Getting HR On Board In The Early Stage Can Boost Digital Transformation.

The phrase digital transformation has now been employed so many times that the exact meaning of it is difficult to pin down. Some companies call on their information technology (IT) teams to spearhead this initiative, while others hire external third-party providers. Teams or personnel initiating the exercise might be different, but HR gets drawn into it because of the very nature of so-called ‘digital transformation’.

Digital transformation is essentially an initiative for an environment where work can happen seamlessly in an online mode. The objectives of the process are many, and the scope varies, too, depending on company type and need. Some of these initiatives aim to cut costs, while others improve efficiencies across the company. A few examples are building a new system online for automating processes like employee attendance or making an entire payroll process paperless. Irrespective of the end goal, the process requires people to be engaged and change how they work — and that is where HR comes into the picture.

Too often, HR is involved towards the end of the initiative and not at the beginning, which leads to diluting any advantages that stem from it. For any ‘digital transformation’ initiative to work, the HR team has to be actively present in every phase of the rollout of the initiative. HR needs to clearly take stock of before and after scenarios to assess the rollout and measure the outcomes of the transformation. HR owning the process will work for digital transformation in many ways…

A top-down approach

When HR gets involved in ‘digital transformation’, it is perceived as a company-wide initiative to build something new rather than a one-off team-centric solution. The communication then will be top-down and clear, stating the aims of the exercise. This will also ensure that everyone is on board and involved in making the initiatives work. It helps especially with company-wide initiatives like taking the complete business online that needs transformation at the people level before the digital transformation can take effect.

Centralised training & development

When companies are trying to build solutions that cater to a customer base that is increasingly comfortable with digital solutions, it helps to have one central HR team overseeing the process. This is where HR’s training wing needs to get involved. IT can be involved in the building of the solution, but preparing people for the change to online processes and getting the process running on-ground have to be monitored by HR. The training & development wing needs to assess requirements and start its work before the process is actually rolled out.

Cultural transformation

Digital transformation exercises bring about changes not just in the short term but in the long term too. The tendency to view these changes as technical and short-term is what ends most transformation initiatives as incomplete or half-baked. Adapting to a digital economy and digital change essentially shifts the work culture in organisations. New hire integration, communication between teams & employees, job descriptions and many other things impacting employee performance & motivation get impacted. Digital transformation will eventually lead to the organisation adapting to cultural transformation too. And these cultural changes are the most difficult changes to bring about when they call for change in ways of working and require learning/unlearning. HR is ideally suited to handle these kinds of fundamental shifts with their understanding of the pulse of the employees. The HR team will be able to communicate effectively and prepare the workforce adequately if they are actively involved in digital transformation activities from the beginning.

People-oriented

This huge transformation that the company seeks cannot be achieved without having workforce buy-in. Employees have to be sufficiently invested in the transformation for successful implementation. HR teams will be able to prioritise changes that are people-oriented so that employees are motivated to participate in the exercise.

The feedback from the HR team on how employees will respond and what can be done to keep morale high when change occurs will help design more acceptable initiatives for the workforce. HR can prepare the workforce for the change instead of sudden changes that might be difficult to adapt to. Involvement of the workforce is required for any change to be ground-up and more meaningful over a short-lived superficial change. Ground-up changes are lasting and have a better impact on getting desired results. Superficial changes often fade with time and drain resources and manpower without bringing about the required outcome. Many organisations in the past decade or so have failed to recognise this and have had to abandon either the initiatives that were launched or go back to the drawing board to bring about meaningful change.

Setting up parameters to measure the outcome and a process to monitor the change and measure the parameters is also important. This acts as a feedback to improve and build more successful future outcomes. HR needs to be part of this review process, too, so they can integrate the transformation across the organisation.

With times changing at digital speed now, organisations are looking at making many core changes to how people work through transformative processes. Such digital transformations can be successful only when a concerted effort is made to keep the exercise meaningful to the workforce. HR teams are well placed to lead these initiatives by steering them to keep people at the core of all business decisions.

Written by James Agrawal, the Managing Director of BTI Executive Search India. With 24 years of experience, James is an established thought leader and the go-to person for professional services that span Executive Search & Selection, Career Transition Services, HR Advisory or Coaching.

With a successful track record in India and Thailand regions revolving around enhancing business profitability and operational excellence – he is not only renowned amongst blue chip clients but is seen as a champion of change concerning his diverse range of expertise across operations, digital/technology, corporate support; research& development & manufacturing roles.