Over the past several months, I have watched artificial intelligence…
Every week, LinkedIn followers tune in for Tea Time with our CEO and procurement expert, Amanda Prochaska. This week, Amanda's focus was on the secrets behind successful digital transformations.
With decades in procurement under her belt, Amanda's insights are invaluable. In this article, we explore four key tips from Amanda's wealth of experience. Get ready to transform your approach as we uncover Amanda's proven strategies for digital success.
Activated Sponsors
There are 2 types of sponsors: activated and deactivated.
We all know what a deactivated sponsor looks like. These sponsors are the “logo on the back of the t-shirt.” They are uninvolved and sit silently in meetings. These sponsors are uninspiring and they can become a larger problem than a solution to your project.
On the other hand…
Your dream sponsor is fully involved and will even challenge what is being discussed throughout the project's lifespan. Top-tier sponsors are also constantly aware of design issues and are a part of any other decisions that need to be made. These types of sponsors can be tie-breakers in monumental project decisions.
You also need a sponsor who can influence your organization to come along with the project. They are activated by the change management strategy that you're putting into place and they know their specific role in the project.
Another key part of having an amazing partner is scope. This is crucial since we all know that scope creep can happen quickly during a digital transformation.
To ensure adherence to scope, your sponsor must serve as its vigilant guardian. Your sponsor needs to possess a thorough understanding of the project's original scope and be discerning when assessing any requests that fall outside its boundaries. An effective sponsor will swiftly and decisively quash any extraneous activities, maintaining project focus and alignment with objectives.
Furthermore, a hallmark of a proficient sponsor is their ability to envision success. They must grasp the project's end goal and work towards setting a clear vision that guides project endeavors toward ultimate completion.
Internal Engagement and Ownership
If you’re not all in, then why are you doing a digital transformation at all?
If you want to be successful in your digital transformation, every single person needs to be all in.
If you’re not all in on your project, ask yourself why. If someone on your team is not all in, ask why. If leadership seems hesitant, ask why. If your gut tells you a user is resistant to the change, ask why. And, do not stop asking “why?” until you have all the information and every single person is on board.
Never underestimate any individual in your company. People are smart. If their leaders aren’t all in, they won’t be either. And, when your team isn't all in, the change management and adoption will not come through. Lack of buy-in also puts your project at risk of “dying on the vine.” In other words, you won’t reach your success metrics, ROI will not be reached, and future momentum will be stalled entirely.
Keep in mind that it’s also okay to not move forward with a project. Do not waste money by trying to push something forward that does not have full buy-in.
User Understanding
Most implementations fail because users do not have the bigger picture. In other words, these users do not know how or why they have to make a change. If this lack of understanding is evident within your company, your digital transformation is at risk of failure.
So, ask yourself: What will it take for your entire team to understand what they are doing?
At Wonder Services, we bring a holistic approach to our client’s digital transformation projects. We ask ALL the questions, no matter how “simple” a project may be.
For example, when it comes to deploying a new technology, we ask what skillsets need to change among the current team members. We ask ourselves how this project will land culturally. We ask if we need to make process changes, organizational changes, and/or metric changes. We also review every detail of the design and policies. The list goes on and on….
Ultimately, every aspect must be scrutinized. If we do not have all the answers to every one of our questions, our team will not deploy a technology. Nobody wants to be in the position of having no clue what to do and it is never fair to do this to your team.
Remember, getting all the information is more precious than the money that you're spending on a project. You NEED to make sure you do this right. Only then can you truly maximize the investment that you made in this new technology.
Risk Mitigation
Risk is not a bad word. It's actually a good word…if you can identify those risks proactively. Furthermore, the programs that do transformations successfully are amazing at identifying risk and mitigating it.
One of the first things we do with our new clients is complete a very detailed risk assessment. Our assessment involves over a hundred questions…and sometimes we get pushback on answering them all.
However, our assessment is comprehensive for good reason. Our detailed assessment will tease out every different type of risk from the outset of the project. This allows us to know the direction we are heading in.
We also recommend risk assessments at every major milestone throughout a client’s digital transformation. This is important because other risks will come up as the target is always moving.
For example, let's say you launch a project and things are going well. You're mitigating the risks and everything is sunshine and roses. And then, in the middle of the project, your company decides to acquire another company. This transition presents a significant risk to your resources and jeopardizes both your team's focus and strategic direction.
Scenarios like this are commonplace in the dynamic nature of business environments. As conditions continually evolve, ongoing evaluation and adaptation are essential for continued progress.
Moral of the story: You always have to be looking at that risk. It's not a one-time-and-done thing. And the projects that do well are the ones that never overlook that risk mitigation.
Conclusion
These four tips are just the beginning of unlocking the potential of your digital transformation journey! But why stop here when there's more gold to be discovered? Dive deeper into Amanda's wealth of knowledge and uncover her final digital transformation tip by watching the full Tea Time video here.