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IS YOUR ORG CULTURE RIGHT FOR DIGITAL ACCELERATION?

Matt Dickson • July 18, 2022

assessing cultural readiness for digital transformation.


The Covid-19 pandemic was an unprecedented catalyst for organisations to fast-track or start their digital transformation activity. For some organisations, the pandemic meant an acceleration or their existing plans – while for others it meant defining and delivering significant unplanned change.


  • 91% of organisations who accelerated digital transformation effort during the first 12 months of the pandemic say they will maintain their pace or accelerate further in the coming years 
  • 55% of organisations were not able to accelerate digital initiatives and stay productive at the same time during the pandemic 
  • 28% say they have been able to transform as fast as they needed to over the past year. [1]

Importantly, 53% of business leaders recognised that creating a culture that supports digital transformation needs to be a key priority required to facilitate an acceleration of digital transformation [1]. Specifically, organisational cultures need to evolve to better support digital efforts and agility within the organisation. 


But what does this look like in reality? 


Research undertaken by Capgemini pre-pandemic found that organisations that manage digital transformation well, generally have a profile that favours: [2] 


  • Customer centricity 
  • Innovation 
  • Data driven decision making  
  • Collaboration 
  • Digital-first mindset 
  • Agility & flexibility 

When we take these elements and overlay them onto our own PerformX Culture Framework we’re able to easily identify the common behaviours and practices that digital ready organisations display. 


How do you figure out if you’re ready? 


With large variances in the views of leaders and employees across some of the core “readiness” traits, relying on just a leadership view of readiness could be misplaced. There are a number of tell-tale signs that might indicate whether your organisation is ready to accelerate digital transformation activity, or whether there may be a need to review and align before successful acceleration can occur. 


With much of the transformation over the last couple of years being forced rather than planned, assuming that your organisation is ready to accelerate based on past experiences might not ensure continued success. 


Taking a people and culture pulse check will help determine where your people are on their transformation journey and enable your organization to reset or re-calibrate before accelerating.  


Ask yourself these questions: 


Do your people have strategic clarity? 

  • Are your immediate business needs almost always complimentary to our longer term strategy? 
  • Does your organisational strategy make your priorities and objectives clear? 

Do you have a focus on the future? 

  • Are strategic options and opportunities regularly explored by scanning the external environment? 
  • Do important decisions consider future scenarios and seek to enable strategic agility for if/when opportunities emerge? 
  • Do you take business continuity planning is taken seriously? 

Are your people and teams empowered and trusted? 

  • Are your people and teams involved in shaping changes that impact them?
  • Are roles and responsibilities explicit and understood, and is everyone held to account? 
  • Does decision-making rest with those closest to the work? 

Do your people and teams collaborate effectively? 

  • Is the way teams work in your organisation valued and consciously managed to enable high performance? 
  • Is collaboration across your organisation the norm and are you effective at it? 

Is change well accepted and managed? 

  • When it comes to change, does your organisation plan ahead and provide the resources and support needed to make change successful? 
  • Is communication of significant potential changes never a surprise; and do your leaders help prepare people and teams in advance
  •  

Is customer focus important? 

  • Is gathering customer feedback a priority and happen regularly?
  • Does customer feedback often result in changes or additions to your services or products? 

Do you value delivery excellence? 

  • Do you regularly explore and improve inefficient processes/practices? 
  • Is decision making always supported by data and insights? 

 

If there are weaknesses or areas for improvement that you can identify through these quick questions, then it may be worthwhile taking stock, and working to define how you can evolve your organisation culture to ensure the success of your transformation activity and spending. A culture assessment or diagnostic could be a great place to begin to understand your current state, and help you define what your future state culture may need to look like.


Want to read more about how to assess your culture and how you can begin to evolve your culture to align to your org strategy and performance objectives?





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References:

  1. Harvard Business Review | Analytic Services - Pulse Survey | Digital Acceleration Redefines the Future of Work - 2022
  2. Capgemini Consulting | The Digital Culture Challenge: Closing the Employee-Leadership Gap - 2018


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