Digital progress means nothing without people

The past couple of years have seen accelerated change across industries and markets, change that has fundamentally altered the perception of working practices. While technology has helped organisations keep operating remotely during the most challenging times, it has also shown the importance of people.

As your business continues digitising processes, it is critical that you include your people in your plans. After all, they are going to be responsible for implementing your strategies.

With the majority of workers now either expecting or demanding remote or hybrid work to be the new working normal, what’s needed of business to keep the workforce working the way they need and want to in this disruptive digital age?

Empower your people to act

One of the key principles of digitisation is to make more data available across your business. But more than simply keeping employees up-to-date, information can and must help them make smarter decisions more quickly. Which means providing easy access to the right information they need to do their jobs.

Your workers need to know they can use data and the valuable insight it can provide, applying it to their roles to help them be more efficient and productive. They must also be allowed to experiment, trying new ways of working that may not immediately deliver benefits – but which can help unlock new areas of business potential in a fail-fast, learn-faster capacity.

If the pandemic has taught us anything, it is the importance of collaboration tools. Whether or not your business decides to continue offering remote/flexi-working, you will still need tools that allow employees to work together more effectively – including those which typically involve manual processes.

Encourage your people to think bigger

Managers are typically responsible for defining your business strategy, but they should actively encourage input from employees. At the same time, encourage your employees to thinbottlenecks they encounter when dealing with other departments? What do they need to know – and where does that information need to come from?

Nurturing a ‘big picture’ culture will encourage your employees to get on board with the vision. Breaking the traditional boundaries between departments will make the business more cohesive and efficient – and more flexible, ready to adapt as the industry changes. It will also allow you to achieve the larger changes that disrupt the business – and eventually, your industry.

Your employees are a valuable asset – and once they learn how to use data correctly, they will become even more important. Don’t miss the opportunity to invest in your people as well as new digital technologies, otherwise your strategy will be unbalanced with variable (or disappointing) results.

After all, it is your people who will actually enact and embody positive changes in your operations.

Ready to learn more about how to get people on board with your digital future? Download our Practical Guide to Digitising Business Communications for more useful, practical advice to help you get started.