OCTOBER 20238 Digital Transformation (DX) - the buzzword that excites business leaders and organisations about its potential. However, despite this enthusiasm, low digital adoption rates and unclear digital value realisation often leave business leaders scratching their heads, wondering what went wrong.In fact, a 2021 Boston Consulting Group (BCG) research involving 850 organisations worldwide found that only 35% of organisations achieved their digital transformation objectives. Furthermore, digital transformation a top priority on corporate agendas for at least a decade, with global spending on digital transformation expected to reach USD 3.4 trillion by 2026, according to IDC. Despite this significant investment, why are two-third of organisations still struggling?A few observations can be made regarding the ill-conceived digital transformation we see in the market today:· Customer/employee experience journeys are not being prioritised and optimised.· Organisational culture and business processes improvement are not being considered for digital adoption and assimilation. · Initiatives tend to focus on siloed incremental improvements that are limited to specific functions or departments.· There is a sole focus on short-term financial metrics gains without considering the long-term impact on customer/employee needs, as well as market conditions.· Prioritising technology advancement and deployment over user digital adoption.Did you notice that none of the points mentioned above are related to technology? Most organisations fail because they are looking at Digital Transformation as something to be addressed and resolved through digital technology enablement, while their employees still struggle to answer questions such as "Why change when it's not broken?" and "What does it mean to me as an employee?".Digital transformation transcends technology, as organisation culture plays a critical role in successfully leading an organisation through the transformation journey. However, only a few organisational leaders understand how an organization's culture changes as part of the digital transformation journey and more importantly, how it doesn't change. Failing to comprehend employee values, beliefs, and cultural attributes, such as behaviours and mindsets, becomes the biggest barrier to achieving digital transformation success.So, how can organisations effectively transform their culture to move beyond their current fleeting and disjointed transformation efforts and ensure sustainable digital transformation success?Start with WHYBusiness leaders must assume the role of being `digital evangelists' during digital transformation, effectively communicating and articulating the "WHY" behind the transformation in a persuasive, persistent and convincing manner. People are more likely to embrace change when they have faith in their leaders and understand their visions, enabling them to take ownership and champion the necessary changes throughout the organization. Therefore, it is important for business leaders to dedicate time to consistently and persistently articulate the "WHY" behind the transformation. This should be done DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION IS CULTURAL TRANSFORMATIONBY MICHAEL WONG SHEN KAI, SENIOR MANAGER, DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION OFFICE, SARAWAK ENERGY ENTERTAINMENTIN MY OPINIONMichael Wong Shen Kai
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