Living in a digital world means change is not only inevitable but also rapid. Digital transformation mandates companies upgrade their systems and ensure that employees have the right tools and the knowledge to use them. Technical changes is only half of the story, the other half is about how people cope and deal with these changes.
As Oracle CEO Safra Catz notes, “The hard thing about these transformations isn’t the technology. It’s the sociology.”⠀
An article in The Harvard Business Review recently shared some key tactics to enable successful digital transformation which include: using technology to make technology disappear, actively shaping day-to-day behavior, and systematically reinforcing desired behavior changes.⠀
A seamless transformation means that the presence and the use of new technology does not overwhelm the workforce but instead enables more productive ways of working. A significant barrier to change is the apprehension or resistance that stems from doing things differently. Companies are encouraged to have behavior enablers, artifacts, and nudges to prevent employee culture shock. ⠀
A behavior enabler might be something like a checklist or a ritual while artifacts and nudges come as a visual reminder to drive behavior change.
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Regular feedback from the users of technology is critical during the change, as is providing them with a balanced scorecard that measures and manages transformation efforts. ⠀
