Comprehensive consulting for transformations

Companies and organizations are increasingly using computers, iPads, and the Internet to work better and faster. Digital transformation describes the process of change in which organizations, states, and society as a whole integrate digital technologies into their structures, processes, and in the case of companies, into their business models, in order to become more efficient, flexible, and competitive. It is primarily about using the potential of new technologies to sustainably change working methods, services, business models, and corporate culture. Imagine a store normally only sells things in-store. With digital transformation, it begins to offer its products online as well. It uses digital warehouse management, and sales are processed, recorded, and analyzed digitally. The data obtained is used to optimize products, processes, and customer interaction in order to increase long-term success.

With digital transformation, a company changes how it works and what added value it offers.

In our daily business, we encounter different usages or definitions of "digital transformation", "digitalization" and "digitization" almost every day. In our daily work, we experience that people talk about different things for weeks, even though they use the same terms, which often results in irritations and inefficiencies. It is therefore very important, at least within your own company and with the stakeholders or external parties involved, to agree on a uniform use of the terms and, ideally, to put them in writing.

We always see digital transformations in the context of organizations that aim to adapt to external change impulses.

Definition of digital transformation by transformind

For us, the term digital transformation (DT) describes the process of fundamentally changing the value-added processes and operations of an organization using digital technologies. These changes include the organization's business models, value creation processes, interactions with customers and partners, and the use of data and technology to target competitiveness or even improve the organization's ability to act strategically. Digital transformation is always a cross-departmental, organizational change that is strategically financed and controlled by the company management. Thus, the digital transformation has a strong impact on the entire organization and its culture. It is also clearly distinguished from projects or individual programs. Digital transformations are usually characterized by the strategic integration of digital technologies across the entire value chain.

In addition to our specific definition of digital transformations, Wikipedia is using a broader one that my be helpful:

If this question arises, then it is important to look carefully. It depends on how great the digitization pressure is on the industry, how big the company is, what requirements customers, suppliers and other stakeholders place on the company, how successful is the existing business model?

If no good arguments for a digital transformation can be found, then there is a good chance that no transformation is needed at the current time. Individual digitization measures can also be implemented without large-scale transformation, e.g. the introduction of new software, etc.

There are many ways companies can benefit from digital transformation. However, the urgency and benefits of a digital transformation vary greatly from organization to organization and must be checked and clearly formulated beforehand. Important factors include the branch of industry, the economic situation of the company, existing structures, know-how, technological experience and the availability of resources and free funds.

The benefits of digital transformation are mostly in the following areas:

1. Increased efficiency: Digital transformation can help automate certain processes and optimize them using data or artificial intelligence. The focus on processes usually leads to more clarity about the actual processes in the organization and thus results in increased process efficiency.

2. Better customer experience: Digital transformation helps companies adapt to new customer requirements and significantly improve both products and services for customers. Using agile methods such as design thinking, new potential benefits can be discovered and made available in a timely manner. Individual communication with customers along their customer journey can be significantly optimized through the use of new technologies.

3. Mind-enhanced agility: Digital transformations usually go hand in hand with agile transformations, as the complexity of digital technologies calls for new methods. In addition, modern software is usually more modular and open (e.g. using interfaces), so that adjustments can be made more flexibly. The result is that companies can react faster to changing requirements or new technologies and can therefore be on the market faster with new products, services or innovations.

4. Improved decision-making ability: Digital analytics and artificial intelligence can provide business-relevant information for important decisions in the organization. Used correctly, this means that better information can be made available more quickly to a broader target group. If the data is aggregated, processed and made available in dashboards according to level, decision-relevant data can be made available transparently throughout the organization.

5. More innovation: Digital transformations can help to enable and initiate innovation processes in organizations. New business models can be developed and thus new market potentials can be exploited. Furthermore, completely new growth and innovation opportunities can also be identified.

6. Better collaboration: Digital transformation can help reduce silos and improve collaboration across different departments or teams. Well-known and established tools such as Microsoft Office 365 provide valuable services here.

