7 Digital transformation
Prior to the pandemic, digital transformation was important to ensure that organisations and individuals had the infrastructure, knowledge, experience and capabilities to thrive in a digital world.
The pandemic accelerated the need to adopt digital technology, use data more effectively to make decisions, and focus on digital inclusion, both in terms of capabilities of organisations and individuals, but also how to support those who are digitally excluded.
For organisations that had to adapt and support remote working and for HEIs delivering remote learning, the role of technology within an organisation has become a key focus. The table below, from a report by McKinsey, demonstrates the speed of change due to the pandemic.
As organisations adopt a hybrid approach to working, the reliance on technology will remain, and understanding how it is evolving is important.
In the video contributors explain what organisations need to consider for digital transformation and the digital capabilities required for the future:
Download this video clip.Video player: hyb_1_2022_sept124_digital_transformation_and_skills_compressed.mp4
Transcript
JESSICA LEIGH JONES:
The word digital has really evolved in terms of its meaning. So when I first came across the word digital as an engineer, I assumed that meant ones and zeros, binary, now digital has grown to have this much broader, much more holistic meaning about workflow and leadership and agile ways of working. So when we think about standards in digital, I think it's very easy to get caught up in the idea of using specific tools.
And in our organisation, previously, we made the mistake of mandating certain tools. We don't mandate what tools they use. So if they’re using an iPad, they might use Procreate, if they’re using a Windows machine, they might use Inkscape. And that's fine as long as the format is the same. But also, I think it's less about the tool itself and more about the way that those tools are used.
So for example, mind-mapping tools like Miro, like MURAL, Google Jamboard, they are great for collaboration but only if you put the preparation in to take your users through that journey. So the tool itself does not compensate for the workflow. The tool is part of the workflow. There are three types of digital role within a modern organisation.
So there are digital architects or digital leaders, and they are the people who really understand digital workflows, understand how to create and facilitate collaboration within the workforce. Then you have your digital developers. So these are the typical people that we think of when we talk about digital. These are your coders, your programmers. The people who develop the tools that we use to enable our organisations to become digital.
And then you have everybody else. Everybody else sits in that box of being a digital consumer. And so no matter what level, no matter what role, when you're recruiting somebody into an organisation or you're going through a digital transformation with your existing workforce, you have to think about those basic level digital consumer skills that everybody needs.
GEMMA HALLETT:
Technology is so different in the workplace. I see it all the time with our innovative start-up, high-growth, fast-moving companies, start-ups. Exciting places to work, of the latest technology. And then I see maybe-- for want of a better position, I'll pick the local authority. I've walked into council buildings where they're using big desktop monitors, keyboard, mouse. It's just that, if that's the world of work these young people are going into, then that's a different skill set, especially digital skill set than the ones for high fast-growing and fast-moving companies. Suppose technology-wise, digital-wise.
But we're also seeing it in the care sector as well. That's gone from writing down daily reports and leaving it in the kitchen or-- especially in domestic care where care workers have gone from using pen and paper to now there's an iPad mounted there and they're having to record everything digitally. And the skill shortage there when it comes to digital skills is huge. The training they have to do to bring somebody that's been in care for the last 10, 20, 30 years to be able to use an iPad and the apps that they use to monitor everything. That's the way the care sector is going. And that needs that skill set as well.
JONATHAN MORGAN:
It's very easy, when you're in an education environment, to play with a concept or a tool. But actually in the real world, what the customer wants is a rounded product, 100% working without flaws with documentation, that horrible word nobody likes. But actually, a product that's thought through from beginning to end. And perhaps, in education, as we do digital transformation, as we look at new technologies that can be used, it's also about the quality of delivery that ultimately customers will want to have in the real world.
New ways of working are phenomenal. Some of the productivity that comes out of new tools, some of the new things that are happening in my world and in asset management. How do you search a video? Can you search on people's faces? Can you search on the text? Can you have analysis of video to know that's a car chase, that's a romantic scene, that's something else happening and be able to search on that. So some of the technologies that are coming up productivity-wise, functionality-wise, they are going to transform the way that data in the media industry is used and that is so exciting.
BECKI VICKERSTAFF:
If we think outside of the education sector initially. If we look at just our digital world, pretty much everything we need to do is needing to be done online if we think about even paying our car tax, things like that. That requires us to be able to do these things online. So that initial-- it's having that awareness of the appropriate technology and the appropriate techniques to be able to-- again, it's about thriving successfully in a digital world but also having that awareness of where our own digital capabilities lie is really important.
