The COVID-19 pandemic of 2020 forced businesses to re-evaluate their working models and maintain the status quo in new digital ways. Technology in the workplace statistics reported at the beginning of this year that they anticipated 10% of businesses would switch to a fully remote model following the lightening of lockdown measures, while only 30% will go back to the office. The majority of companies will opt for a hybrid model, combining remote and in-person time.
Whilst digital transformation was brought on by the restrictions imposed by governments over the world, it has had and continues to have a positive effect on businesses. In a report published by PTC and summarised by Forbes, they surveyed company executives who thought the top benefits of digital transformation were improved operational efficiency (40%), faster time to market (36%) and the ability to meet customer expectations (35%).
With the increase in remote and hybrid working came an influx of new digital technologies and widespread and rapid increased use of existing platforms such as video conferencing and webinar software. Digital transformation undoubtedly leads to a better employee experience and efficiency in the long run, but with the adoption of new platforms there will always be challenges.
We work with companies from many industries and have seen how the adoption of our digital technology, Kizeo Forms, has increased productivity. The key to a successful digital transformation though is making sure your employees are fully on board with the process. We summarise some tips below for encouraging your employees to adapt to digital technologies.
How to encourage employees to adapt to digital technologies
- Collect employee feedback
Adopting digital technologies should be a collective process involving a variety of departments. Whilst you’re in the planning stages of digitising it's important to collect feedback on where your staff have challenges in their day to day work, what processes could be made more efficient and how digital platforms might improve their employee experience.
- Put in place necessary training sessions
Once you have implemented your chosen digital technology you’ll need to drive adoption by making sure people understand how to use it. Training sessions should be succinct and interactive, make sure people are using the platform during the sessions to get maximum engagement and practice.
- Motivate employees to be autonomous & prioritize employee experience
With increased knowledge comes an increase in confidence. Give your team the gift of autonomy to use new digital platforms and to figure out other areas of the business that could benefit from digitisation. A feeling of independence makes people happier.
- Put in place processes to improve agility
It is often the case that too many processes can slow a business down. Make sure your initial process audit identifies areas where processes can be made more efficient. Your goal should be to increase productivity. With an increase in productivity comes greater engagement, as teams are motivated by results.
- Choose tech savvy volunteers and put in place meeting where they can share information & experiences with other employees
A digital ambassador who is passionate about new technologies will be key to getting employees on board. Get them to set up regular meetings where they can share their knowledge - hopefully their enthusiasm for technology will rub off on their colleagues.
- Provide explanation on why digital is necessary
With all new experiences there can be a little trepidation. Just adopting a technology and rolling it out will create confusion. Make sure you give a full explanation to all employees as to why you are moving towards a more digitally focussed business model.
- Put in place a reward program to motivate continuous digital improvement
Create Specific Measurable Achievable Relevant and Timebound (SMART) objectives linked to digital improvement so that you can reward your team for improving their digital knowledge and engagement within the business. You can also use your digital champions to present case studies on how they became more efficient back to the business (see point 5!).
Over the past few years we have been forced to adapt. We stayed at home to protect loved ones, and we started to wear masks. We moved our social interactions online so that we could still ‘meet’ people. And of course many of our physical work environments became digital. By adopting digital technologies we have optimised this transition to remote and hybrid working. Investing in key digital platforms that support business processes will improve efficiencies and profitability in the long run.
For more information on how to digitise various processes within your business read our blog, which highlights the benefits too. Take your next steps in the digital world.