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In an article that I recently wrote for the Forbes Technology Council, I discussed the central role of corporate culture as the enabler for companies to fully embrace digital transformation.

Before undergoing a digital transformation of any kind – whether it be implementing chatbots, a machine-learning solution or an application modernization initiative — companies must uncover their culture tendencies and priorities in order to understand how they can approach digital transformation in a way that works best for them. For example, a company with a customer-first culture will be most concerned with understanding how the initiatives will impact customers, while a traditional company will need more work getting everyone to let go of the traditional way of doing things.

Digital transformation is not something that happens quickly or easily for many companies, since it’s a major disruption to the way things are done. In the Forbes article I shared some key tips for undertaking digital transformation for the best results:

  • Involve many stakeholders. While the CIO should hold an important role in digital transformation, it also must be shaped by the CEO, CFO, COO and other executives, along with line-of-business leaders, together working to identify and solve the business challenge.
  • Keep an open mindset. Employees should be encouraged to share new ideas without fear of failure. Spotlighting specific employees and how they contributed to the new idea can ignite others to follow suit. Financial rewards or other perks can also play a role.
  • Remove fear and doubt. Often when employees hear of digital transformation and automation they fear elimination of jobs. When introducing new technologies it’s important to reinforce the value and continued role of people in the process.
  • Establish KPIs. it’s important to measure the success of your initiative all along the way in order to pivot when necessary.

Digital transformation is never something to be taken lightly and requires a major understanding of your company and what may be needed to create a culture of forward-thinkers willing to work together to bring about digital change that will benefit both customers and employee alike.

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