' and 'growth' or hack' approaches that seem so popular now. Instead agile delivery needs support from all levels of the business (and it has to be encouraged from the top of an organisation, not just the bottom or the middle layers!).

Have a plan & communicate it
"Failing to plan is planning to fail" is the old maxim. And this is especially try when you are trying to carry out a potential change to your customer experience, back-end business processes and goodness knows what else.  There's also no point trying to carry out a digital transformation in a communication vacuum, it just doesn't work. And I don't mean just communicate with your peers or immediate boss either. Communicate with your board, your minor stakeholders and perhaps even shareholders (and consider communication to your customers too).
Hint: Adopt some of the newer communication, collaboration & project tools. If you don't know what Slack, Trello or even Yammer is.... find out!

The Future of Digital - thoughts Part 3

Further thoughts on the future of Digital, inspired by the Marketing Society's Digital Day 2015.

Q: What steps do you need to take to sustainably capitalise on the potential of digital within your business?

Collect and use data intelligently:
Whatever you do… ensure that you both collect data correctly and then use it in the best way possible to learn more and maximise value. E.g. Amazon, Google and Uber (as well as Scottish Unicorns: FanDuel & Skyscanner) have all built businesses based on interpreting and using data.

Think like a start-up:
With a small and dedicated team with the right combination of skills, experience and effort you can accelerate your digital output. Even the bigger digital-only businesses now buy smaller start-ups because they have the desire combination of product, skills and  intellectual property or just an idea.

Retain the best staff:
Keep the good ones and encourage the average ones to find out what they are good at. The biggest problems are those who have a misplaced sense of entitlement or use their efforts against others rather than as part of a team.

This is the third post on the Future of Digital, the first can be found here , the second can be found here.

Building a high performance digital team

I've been in this digital game a long time (in dog years, I should have been put out of my misery by now). I've therefore been part of and have personally built-up teams of digital specialists on both the agency/consulting side and as part of client organisations. From a crack development unit that managed to construct a financial services website from scratch in just a few weeks, through to a digital marketing department (starting with just one member) that managed a multi-mullion pound acquisition budget… I've hired, fired, seconded, acquired, procured and borrowed people from all manner of disciplines. And yes, building some wonderful and useful online stuff in the process.

I've therefore listed out the factors that I think are needed in the creation and development of a high performing digital team (plus to help me, I have also asked the team at one of my current clients to add their suggestions too).

A ‘can do’ attitude:
“I've done so much with so little for so long, I think I can do anything with bugger all!” was once the line mentioned to me by one team member over a decade ago. This partly sums up the sort of ‘can do’ attitude that can make all the difference in a smaller team. It is often not the tools, the processes or the technology that makes the difference, it is the mental approach of the individuals.

Tenacity:
Yes sure, the phase “work smarter not harder” is often used in management circles, however sometimes you just need a team to bear down on an issue and work at it for a while. This can be especially true when the work in question is a little more mundane or repetitive (e.g. when proof reading content or carrying out user acceptance testing – thanks JM!)

Ability:
I know this kinda goes without saying, but I did want to mention it. Working with a bunch of smart people who not only know their onions, but also can develop their skills and experience on the project (without affecting it) is usually a pleasure.  

So what do you think? Have I missed anything?

Embracing digital isn’t always easy – but it can be worth it!

Stop thinking of digital as an addition to your organisation and make it part of your day-to-day work, culture and business drivers.

Amazingly I still hear prospects and contacts saying how they are “adopting digital” or “embracing social media” within their company, when in fact what they really mean is…

“We’re going to continue to do what we’ve always done, but mention the occasional online buzzword when it suits us or when we think the boss is looking”

Does this sound familiar?

OK.... yes some do go part of the way and try to bolt-on digital ways of working to their standard practices. For example you see this when a company pilots something like an enterprise collaboration tool as a replacement for their Intranet, when they only have internal network access for their staff (or take on a Social Media marketing person, but then block access to the sites need because of ‘firewall’ policies).

However the truly evolved organisation is one that does actually take digital to the core of what it does and use it in the most relevant and productive way. This is typified when an organisation automatically writes normal press releases that are optimised for the keywords they are targeting as part of their SEO efforts. Or when it considers the mix of products it sells across different channels before it buys or manufacturers them (rather than selling the same stuff on its website as it sells in its stores).

This adoption doesn’t just result in a more connected company that can hopefully take advantage of more opportunities and learn to discard the negative ones quicker… but somewhere that hires & retains the most innovative & forward-thinking staff… plus one that can hopefully react to market pressures quicker.

Chief Blogging Officer

Social media, blogging and tracking your company's reputation online is a tricky job and not as much fun as it necessarily seems. But should this be one person's role? Well according to a recent article by Alex Vlasto of MIVA:

If you're still looking to get a better handle on Web 2.0, it may be time to hire someone to specifically track and improve your brand's social media presence.

Apparently, companies such as Kodak, Coca-Cola & Marriott have recently recruited people to blog and engage consumers online, some with the title "Chief Blogger"

Now there's nobody better to deal with an issue than someone who is trained, experienced and passionate about their job. However with the relative recent evolutiuon of social media, finding someone to fill this role may prove trickier than writing the job description. Existing recruitment agencies may be able to help, but most are still far more familiar with their Web1.0 recruitment job descriptions.

So, if you're looking to recruit, here's a few places for inspiration:

http://www.jobsinsocialmedia.com/
A social networking site set up for jobs in errr... social networking

http://www.web-strategist.com/blog/category/career/
Jeremiah's 'career' tag on his site highlights employment issues and roles within the industry