Digital transformation is often viewed as a means of revolutionizing the technologic nuts and bolts of an organization to create more efficient business processes and outcomes. What often gets lost in translation is the potential for digital transformation to reshape company culture and improve the employee experience for the better. A staggering 86% of companies are actively trying to change culture because they understand the impact good company culture can have on their employees, business operations and bottom line. If culture is the new corporate currency, then it’s a no-brainer for companies to apply the digital transformation tools and strategies revamping the rest of their operations toward giving company culture a much-needed technologic boost.
But what tricks and trades of digital transformation make sense to apply to improving company culture from a smart business perspective? After all, a common pitfall of digital transformation is investing in all the latest software and tools without any real implementation plan, goals or KPIs to understand how said technology will contribute to greater business success. The same applies to taking this mindset and applying it to company culture. While multi-cloud technology is great for managing application workloads, it won’t move the needle on a culture front. Same is true for modernizing the data center and all that other buzzy digital transformation jazz. What will help in terms of culture is looking at digital solutions and tools that can improve employee communications, efficiency and engagement.
Communication, in particular, represents an integral component of company culture. It dictates how employees interact with one another and perform their jobs in a collaborative environment. While the trend is to always institute the shiniest and newest of digital transformation tools for business operations, a more “back to basics” approach is all it takes to start improving the environment of communication and collaboration within a company. This is because many companies neglect revamping or upgrading technology that employees themselves actually use and rely upon for their jobs. It’s no accident that many organizations joke about being bogged down by “email culture”—they simply don’t have the tools that have been around for years that can make up for email’s shortcomings.
For example, investing in something as simple as Slack or Zoom for company-wide video chatting and communications can place priority on what items and communications take precedence while also better connecting global teams for higher levels of familiarity, comfort and collaboration. A company culture that thrives on open and honest communication is one where employees will feel more valued and heard, so communication tools like this are a great avenue for paving that more open road…literally!
From there, companies can then look into workload management tools like Asana for their employees in order to keep them on task, make them more efficient and always aware of deadlines and the current status of their work pipeline. This adds in layers of accountability and transparency—two steadfast elements that many companies seek to imbue within their company culture. Both of these tactics are basic, low-cost first steps that are often overlooked because they’re so obvious. But once in place, the digital transformation wheels can start turning toward culture improvements. Only then should automation be introduced.
While AI and robotic process automation (RPA) technologies may not seem like obvious digital transformation solutions to improve company culture, their impact on a company overall can actually free up employees to do more creative, mentally-fulfilling tasks and help foster a healthier work/life balance and greater career prospects—all of which are hallmarks to a winning company culture. Both AI and RPA are spearheading a new wave of higher-paying jobs that automate the mundane, menial tasks that most workers dread, which is a root cause of employee disengagement.
The liberation these solutions are ushering in grants employees more opportunities to climb the corporate ladder by focusing on the aspects of their career they love most, creating a ripple effect that produces better harmony in both their professional and personal lives. The companies that implement these digital transformation tools and strategies to create a culture that supports these attractive offerings will become the companies that top talent will kill to call their workplace.
Related Links:
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“Culture Shock: Why Employers Are Starting to Budget for Company Culture”
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“Spreading the Love: Why Positive Company Culture Creates More Positive CX”
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