I feel like there is a cloud based solution or app out there for every need today. Whether we are talking about Human Resources, Finance or Operations. We can easily fall into the trap of buying one of everything. This leads to many things like, data disparity, disconnected process and reinforced digital silos where teams don’t speak the same language.
Follow these three S’s and you’re well on your way to building a solid digital strategy.
Simplify
Communication is so important. We make business decisions based on information our colleagues share with us. The problem is, sales and marketing use their legacy platform because they don’t want to change. Human resources are running on a fancy cloud-based solution and operations runs on excel. Does this sound like you? Now, let’s just have 10 update meetings a week to keep the pulse on the business. This is a traditional business operation and is slowly becoming obsolete. Simplify as much as you can, speak the same language and hold strategic meetings where widely informed decisions can be made.
Standardize
If half your business runs on paper and the other half on technology, you’re opening yourself up to a high level of human error. You will have to play the game of chase to get an answer to simple questions. Simply put, you will be running your business blind. The lack of standardization contributes directly to the cost of poor quality, rework and repeat efforts. At a minimum, standardize your process so that you are at least running in a digital environment and you no longer have to chase the paper trail.
Sustain
So, you followed the first 2 S’s. Great, now the fun part. You get to use what you created for a long time and I promise, it will work for a very long time. If your change management plan was spot on, then adoption in this phase will be high. You get maximum return on your investment and a level of engagement from your team that is incredible. Reinforcement is critical here so support your team, be present and sustain the change.
Simplify, Standardize and Sustain. The 3 critical elements to digitizing your workplace.
