10

Essential Actions for

Digital Transformation in
Your Organisation

Academy of Digital Business Leaders

Academy of Digital Business Leaders

 Introduction
Digital transformation is only achievable with a change of mindset coupled with enhanced ability across
the entire organisation. Nothing about this is simple or can happen by accident.

The following ten essential steps have been developed by the ADBL through considerable experience
working alongside our partners on multi-faceted digital transformation projects. Particularly relevant for
those with learning and development (L&D) responsibilities, each of these ten steps needs to be realised
to witness the desired level of change.

1
Know where to start,
and know that this
is the hardest part
Knowing that you need to do something digital But to offer this support, L&D leaders first need
is easy. Understanding what it is that you need to fully grasp what it means to be digital
to do is a lot harder. themselves. They need to understand which
types of learning experiences will work and which
In our digital Bootcamp sessions with senior wont when it comes to digital transformation.
leadership, teams have reported feeling lost in
the digital world, but more specifically lost in In the ADBL Digiskills Report, we found that
what one means by digital. Leaders can lack organisations are far more likely to be digitally
the confidence needed to lead in a digital capable when their L&D function undertakes
environment because (rightly or wrongly) they experiences to themselves define the digital
feel that others are more acclimatised to digital skills that their organisation needs.
than they are.
To enable digital change, L&D functions first
Leadership need a starting point in their need to understand it. Once they do, they can
knowledge bank, and a framework for what be incredible enablers.
digital means that, often, L&D are best placed to
provide. This will offer senior leaders the support
they need to enact change.
2
Adapt, dont throw out,
your culture
A digital age culture is essential for any
organisation seeking greater digital capability.
But when we start speaking with organisations,
the majority simply dont realise how their
culture needs to change.
- How do you highlight what needs to
change and what doesnt?
- How do you make cultural change
a concrete, high-impact thing?
- What are the right indicators?

Then, for those that do realise, difficulties in
bridging their legacy culture and a digital culture
can stop them from progressing. In fact, a large
proportion of executives enroled on our
executive education courses state that they
have done so in order to learn how to create
a more digital culture. Its an area where
organisations need support.
To start, build on your current organisational
culture rather than starting from scratch. Theres
no need to relocate offices to the trendy part of
town, or invest in themed meeting rooms. But
environment does matter to signal how you want
teams to communicate and collaborate. The key
lies in understanding what is great about your
current culture, then building upon that in a
structured way toward proven strategies.

3
Enable a faster
pace of change
Everyone wants to adapt faster, especially when
customer expectations, competitors and new
entrants are evolving at speed.

But to adapt more quickly, individuals and teams

need to know how to do things differently. They
need to be able to picture what good looks like
in terms of iteration.

To achieve this shift, L&D need to employ

hands-on, social and collaborative experiential
learning. Psychologists know that its incredibly
hard for people to do something they havent
seen before. Successful learning design tackles
that head-on.
4
Recognise and address the
three critical driving points
for capability enhancement
True digital transformation occurs through
capability enhancement, preparing individuals
and teams with the skills and mindset needed
to excel in the digital age. To succeed, its
essential that transformation occurs across
three core groups.
Firstly, senior leaders need to enhance their
digital capability in order to inspire and guide
others. They dont need a comprehensive
understanding, but a holistic one. They need
to have a solid framework and understanding
to engage and challenge their managers and
business units. They need to be able to look
for the right indicators that show if the
company is on track.
5
Focus on getting your
organisation to properly
use the data it collects
Customers now have the ability to rapidly change
their habits and how they make decisions. The
digital age has affected decision making in a way
never seen before. Your organisation needs to
get ahead of that.
To do this, organisations need to be able to
comprehend data. They need to be able to
recognise which data is relevant, when. They
need to have the capabilities to trace data
through a storyline, and they need to be
able to break data down and draw
actionable conclusions.
Secondly, the wider organisation needs to get
up-to-speed in digital. To communicate and
comprehend each other effectively, as well as
the organisations leadership, its essential that
all employees speak the same language.
Thirdly, specialist knowledge needs to be
built within an organisation. Whether it is
data analysing ability, SEO expertise, even
experience in a particular type of software;
if your organisation is, or wants to be utilising
a particular digital skillset, then specialist
knowledge will lead organisation-wide adoption.
L&D are in an unrivalled place to spur all three
of these, starting by aligning senior leaders
understanding and exposing them to the right
examples in order to catalyse change.
One way to test your organisations current data
situation is to ask: who makes decisions? If your
answer is simply hierarchical and/or intuition
based, thats not good enough anymore.
Competitors are out there using new forms
of data, ways of looking at data, and ways of
decentralising data to perfect their offerings.
The longer you leave it to harness your data to
do the same, the harder it will be to catch up.
Organisations need to know what to do with
the data they already have and are continuing
to collect. L&D in particular have the potential
to help their organisations think about data
and use data a way that multiplies their value.
6
Empower ideas from within
In order to exploit new opportunities, your
organisation needs to recognise them
when they appear.
Digital training within your organisation will
enable individuals and teams throughout to
spot new business opportunities. Think of this
process as crowdsourcing the evolution of
your organisation, enabling those people with
unparalleled knowledge of individual functions
to help shape its future.
But these new opportunities could come from
anywhere, so a framework and methodology to
deal with ideas and suggestions is vital. A clear
framework will ensure that firstly, your
organisation doesnt buckle from the weight
of all this new thinking. And secondly, it will
help you understand what steps to take to
explore that new thinking.

