Digital transformation is no longer a luxury but a necessity for businesses across all industries. However, the fear of change can often act as a roadblock to successful digital transformation. Employees might resist the process or technology changes that come with digital transformation initiatives because they can disrupt their normal routines, or they may fear that new technology will make their jobs obsolete.
Oftentimes, this isn’t the case. In fact, implementing new codeless IT Service Management software or an integration and automation tool like iPaaS, for example, can alleviate the drain on employees and actually improve their work lives.
How to Change a Culture of Fear
Building a culture that embraces change can alleviate many of the fears that come with digital transformation initiatives and pave the way for a smooth transition to better, more modern technology and processes.
Here are a few things you can do now to build a culture that embraces change:
1. Foster Open Communication
Communication is key in any transformative process. It’s important to maintain transparency about the changes being implemented, their benefits and potential challenges. By keeping everyone informed, you can reduce uncertainty and resistance.
2. Promote a Learning Mindset
Digital transformation often involves learning new skills and technologies. Encourage employees to view this as an opportunity for growth rather than a threat. Provide necessary training and resources to facilitate learning and make it an integral part of your company culture.
3. Embrace Failure as Part of the Process
Innovation involves taking risks, and not every risk pays off. It’s essential to create a culture where failure is seen as a steppingstone to success, rather than something to be feared. This can help to foster a more innovative and resilient mindset among your employees.
4. Encourage Collaboration
Digital transformation isn’t a one-department job. It requires collaboration across all departments. Encouraging a collaborative environment can help to break down silos and ensure that everyone feels involved in the process. In addition, this can help ensure the processes and technology being implemented make sense for all of the departments involved.
The last thing you want is for IT to take one tool (like an ITSM platform) and deploy it to every department without taking into consideration the different terminology and processes used by each department. Instead, you can engage in Enterprise Service Management and use a flexible tool that fits the needs of IT but can be tailored to departments like marketing, finance, HR or facilities.
5. Lead by Example
Leadership plays a crucial role in setting the tone for change. Leaders who embrace digital transformation and communicate its benefits effectively can help to inspire the rest of the team to follow suit.
At Pima County, they started their digital transformation in IT so they could demonstrate the success of their new technology before rolling it out to the rest of the organization.
“The drudgery of working through mundane, repetitive tasks doesn’t exist just in IT,” Mark Hayes, information technology leader for the county, said. “I think the more we can reduce toil within the departments that we support, the more people are going to buy in and understand the value of what we’re trying to achieve. There’s nothing like success to breed more success, and once other departments see the benefits they’re going to want these tools too.”
And it’s that success that IT is starting to realize with ITSM and iPaaS from TeamDynamix, “We’ve been able to use our success to drive additional headcount in our organization, to do more and better things,” Hayes said.
“As we begin to do automation via workflows it’s only going to make it better,” he concluded. “We’re lucky in that our leadership understands that as the world has changed, IT has become the center of everything. They know that the more they invest in us, the more they can reap benefits and savings in other places.
6. Recognize and Reward Efforts
Acknowledging and rewarding the efforts of those who contribute to the digital transformation process can help to motivate others to do the same. This can also help to build a positive association with change.
Building a culture that embraces change isn’t something that happens overnight. It requires ongoing effort and commitment from everyone in the organization. But with the right approach, you can take the fear out of digital transformation and position your business for success in the digital age.
Remember, digital transformation is less about technology and more about people. The tools and technologies are just enablers; it’s the people who make digital transformation happen. So, invest in your people, nurture a culture of change and watch your digital transformation efforts soar.