The digital transformation It’s something we’ve all heard of. By now, many of us are lucky (and unfortunate) to have gone through versions of digital transformation, good and bad. Some notable examples are manufacturing automation, mobile banking and contactless transactions, product ordering via smart home assistants, and the rise of Slack, MSTeams, and email, over fax and paper mail. . That two-word description covers quite a variety.
Therein lies the challenge for people leaders trying to upskill and retrain their teams ready for a digital transformation project. One digital transformation project will differ dramatically from another, even within the same company. That influences the kind of skills that are needed to make it a success. Because the best digital transformation strategies can be undone if you don’t have the right people, with the right skills, to make them a reality.
Building the right skills for digital transformation
So how can you develop the necessary skills for your digital transformation project?
I would say that digital transformation competencies are acquired like any other competency (through learning, experience, reinforcement and feedback). However, “digital transformation skills” is a loaded term and I think that’s because the stakes are so high. Two years ago, 73% of companies did not have a digital roadmap. Now half of organizations have a digital roadmap, which aligns with their business plan. Direct investments in digital transformation have accelerated and are expected to account for 55% of all IT investments by the end of 2024.
Obviously, there will be a lot of eyes on your skill upgrading program. But if you get it right, the skills will be the building blocks for further innovation and business growth.
Know what it takes
Let’s start by identifying the competencies you need. These will change based on the nature of your transformation and current market trends. He futurescape IDC’s 2022 Digital Transformation Trends list listed analytics, artificial intelligence, machine learning, robotic process automation, reduced-code tools, cybersecurity, and remote/hybrid work as the top trends. Again, there is a wide variety here in the type of applications organizations are looking for and the skills required.
To understand the competencies needed for your project, you need to be in close communication with the project manager. This could be a CIO, CTO, chief digital officer, chief data officer, chief innovation officer, or other C-level executive. As Capital One implemented a new cloud-based digital transformation, its CIO worked closely with L&D senior leadership to build the required skills, assignments and content.
If you know your digital transformation strategy and priorities, you can break them down into roles and tasks, and then into skills and competencies based on these roles and tasks. You can compare this to the skills of your existing workforce to see where there are gaps that can be filled through upskilling and upskilling.
Power skills will raise the level of your transformation
Remember, the skills needed may not always be technical. Power skills like change management, communication, and team building really come into their own when a workforce is undergoing a digital transformation. It’s how you equip your people to work together with a new technology. Take Unilever, for example, at its factory in Dapada, India, the leadership team recognized that knowledge and skills were a central part of their digital journey. By training factory workers in analytics, machine learning, and 3D printing, it accelerated their adoption of new technologies and processes.
Once you know the skills you need, you can evaluate the best methods to develop them. Some skills are best learned on the job, others through talent academies or face-to-face learning, and still others through online learning platforms. You can also use a number of methods to suit individual learning styles.
Don’t underestimate the critical role managers play in upskilling. In organizations with positive learning cultures, employees are 515% more likely to have discussed growth opportunities with their manager and 379% more likely that their manager has sought assignments for employees to practice their skills. Equip your managers to succeed in upskilling their teams by enabling them to find learning and development opportunities for team members. Give them access to skills and learning data on their teams, to inform development and career conversations. Finally, improve your skills and be ready to guide and train your teams. They may also need a whole host of new power skills!
Obstacles to learning
There may be barriers to learning that are unique to your workforce and these should be brought up to your leadership team when your digital transformation is in the planning stage. This will give you plenty of time to overcome the barriers before the skills are critically needed by the business. Common barriers include time and culture (especially if senior leaders are not seen as supportive of learning). Equipping managers with coaching skills will help address the latter, and clearly communicating skills improvement as a business priority will combat the former. Failing that, the rewards can really grab someone’s attention. Be sure to regularly recognize individuals and teams developing critical business skills.
Infrastructure is another consideration. What do you need to provide to enable your team to learn? Timing is obvious, but what about devices for workers on the go? In some places, people will also need internet access. Also, think about the accessibility of online learning vs. face-to-face learning.
You need to have the necessary skills in place before your digital transformation can take off. Equip your team with the right tools, content, and culture to learn the necessary skills, and your digital transformation will start on a solid foundation.
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Debora Mioranzza Débora Mioranzza is the Vice President for Latin America and the Caribbean of Degreed, the platform for the improvement and requalification of the workforce.