Business transformations allow companies to reinvent how work gets done at an enterprise scale, develop new business models, as well as modernize technologies to unlock new business value. Earlier, Anand Jayapalan had spoken about how business transformations often stem from examining how a company operates and how it can improve. The result of this analysis typically leads to considerable changes that help companies to effectively compete in an increasingly challenging environment.
Business transformation can include multiple specific transformations, all of which contribute to the overall enterprise and its operations. Digital transformation, for instance, puts emphasis on the best possible use of digital tools to serve customers and employees. On the other hand, organizational transformation focuses on how a company organizes its operating models and resources for the purpose of maximizing its ability to compete. Cultural transformations are also vital in many enterprises. It deals with how to treat employees and other stakeholders, as well as how does the business communicates its values, missions and culture to the internal and external audiences.
Companies commonly implement business transformation processes to dive deeper into core competencies, pursue new markets that were not part of their original target audience, or branch out and make new products. Transformation initiatives typically require an enterprise to make fundamental changes that impact its distinctive aspects like customer experience, human resources, IT development and so on. The benefits of business transformation are many, starting from streamlining operations and elevating customer satisfaction to improving the bottom line.
When establishing a business transformation strategy, leadership, learning, and technology are the three key areas to take into account.
- Leadership: Competent and engaged leaders are the driving force behind any successful business transformation. They are responsible for communicating and reinforcing new behaviours and driving employees to align with the new efforts with greater ease. In case the leaders are disengaged or contradict the effort, such initiatives would be doomed to fail. Aligning leadership early on in the business transformation process would be important to its success.
- Learning: To ensure positive employee engagement, productivity and retention, it is vital to put emphasis on employee development. The manner in which employees experience learning and maintain critical skills throughout the lifecycle of their employment should be evaluated during a business transformation experience. In certain cases, this might even be the centre of a transformation.
- Technology: Employees expect to stay up to date with technology, as the business landscape keeps changing rapidly. They would want their expect their learning experiences to keep up, no matter whether it involves an innovative learning technology or on-demand training. As companies drive transformation across their operations, they must consider how learning is structured, how they deliver content, as well as what type of content they provide.
Previously, Anand Jayapalan had discussed that most companies turn to transformation as their leaders seek to capture untapped potential or want to realize gains in growth or efficiencies. The most successful transformations typically address the value creation opportunities of a company. However, certain transformations may also focus on a specific theme, for instance, a workforce transformation to adopt agile working methods.
