Organizations need to work more efficiently and deliver more value to stay ahead in today’s competitive and disruptive marketplace. And that’s what digital technology promises.Digital transformation has become increasingly essential for enterprises as the cutting-edge technologies give a much-needed boost to organizations during these difficult times of the pandemic. It allows the organizations to optimize their processes, meet the objectives, engage with stakeholders, and remove constraints that bottleneck the growth.
And while all these advantages sound promising, they also fizzle out when organizations fail to develop a robust plan and preparethoroughly for the undertaking. According to a press release issued by Gartner, worldwide IT spending will reach approximately $4.5 trillion in 2022. However, the results aren’t yet sure.
There are numerous factors, external and internal, to take into account. Adopting new technology is a significant undertaking, from getting the logistics right and winning over the leading investors. Even the slightest mistake or error can make the whole process more convoluted. As a result, projects either fall short or fail, which hampers the organizational objectivessignificantly.
While leveraging technology is mainly about attaining fruitful outcomes. Nonetheless, the more unruffled your journey is, the more likely you will reach your goals unscathed.
Are you unsure how to unlock the digital value and accomplish technology goals? Here’s a list of some typical technology mistakes that you must avoid to transform your organization for the better:
Going too fast
While you might be itching to implement technology all at once, moving too fast can spell negative consequences. For instance, suppose you are a self-storage business owner who wants to give your business a digital overhaul. In this scenario, the inconsistent rollout can only worsen things and disorient your staff members. Therefore, before carrying out technological transformations to automate various business operations, first,figure out your pain points. For example, you may want to provide your customers with seamless payment options. Or you may wish to offer them quick and easy ways to reserve storage units? Perhaps you want to optimize your website and improve the rankings on search engines to drive organic traffic.
Once you figure out the pain points and priorities, try not to rush things. Instead, gradually implement the self storage technology according to customer needs and organizational goals. Going digital is a continuous process that can stretch for years. Therefore, concentrate on the journey as well. And not just the destination. One best approach is to designate a point person for technology implementation. That way, you can ensure that your investments meet your organizational objectives.
Inadequate employee training
After deciding on the most advanced technology for your organization’s pain points, you may get tempted to integrate it as quickly as possible to improve your bottom line. However, as exciting as incorporating new technology might sound to you, you can’t expect your employees to be on the same wavelength. The reason may be your employees don’t have a clear understanding of how to use it.
For this reason, employers must offer proper training to ensure everything goes without any hiccups. Often, many companies make the biggest mistake by leaving training to the last minute and leaving it at the hands of a manager who isn’t well-skilled.
Therefore, organizational leaders must have first-hand knowledge of the technology to avoid leading their team in the wrong direction.
Lack of solid plan in place
You might be aware of the well-known saying, “By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.” Unfortunately, this is every organization’s most typical mistake during technology adoption.
Falling for the allure of new technology and getting enthusiastic about digital solutions is a common thing. And even more when stakeholders believe that incorporating the new platform will increase the likelihood of the project’s success. However, the downside is that people generally get carried away and keep adding additional requirements. Moreover, since every department has competing demands, the situation grows more political and complex.
With that in mind, it’s indispensable to map out clear-cut and measurable goals to hit new benchmarks. Therefore, ask yourself – what impacts can technology have on your project and business functions? What particularly do you wish to achieve? What success means to you? Once you have envisaged success and answered other questions, determine how you will keep tabs on the progress. One good practice is to keep a written record of your goals, procedures, and policies to ensure everyone remains on the same page.
Poor communication with employees
Business leaders are often too keen on implementing newinnovative technology. They lose sight of how this new addition can influence the company culture and employees. As a result, organizations face impediments when leveraging new technology at the workplace.
No matter which organization, there will always be initial resistors to technology. And your traditional approach might be to dismiss them and focus on the other workers. However, this might encourage other employees who didn’t resist the tech change initially, to drift back and follow the old practices.
Therefore, instead of avoiding, try to maintain an open communication channel with employees and listen to their concerns. Employee buy-in is exceptionally crucial for a smooth digital transformation. You can glean valuable insights and mitigate any potential challenges by giving your employees the freedom to ask ‘what and why’ behind a tech change.
Forget to track progress
For any change to be successful, it’s paramount to keep track of progress. The same is the case with digital transformation. You can’t simply rely on your instincts to figure if the technology works at its full potential and meets business objectives. In simpler terms, your organizational goals hold no meaning if they aren’t measurable.
Besides general technology adoption, there are several other metrics that you must keep tabs on after rolling out new digital solutions. That’s because these metrics help you determine whether the technology you integrated breeds desired results or not. Not to forget how monitoring progress enables you to take timely actions and make incremental improvements.
Therefore, always make measurement a part of your technology implementation strategy.
Final Words
Undoubtedly, technological advancements are exciting and worth the endeavors. The right technology not only saves you from recurring headaches and hassles by streamlining business processes. It also provides the opportunity to drive more revenue.
And while it’s easy to get captivated with the charm of cutting-edge technologies, it’s crucial to understand that these updates don’t bring success overnight. The fact is, the incorporation of new technology is a complex process. Just as we couldn’t anticipate the situations that precipitated the quick, broad implementation of digital technologies, likewise, it’s hard to predict what lies ahead in the future.
If you wish to bring modern technology onboard, you need to consider several factors than those discussed above. Therefore, take consistent steps such as a well-defined plan, effective communication, and proper follow-up to make your organization a technology update success story.