7
Think of new technology as
the enabler, not the dictator
The fact that software and applications exist
is not alone a reason to use them. The
implementation of new technology should arise
from true business needs, such as streamlining
existing processes or implementing new ones in
order to achieve more.

Technology needs to be aligned to organisational

aspiration; otherwise it risks steering individuals
and teams in the wrong direction. Leaders
need an innovation roadmap that leverages
technology, rather than an IT roadmap
that solely focuses on functionality.

Your roadmap should highlight customer need

(including your staff as internal customers), and
then map out how technology will enable people
to excel.
8
Challenge how customer
centric you really are
You probably think your organisation is customer True customer centricity includes basing every
centric. Most of the organisations we partner decision on data gleaned from them and their
with do, too. But when we work with them to activity, and profiling customer behaviours in
dig deeper, the consensus is that what they order to hone strategy.
considered to be customer centricity
simply isnt enough. Our partners push this to the top of their agenda
when given the opportunity to truthfully consider
You can never know enough about your how customer centric they are. Its highly likely
customer. Many organisations focus too much you need to too.
on one customer group, or assume that they
know how these individuals function, without
constantly revisiting and revising assumptions.

9
Open discussion channels
For the individuals we enrol on our courses, one
of the biggest assets to them is the opening of
discussion channels about what others are doing
and experiencing, how they are succeeding,
the challenges they are facing, and what they
are learning.
Its essential that discussion channels are
opened not only within your organisation, but
to other individuals at organisations that are in
the process of transformation too. If this doesnt
occur, the learning curve will be too long and will
lack responsiveness, severely hampering efforts.

The greatest benefit has been the sharing of experiences,

seeking feedback and input from the participants
(who represent a diverse spectrum of sectors)
in the cohort; a wealth of knowledge and wisdom!

Nadira Hussain
Customer Services Transformation Manager,
London Borough of Tower Hamlets
1
Aid understanding of how
digital can mitigate risk

0
Both individuals and organisations want to do
more with digital. But the misconception is that
being more digital means taking more risk.
Digital thinking, culture, and action means having
more information and therefore making better,
less risky decisions.
Even if the status quo is working for you now,
theres certainly no guarantee it will in the future.
Digital helps organisations prepare for this by
allowing teams to prepare for both the expected
and the unexpected by gathering information to
make informed decisions.

The implementation of small tests, for example,

allows leaders to gauge whether teams and
individuals are on the right track.

Does this resonate?

Lets talk.
Lisa Barrett
CEO, the ADBL

barrett.lisa@theadbl.com
The ADBL (Academy of Digital Business Leaders)

Academy of Digital Business Leaders

Academy of Digital Business Leaders

 Academy of Digital Business Leaders

Academy of Digital Business Leaders

Who are we?

The ADBL (Academy of Digital Business Leaders) designs solutions with L&D and other business leaders
to rapidly achieve results across entire organisations. We specialise in digital leadership, building the skills
and mindsets that teams and individuals need to achieve ambitious business objectives.

The Academy of Digital Business Leaders prepares you to lead, not be led.