Building a Digital Culture Can Help Your Employees Work Smarter

Your employees are the heart and soul of your business, but how can you best empower, educate, and advise them as you transition to a digital enterprise, particularly in a crisis?

It's no surprise that Covid-19 has driven businesses to engage with clients online in order to remain relevant and thrive. As technology advances at the same astounding pace as consumer demands, most firms will find it simpler to concentrate on embracing new tools and technology to surprise and exceed customers' expectations.

However, when many businesses embraced large-scale technology adoption, they came across cultural difficulties. In other words, they missed to establish a culture in their workers that helps them transition to a digital company because they were caught up in the novelty and thrill of digitally altering their firm.

So, regardless of your business, having a supportive atmosphere where workers are empowered to learn how to utilize new technology and procedures to prosper in their function in a digital world is an important part of designing a digital transformation plan for your workplace. Organizations that focused on building the competencies and employability of their people were more confident in their capacity to compete in a digital environment than those that didn't, according to the PwC Talent Trends study.

You'll also be pleased to learn that businesses with these personnel see a 19 percent increase in income over those without. Let's talk about why having a digital culture is critical for your company's future before I get into how you can establish and support the adoption of a digital-first attitude.

Why is it important to adopt a digital culture?

Consider that for a moment. Would you be able to do a tough activity if a friend or colleague requested you to do so without any instructions?

Similarly, asking your staff to create a digital customer experience is pointless if they don't grasp why it's necessary and what skills or behaviors they'll need to do so.

Before you reward your consumers with flawless digital experiences that they demand, I believe you should think about your people on the ground who will be putting your company's digital transformation into action. Giving employees a digital culture roadmap that educates them on making favorable choices for the digital customer will empower them to behave in accordance with an organization's values and purpose.

Employees from diverse departments will be encouraged to work together to go the additional mile for a better experience after they have been schooled on the behaviors that produce better, faster outcomes for the client. So, how can your organization develop a seamless digital culture that your workers will embrace?

Define the kind of digital culture required by your company

If you want your company's workers to embrace a digital-first approach, keep in mind that people are inherently resistant to change. This aversion to change is likely to inhibit your staff from embracing new technology in their positions as part of your digital transformation, whether it is a fear of seeming inept in their role or a fear of failing.

To facilitate the shift to a digitally literate society, leaders must utilize their emotional intelligence and negotiating skills to address any worries about the change.

To begin, consider why you want to create a digital culture and what that entails for your specific business. This entails determining if your company's people are ready for a digital transformation as well as the business objectives, departments, and procedures that technology may help you better.

After you've determined your 'why' and 'who,' you'll need to consider the features of the digital culture you wish to embrace. Do you want your staff to be more data-driven and customer-centric, for example?

Is it necessary for them to take risks or work together? Or is your desire to keep high-performing employees motivated by your desire to learn and grow?

After that, you must specify whatever qualities you wish to embrace based on your company's aims and values as behaviors that your workers may follow as part of a digital culture blueprint. Hold interviews with your workers to learn out what important to them and what their issues about their positions are to have a better picture of what they desire.

This input may also help you measure the gap between existing and desirable habits, which can help you figure out what adjustments you'll need to do to make your digital transformation a success.

To encourage employees at the bottom, embrace digital behaviors at the top

Once you've defined a clear vision and goal for your digital culture transformation, it'll be much simpler to implement it at your organization. According to a poll conducted by the MIT Sloan Management Review, 70% of workers believe it is important to work for a business that has a mission that they are passionate about.

So, before expecting workers to buy into a digital culture roadmap, I believe leaders must first model and embrace these behaviors. People at the top of a firm may function as role models for digital qualities and demonstrate desired behaviors in real time in this manner.

For example, your organization may recognize staff for an award or incentive when they are commended by name in a customer review to illustrate the value of having a customer-first approach. In this approach, you can actively teach and coach your staff to share your company's values and operate in the way you want them to in the digital age.

Additionally, tailored training on a tool can assist your staff understand how it may help them improve in their roles and increase productivity.

Test, embed, and measure the success of your digital culture initiatives on a regular basis

Because digital transformation is an iterative process that your firm will have to go through again and again, it's best to break down digital culture efforts into smaller projects with measurable business objectives. This bite-sized approach, in my experience, will seem less intimidating to workers and will enable you to test the waters before moving forward with a larger-scale launch.

Similarly, by piloting tiny changes to the business first, you will make it easy for your staff to provide feedback or express concerns about any of these steps before they are implemented. Despite its simplicity, I think that this activity will make your staff feel heard and proud of their role in bringing about a digital transformation.

Beyond the testing stage, your company should consider evaluating its present operating model or using key performance indicators to analyze the effectiveness of changes to certain sections of the organization, such as leadership or performance management. This manner, you may guarantee that you're always supporting the adoption of positive habits rather than negative ones.

Consider your desired digital culture traits when defining your KPIs, and if the essential adjustments have taken you closer to these objectives.

Ignoring your workforce's human requirements while migrating to a digital company is a useless approach. You can guarantee that your transformation is long-term sustainable and lucrative if you concentrate on enabling your people to learn how to succeed in a digital world in a secure, supportive environment.

When you create a digital culture through the perspective of your workers, you'll find it simpler to alter their minds and promote new habits that will help them weather any storm and better serve your customers.

Thanks to Rotem Gal at Business 2 Community whose reporting provided the original basis for this story.