Digital transformation is always on an organisation’s list of long term business goals. Yet despite playing a key role in a successful business model, any form of digitisation strategy was often relegated to the “nice to have” stack of priorities. The effects of the Covid-19 pandemic have turned that way of thinking on its head.
Indeed, a recent report found that 97% of respondents said that the pandemic sped up their organisation’s digital transformation processes. It’s hardly surprising – companies had to rapidly take their business processes online to enable remote working and to survive in a world that had shut down its physical offices. Everything had to be done digitally, from delivering customer service to reviewing employee performance.
Whilst such accelerated change and implementation of digital initiatives was necessary, it does beg the question: were these new digital processes deployed in the best possible way? Amidst the rush and the chaos, organisations would be forgiven if they prioritised a speedy delivery of digital technology over a considered and methodical approach.
Now that the initial disruption has (somewhat) settled and we’re all accustomed to working from home, now is the time for organisations to reflect on their digital transformation strategy and review if the technologies and processes they put in place are fit for the digital age.
What are the 4 main areas of digital transformation?
So what makes a good digital transformation strategy? According to a study by Harvard Business Review, the transformational journey should comprise the following four elements to be successful:
- Digital technology: To digitally transform your business, you must have the relevant tech that allows you to do so. This could include anything from workflow automations that minimise manual admin to artificial intelligence that improves your operational efficiency.
- Big data: Organisations must use their data and analytics effectively, which means employing skilled staff who understand how to unpick valuable insights from vast quantities of information.
- Business processes: A digital business strategy must incorporate process improvements that will lead to better business outcomes, such as a more streamlined customer experience or quicker employee onboarding. By investing in smoother business processes, this will ultimately result in revenue growth.
- Organisational/cultural change: For any kind of digital transformation to be successful, an organisation’s mindset, goals, and leadership must be aligned.
How the intranet can help you form a digital transformation strategy
Now that you have a better idea of what constitutes a good digital transformation strategy, it’s time to start forming one that will meet the needs of your business.
Your intranet software already ticks a lot of the digital transformation boxes as standard, and provides a solid footing from which to boost your organisation’s digital goals. Here’s how your company intranet supports digital transformation:
Improves business processes
We mentioned above that one of the 4 key areas of digital transformation is the improvement of business processes. Intranet platforms with in-built e-forms and workflows software fulfil this goal out-of-the-box. The technology works by digitising and automating manual processes that, pre-digital transformation, would usually take up a lot of your teams’ time.
E-forms and workflows software automate your manual business processes
Enables “work from anywhere”
Your company intranet likely played a huge part in enabling your teams to work from home throughout the pandemic. Packed full of essential features such as document management, company policies, and communication channels, your intranet provided staff easy access to their day-to-day work tools.
Intranets aren’t just for home working, however. Intranet mobile apps enable those who work in the field, on-the-go, or whilst commuting to stay connected and check in with the goings on at their organisation. As the world of work moves further and further away from five days in the office, technology that enables staff to work from any location will be vital for digital transformation.
Provides valuable data
Intranets include in-built analytics that capture insightful data such as usage statistics, user behaviour, and engagement levels with specific pieces of content. If you use your intranet’s extranet portal capabilities, you can also uncover user data from your external stakeholders or customers.
This valuable data helps you better understand your audiences’ needs and inform your business decisions. From this, you can shape your employee engagement or customer experience strategies with data-driven thinking.
Fosters company culture
Aligning your company’s goals, especially if you’re going through a period of change, can be extremely challenging. Through internal communication and collaboration tools, your intranet can help you create a unified company culture that promotes your organisation’s mission and values. This will provide teams with complete transparency about how their contributions affect the bottom line, and allow them to feel part of the digital transformation process.
