What Digital Transformation Means for People Strategy

The transition from an arbitration model to a model based on digital transformation requires organizations to reconsider their hiring and training practices in order to build a digital workforce that can help ensure a smooth transition. 

Our article examines the impact of digital transformation on people strategy.

1. Digital Transformation Must Be Embedded in Job Descriptions

In the digital transformation process, there are three phases, each requiring a different type of talent. A pre-phase job requires risk-takers and entrepreneurs, while post-phase jobs demand people with project management skills. To manage a digitally transformed organization, it is necessary to identify the new skills needed. During the pre-phase, for example, all processes are driven by humans. Post-processing may be conducted partly by humans, while artificial intelligence (AI) performs the remaining 50 percent. Post-phase supervisors need the skills necessary to supervise a team of humans and bots. 

To facilitate talent acquisition, it is recommended that job descriptions be modified to include digital literacy, artificial intelligence, and machine learning to ensure that the right candidates are shortlisted. In addition to upskilling existing employees, an internal intervention program is also recommended to develop new skills that will be crucial.

2. Create a corporate culture of continuous learning

In today's organizations, ensuring that employees learn new skills is a challenge. Often, employees do not see how it benefits them personally, so they don't do it on their own time. However, management can encourage employees to do it on their own time.  For small, start-up companies that lack the resources for corporate training and development, and are also unable to recruit quality candidates who want to work for big companies, this is a challenge. 

Our suggestion is to hire people who are willing to learn as well as reskill them in automating business processes through artificial intelligence (AI) or robotic process automation (RPA). Organizations must find ways to overcome that stickiness if they are to overcome the reluctance to learn new skills. It was suggested that learning be tied to rewards and recognition, that e-cards can be sent on the learning platform, and that customer data should be made public on the app to provide a message of trust. In order to promote employee exchange and growth, special interest groups for artificial intelligence, testing, or development, should be developed. Engaging people in learning is the ultimate goal.

3. Identify innovative ways of engaging employees

Strategies for overcoming the stickiness problem: Allow employees to pick two out of four groups of skills they wished to reskill rather than be forced to learn a particular skill. The employees were motivated to learn and upskill themselves as a result. Secondly, hire interns to work on a particular project, which fascinated the employees collaborating with them on the project. Social selling was a third engagement method. A platform similar to LinkedIn had to be built, including a search, view, and match algorithm that determines the social selling of the individual. Such platforms are valued by employees and they use them to learn from each other and get guidance. Game-based learning, teamwork, and employee ownership can also play an important part in employee engagement and reskilling.

4. Change the way new hires are trained

As we discuss three strategies for training people -- upskilling recent college graduates, retraining internal employees, and hiring freelancers who learn from various online resources -- we discuss the skills new hires lack and how organizations go about upskilling them. In Agile and DevOps models, where teamwork is essential, recruits are now trained more on behavioral skills such as communication and analytics, as opposed to skills training (where they are taught to use software and shadow someone). It is possible to train new hires prior to or during their employment with a company by using external finishing schools. Instead of hiring someone straight from campus, one organization has hired interns instead. As part of its six-month to one-year internship programs, the organization analyzes interns by evaluating their learnability, self-management, and soft skills before deciding which ones to hire.

5. Understand that psychometrics is just part of the recruitment process

Psychometrics is only part of a broader recruitment strategy — the science of measuring mental abilities and processes — which can help recruiters gain a deeper understanding of job applicants. Also, employers should assess candidates for attributes such as willingness to learn, passion, and adaptability to change.

Conclusion

In addition to technology, digital transformation relies heavily on people. Processes are important, and technologies such as cloud computing are also crucial, but what really makes a digital transformation successful are people skills, and the capacity to learn, change and innovate. 

Connect with Accelery if you're ready to digitally transform your business. We start at the ground level through our staff training and development strategy which minimizes resistance to change thus ensuring a successful digital transformation of people. Contact us to know more!

digital transformation process