It’s good for your business.
You’ve read that about digital transformation. You’ve seen others go through it — even competitors.
But still, the idea of becoming a digital-first business makes you uncomfortable. Like other business leaders, you may feel the following:
A fear of disrupting operations and the customer experience
You need to keep customers happy and pay your bills. How on earth are you going to do that when, like some Formula 1 car in mid-race, you’re changing big parts of your business operation?
Sure, you know that the way you’re operating is far from optimal, but at least it’s working. After your digital transformation, who knows?
Concern about the digital literacy of your employees
From employees who are digital whiz kids to those who have just mastered the TV remote - they’re all working under your roof.
How will they react to taking on new tools and tasks or new roles? For example, your shipping and receiving employees are used to working with paper forms. Will they rebel at the thought of using mobile devices to do their work, even if it’s easier, faster and more accurate?
Furthermore, the performance of your employees and equipment will be measured much more precisely. Some employees may not be able to work toward clearly measured, real-time KPIs (key performance indicators) and decide to leave. Finding good employees is hard in today’s labour market.
The absence of a clear roadmap
For you and your executive team, the roadmap for “this technology stuff’ isn’t clear. The vocabulary is unfamiliar. The investment is significant.
Moreover, you’ve read the horror stories of digital transformations gone wrong. It all makes you feel as if you were Christopher Columbus sailing to the edge of the world.
An out-of-control budget allocation
A digital transformation will probably rank as one of your biggest business investments and have a major impact on your business’s long-term trajectory.
What if the transformation goes off the rails, and you’ve underestimated what this project will take in terms of funds and hours by your team? How can you be sure you’re going to get a satisfying ROI?
Rest assured that these concerns and questions are common among business leaders considering a digital transformation.
That’s why the following discussion outlines a digital adoption strategy that will reduce your risk and support your peace of mind as you take this important step toward your business’s long-term success.
What is a digital adoption strategy?
A digital adoption strategy describes the steps your business needs to take to use digital tools most effectively to achieve your goals.
You know your digital adoption strategy is successful when facing a task, your team:
- Naturally reach for the digital tool instead of the time-consuming, error-prone manual method
- Can take full advantage of the digital tool’s full range of capabilities
As a result, your team produces more, faster, and with fewer errors because there are fewer occasions for human intervention.
1. A successful digital adoption strategy starts with communication
From your executives to the employees on the plant floor, everybody needs to buy into your vision of digital adoption.
Your executive team and key managers already support the vision because the business case has convinced them.
Now, your employees need to buy in. They may have been made anxious by the rumours and distorted stories spreading through company gossip.
One effective antidote to this anxiety and fear is thoughtful, motivating presentations that educate them on the benefits to them and the business.
Be specific with your employees
For employees to relate to what they’re being told, they need to see the digital impact and benefits on their day-to-day tasks.
Team managers can, of course, be the change agents sharing this information. It’s important, though, that they be both comfortable with and excited about the new tools.
Ensure clear, consistent communication
All your employees should have easy access to the step-by-step plan for the digital transformation. Their milestones, as well as the digital functions they’ll be using, should be clearly identified.
As your digital transformation progresses, ensure that the communications team shares timely updates of the good news and the not-so-good news. Consistent communication, like the coxswain who calls out the pace to the rowers in a boat, will help everyone keep their eyes on the digital vision and support a more cohesive and effective transformation.
2. Change management is a critical success factor
The technical side of digital transformations has its challenges, but the biggest challenge remains on the people side: How do you navigate human resistance to the uncertainty and change of new ways of working?
A well-designed, disciplined change management process is essential for success.
Provide accessible training support
It goes without saying that unloading an instruction manual on your team and expecting do-it-yourself learning will lead to massive disengagement.
So support your team with experienced trainers or power-user colleagues to guide employees through in-person training. Offer your team in-app guidance, online courses and other forms of easily accessible support.
However, providing support only at the beginning of the digital tool’s implementation will not be sufficient. There is a “forgetting curve” to any newly acquired knowledge.
Your team will have recurring needs to refresh or expand that knowledge. If support isn’t there, expect frustrated employees to resort to manual workarounds that will defeat your productivity goals.
Furthermore, as new capabilities become available in software updates, show your team how to take advantage of them. Invite your ERP consultant or vendor to share the latest best practices.
What is Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software?
Your research will show that the first step in any digital adoption strategy entails the implementation of ERP software. The ERP serves as the digital hub for all other digital tools you wish to benefit from.
ERP software is the hub because it standardizes and centralizes all the data produced by your business functions. As a result of this centralization in a database, a sales order entered into the ERP system, for example, will automatically update inventory, shipping and invoicing almost instantly.
This end-to-end integration of your data eliminates the need for multiple manual entries in the same document and thus reduces the risk of human error polluting the data. Streamlining and automating processes is one of the powerful ways an ERP system can increase productivity and efficiency in your business.
Furthermore, an ERP’s integration of your business functions gives you immediate real-time visibility into your operation at a granular level. This visibility empowers you to make data-based decisions faster so you can be more proactive as challenges arise.
3. Innovation lowers the barriers to entry
Some years ago, only big companies could benefit from ERP systems. But today, innovation and cloud technology have immensely reduced the upfront cost and the time of implementation. Top-tier cloud-based ERP systems are now within the reach of small and medium-sized businesses.
A cloud-based ERP requires no additional investment in hardware or IT infrastructure. Your ERP cost is a fixed fee, much like your phone bill, and covers software upgrades and maintenance. Need more functionality as you grow? Simply inform your vendor of your needs.
Furthermore, top-tier cloud ERPs work with major players in cloud services. For example, Fidelio ERP resides on Azure, Microsoft’s cloud platform, which offers state-of-the-art security as well as backup and disaster recovery solutions, all supported by thousands of cybersecurity experts working together.
4. CDAP can help with your digital adoption strategy
Integrating an ERP system into your operations is a serious investment. Fortunately, you can integrate a system in stages that will enable you to profit from quick wins. Here’s how.
Modular ERP systems have individual modules for your major business functions (e.g., finance, inventory management, procurement, etc.).
To start your digital adoption, choose modules that would help improve your business performance the most. Then, after your staff has become comfortable working with the new tool and you’ve seen the benefits, add other modules until your business is digital end-to-end.
The good news is that the Canadian government prioritizes industry digital transformation. It provides grants and other financial support to growing businesses that want to start innovation projects.
For more information on this financial support, businesses based in Ontario should visit the Canada Digital Adoption Program.
If you’re based in Quebec, read our article, “How to Get ERP Grants to Kickstart Your Digital Transformation”
Have more questions about ERP systems and your first step into digital transformation? Connect with us!
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