7. Higher scalability: Digital transformations can make a valuable contribution to making existing business models or services more scalable and thus reaching new customers and markets.

8. Improved IT security: Even if it sounds paradoxical, a digital transformation can make a significant contribution to improving IT security in companies.

There are numerous possibilities to determine the Digital Transformation Readiness and one can argue that preparation is already part of a digital transformation. Our approach to this matter is a very pragmatic one. For us, the digital transformation always begins with the birth of a strategic initiative or an adjustment of the corporate strategy and the corresponding communication in the organization. In order to be able to prepare for this step, it is helpful to think about it in advance. The process for the transformation, as well as the communication, the integration of employees and the first measures depend largely on where your organization stands today.

With our free online questionnaire, you can make an initial assessment of your organization.

The key elements of a digital transformation strategy can vary depending on the organization, the competitive landscape, and goals and ambitions. But the following components are found in most strategies:

1. Process design: Identification and redesign of business processes to increase efficiency and scalability, improve customer experience and increase the company's adaptability to a rapidly changing environment.

2. Technology implementation: Identification and implementation of the technologies required for digital transformation. The integration of standard software, the in-house development of individual software to create important differentiation features compared to the competition, play an important role here, cloud computing, digital analytics, artificial intelligence, IoT and of course the implementation of systems for monitoring and increasing IT security.

3. Organizational development and change management: The digital transformation of a company is different than the name might suggest, primarily a transformation at the levels of strategy, corporate structure and culture. We therefore speak of a specific "digital transformation mindset

4. Data Management: Data is the heart of a digitally oriented organization. A core task of digital transformations is therefore the identification of existing and required data or information to enable the digital transformation. This includes information governance, data operations, security, analytics and machine learning.

5. Competition for talent and personnel development: Identification and development of the skills needed to support digital transformation. To this end, an attractive environment with effective training and further education opportunities must be created for existing employees and for new talent.

6. Governance and leadership: Digital transformation requires clear governance and strong leadership, which includes clear accountability, focus and sufficient resources in the area of leadership for digital transformation. Clear roles and structured risk management with clear risk owners.

7. Measuring and monitoring progress: Introduction of action-oriented metrics to measure and continuously monitor the progress of the digital transformation and to initiate measures if necessary.

8. Customer-centric approaches: Focus on customers and understanding of customer needs to design services and customer experiences in a targeted manner. This includes methods such as customer experience mapping and design thinking.

9. Innovation: Strategic focus on innovation and establishment of an innovation culture that allows experimenting, making mistakes and learning from them in order to discover new technology and potential uses.

10. Working in partnership: Building partnerships and working together with customers, competitors, suppliers, companies from other industries or educational institutions is a key element in any digital transformation. However, this also includes clear processes, responsibilities, information governance and contracts that support partnership-based cooperation, keyword: Agile Contracts.

1. Create an open and trusting atmosphere beyond hierarchical, team and departmental boundaries.

2. Analyze the status quo in external currents, strategy, structure and culture.

3. Analyze the current performance and future viability of the existing business models

4. Develop a clear vision and strategy.

5. Involve managers and employees in shaping the transformation at an early stage.

6. Prioritize directions and initiatives. A focused approach is important in order to maximize the impact on the one hand and not to overwhelm the organization on the other.

7. Form a transformation team that represents the broadest possible cross-section of the organization.

8. Implement new technologies and business models with pilot projects

9. Continuously monitor the progress of the pilot projects and check which success factors can also be transferred to the rest of the organization. Don't be afraid to customize where necessary.

10. Existing business models should be digitized consistently along the value chain in order to increase efficiency.

11. Create a culture that encourages learning, development, innovation and data-based decisions.

12. Continuously develop yourself and your employees.

Before or during the start of a digital transformation, it is worth collecting data about the initial situation within the company. This includes the so-called numbers, data, facts on the one hand and qualitative information from interviews with various managers, employees, customers and suppliers or even competitors on the other. It is important to examine the starting position from a variety of perspectives. These include, for example:

1. Business key figures: Where does the organization stand in terms of revenue, profit, growth, revenue or profit per employee, time to market for new products, results from market simulations, etc.
   