And I think with staff and students initially, I think, there is a bit of a consensus, if you like, that when students come into the university, they're very naturally digitally literate, if you like. They're very happy with it. But whether that's necessarily true, I think what we have to understand is about the correct use of these digital technologies and it's about supporting staff and students. So we're thinking about the digital needs of our students and our graduates as well. When they go out into the workplace, the workplace is changing phenomenally at the moment in terms of the digital space.
So we need to provide them with those transferable digital skills. And I think as technology is evolving so quickly, I mean, suddenly, everyone is probably more aware of Teams than they ever were before and Zoom. So it's given us the idea that we need to be able to adapt with that. So we need to really embed that lifelong learning, embed the space to broaden those skills and also to be able to learn them as well.
MYLES OGILVIE:
The pandemic made it clear that every organisation is enabled by software. So whether you're a pub or you're a university or you're a school or you're a business, software is making the difference between your ability to survive or fail. If you're a pub being able to track people during the pandemic, to pick up shopping from your front door or from outside or somehow interact with your customers. Equally important.
So software is eating the world is one of the phrases that's used. Is this has been true for many years. We are in the age of digital and unlike in the age of mass production where work was optimised around consistency and standardisation and output per minute, with software, users don't know what they need until they see it. And everything is unique and a different optimisation is needed.
What does digital transformation look like in the future? There are a few key things to bear in mind. Firstly, across industry, we see organisations really at the beginning of this journey. And so there is lots of change ahead of us. And it won't stop. It's not like there's a finite end point you get to, but there is a key shift going on at the moment.
And in making those shifts, we'd say firstly, as a leader, you need to be thinking hard about the type of leadership on offer, getting clarity on purpose and challenging themselves how to evidence and detect success. You need to think hard about your organisation structure. Are you optimised for the flow of value, or are you in role-based silo still? And thinking hard about the system of work. How to really visualise from strategy through to execution how to regularly re-prioritise based on knowledge and lessons that have been learnt and pivoting to focus on the right thing.
NATASHA DAVIES:
So I think, as businesses, but also from the government, we absolutely need to have investment in basic digital skills to make sure that everybody's got a good baseline. I think some organisations had to quite quickly, during the pandemic, adopt a far more digital first approach. We've seen mass take up of systems like Teams, which are constantly evolving and changing as new features are rolled out to help collaborative working.
So I also think it goes beyond the basic digital skills and making sure that we're supporting staff, and our workforce, and our leaders to be confident in embracing and trying out new technology as it comes. It can't be a static thing. So we're going to need to make sure that we're creating a culture in which constant learning is the norm. And I'm making sure that we've got the support measures in place, the training in place, and to make sure that people are confident as new technology comes out. Or changes to the technology we're using every day are coming out, because they come out faster than-- you can keep up with a lot of the time.
I think we're going to need to make sure that leaders, in particular, have a good understanding about how different digital tools can be best used to support Agile and inclusive ways of working. No one digital solution is going to offer everything that we need. So our leaders are going to have to really be confident in doing that and able to lead by example on that, because if you've got a leader who's very hesitant about new technology, that's going to roll down into the way that teams are able to work.
ELISE LOCKYER:
Digital transformation, if you ask me what's going to happen in the next 5, 10 years, I can't tell you. I couldn't have told you what would have happened pre-pandemic. So the best skills that any individuals can have within an organisation or coming into employment for their first time is the desire to constantly learn, grow, develop, ask questions, stay curious, and be constantly open, and driven to learn, grow, and evolve their skills.
Of course, all the basic digital skills that children of today, adults of today within a professional working environment have are very, very important. But the ability and the openness and drive to develop those skills, learn more, adapt, grow, are the soft skills that are going to enable you to enhance and drive yourself forward and businesses forward.
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The figure below provides a useful summary of the some of the changes that occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic that are likely to continue.
Organisations need to consider not only their internal environment but also their supply chain and, critically, online security and behaviour. As organisations place more trust on employees, it is paramount that they raise their understanding of and ability to work securely online and use technology and systems (such as file sharing and storage) safely and correctly.
They also need to investigate the infrastructure and tools required, and plan for the future, while ensuring a focus on digital sustainability, the digital capabilities required and government strategies.
Some key themes organisations are considering for the future include:
- automation of business processes − machine learning and artificial intelligence (AI)
- cloud computing
- use of data to drive decision making
- attracting talent with the right digital capabilities
- zero-trust approach to security
- how the metaverse will develop
- sustainability − reaching net zero, and carbon footprints.