KR5 Consulting - Business Technology Consulting

Communicating Digital Transformation

Communicating digital transformation with everyone involved in a project is key to a successful delivery.  Staff will find change easier to adapt with timely and relevant information.  Change takes time and can be costly: That’s why you need to keep staff, managers, investors, and directors engaged from the outset to keep the project on-track.

Rogan Hounsell-Roberts was a founder of a successful scale-up; has helped organisations across many sectors achieve success; a founder of KR5 Consulting; and passionate to help ambitious business leaders succeed.

Digital transformation can feel daunting. According to Forbes “The Big Reason Why Some People Are Terrified Of Change (While Others Love It)”, 62% don’t like to leave their comfort zone. Naturally, senior leaders can feel anxious about keeping everyone on-board. Change can drag out and involve setbacks, so it’s vital that leaders help people understand why and give them milestones to keep them going.

Digital change management

This three-part series “Preparing for Digital Transformation” helps senior leaders think about those initial steps. Our first article “Make change happen to transform your business” described how to get the ball rolling. The second article “Digital change – Team motivation” looks at engaging the team in digital change. Finally, in this article we cover planning communication during the changes.

Why communicate?

When disrupting the current way of working, you create uncertainty. What will it be like? Will it be successful? How much will it cost? Will it create problems for me? Will it be worth it? As a leader you will need to communicate to everyone involved to keep them focused on the prize. You’ll want to avoid creating a vacuum. People will fill a vacuum with their own fears and concerns. That’s why it’s important to prepare a communication plan.

Who needs to hear?

You might think you only need to worry about the people using a system. It’s best to take a broader view and think about everyone that’s involved directly or indirectly. Who will use the system? Will it impact others around the edges of the system? Do you need to keep directors, investors and other leaders informed? Will it affect suppliers or customers? Once you’ve got a list, you can think about the level of information they’ll need.

What they need to hear?

You’ll need to repeat the direction and ‘why’ to everyone, however you’ll need to work out what information would be helpful for individuals. You don’t want to leave anyone behind. For example, a director will want to know if the project is on track, and if it’s not, any corrective action. On the other hand, users will want to know the steps to help them use the system and addressing any concerns. You’ll also need to consider the impact of the change. Those impacted the most, will need more detail information than those that are on the edges who might only need a progress report.

Finally

With rapid advances, digital transformation is a constant part of any growing business. This means, communicating digital transformation will happen more than once.  Therefore, it’s best practice to learn what works and keep improving your change practice.

KR5 Consulting help businesses to deliver more value, faster and at less cost. We learn what makes your business tick so we can help you with digital technology solutions that work for you. Our job is to help you move faster, increase profits, scale-up, acquire customers and beat the competition.

If you’d like to explore the ideas in this article further or need help and advice, please contact Rogan at rhounsell@kr5consulting.com – to arrange an informal chat.

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