2. Customer situation: Satisfaction per segment, loyalty, user feedback, level of awareness, mood in social media, customer pain points, unused potential.
   

3. Employee situation: What currents are there among the employees at the beginning? How do the different currents view the organization today and in the future? How is the mood among the employees? How are we perceived on the job market? Are we getting the talent we're looking for? A digital transformation can definitely have a positive effect on employee satisfaction, but it needs the right measurement data to be able to determine this.
   

4. Technological indicators: Technological key figures such as the number of systems or applications implemented, the implementation period or the utilization of servers or other technical resources can also serve as indicators for the success of a digital transformation.
   

5. Efficiency / time savings: A successful digital transformation that focuses on the digitization of existing processes can save time and resources. This can be measured, for example, via the processing time for inquiries or processes, or the number of FTEs required to process processes. Another possibility could be that the number of interfaces or intermediaries would be reduced by a technological change.
   

6. Digitization rate: Another indicator of the success of a digital transformation is the proportion of end-to-end digitized processes. This is about the extent to which digital technologies are integrated into business processes.
   

7. Learning achievements: For digital transformations with a strong exploratory focus, it can be useful to keep a backlog of bottlenecks, hypotheses and resulting "learning successes". In this way, progress can be made visible that may not yet be measurable using hard company indicators.

The mindset describes the mental attitude and includes thought and behavior patterns. This includes, for example, how people or social groups view the ability to change. One group may believe that people can no longer change after a certain age (fixed mindset), while another group of people believes that we can change and develop throughout our lives (growth mindset).

A profound digital transformation often confronts those affected with existential fears and questions of identity. Those affected are torn between old patterns (I do what was always most important: day-to-day operations) and participating in the transformation, which is often perceived as "sawing off the branch on which I stand". In the transformation, the concerned employees are required to work with those whose work results are like grist to the mill of their own fears; they also have to exchange ideas beyond their own area and leave their comfort zone there too. Digital transformations often also require that safe routines can be abandoned. The "safe" day-to-day business or daily business, which was previously considered a safe haven, can lose importance in a digital transformation. In order to deal well with situations such as the one described above, the mindset or mindset development can play a decisive role - both for the supporters and for the more concerned currents of the transformation.

In change processes, it is very beneficial if the people affected have a certain openness to the upcoming changes. Based on this openness, the willingness to develop further can be awakened, whether to acquire new professional skills or to develop personally. In addition to the willingness to change, important soft skills include:

• ability to engage in dialogue

• self-reflection and inner clarity

• Leading and being led

• Positive handling of uncertainty

• Respectful interaction with others

• personal responsibility

Based on our experience in systemic complementary consulting, we are firmly convinced that people have the ability to develop and change their mindset. To do this, however, they need the chance to discover the desire for change themselves and to accept or reject it.

Digitalisierung kann punktuell (z. B. digitalisierung vom Posteingang oder Anbindung eines Online-Shops) erfolgen, ohne dass ein echter Wandel stattfindet.

Widerstand von Mitarbeitern oder Führungskräften ist in jedem Veränderungsprozess normal – wir als systemische Unternehmensberatung sehen darin sogar eine wichtige Funktion: Widerstand ist in der Regel ein Zeichen dafür, dass etwas wichtiges bewahrt werden soll. Dieser Schutzinstinkt bringt wertvolle Energie in die Transformation und wird von uns sehr ernst genommen und schon früh in den Veränderungsprozess integriert. Die Einbindung in die kollektive Meinungs- und Entscheidungsfindung sorgt dafür, dass das Gute von heute in der Vision von morgen nicht vergessen wird und so ein gemeinsam getragener Veränderungsprozess stattfinden kann.