Digital Transformation: Who to Hire When Leadership Lacks Expertise?
Firms must invest in digital transformation to remain competitive in today's economy.
Companies must change their strategy to stay up with changing client expectations as technology improves and the digital landscape evolves.
Finding innovative ways to harness digital tools and processes to achieve innovation and growth is a priority for many organizations. When executives lack expertise in digital transformation initiatives, companies may struggle to make real progress toward their goals.
Hiring an expert may be the greatest answer to ensure a company's successful transition to a more digitally-enabled business.
If your company's leadership team is lacking in digital transformation expertise, this article will provide insight into who to hire and how enlisting such professionals can help you reap success.
What is Digital Transformation?
Leveraging digital technologies, businesses can transform their existing process and strategies to meet customers' ever-evolving needs. With the power of technology, companies can promote innovation, invigorate growth and minimize costs simultaneously.
Digital transformation is an integral part of business success in today's world.
Without embracing digital transformation, companies in today's world risk falling behind their competition and missing out on vital opportunities for progress.
Who Should be Hired?
A strong IT and business strategy background is necessary when leadership lacks knowledge in digital transformation initiatives.
This person should be aware of how technology can help various elements of the business, such as marketing, customer service, and operations. They should also be able to assess present IT infrastructure and suggest improvements.
The ideal candidate will be able to lead the organization through the complete transformation process. This person must know about digital trends and technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), cloud computing, virtualization, and workplace mobility. They should also be well-versed in the various technologies and tools for digital transformation.
The ideal candidate must possess exceptional communication and organizational abilities and experience working collaboratively with a team.
The digital transformation initiative needs a leader who can motivate and inspire everyone involved so that each team member comprehends its aims. This individual should be able to rally their crew around making progress towards this important change.
Hiring the appropriate candidate will ensure companies can capitalize on digital transformation opportunities while prioritizing their customers' desires. This gives them a competitive advantage and sets them apart from other businesses in their sector.
Challenges Companies Face in Digital Transformation
Embarking on a digital transformation journey is an ongoing process that involves regular analysis and evaluation of current initiatives. As businesses attempt to implement these projects, they may face some roadblocks like the following:
1. UPDATING OUTDATED TECHNOLOGY:
Staying ahead of the competition requires companies to invest money into their operations and modernize with the latest technology. This expenditure can be hefty, yet it is necessary for sustaining success in today's market.
2. CHANGING ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE:
For a successful digital transformation, an organization must reevaluate its core values and processes – changes that require commitment from both management and personnel.
3. EMPLOYEE TRAINING:
If businesses want to unlock the full potential of their digital transformation programs, they must invest in comprehensive training on new technologies and techniques for their personnel.
4. SECURITY CONCERNS:
Securing sensitive data is necessary as companies move to new avenues, but this endeavor can be costly and tedious. A strong set of security policies needs to be drawn up for the transition process to go smoothly - something that many organizations know all too well.
5. RESISTANCE TO CHANGE:
Convincing company partners and stakeholders of the value of digital transformation initiatives can be challenging due to potential risks, costs, and disruption that may result from implementing them.
6. INADEQUATE EMPLOYEE COMPETENCIES:
With the ever-changing demands of digital transformation, numerous organizations lack the internal personnel to meet their goals adequately.
7. IDENTIFYING INDIVIDUALS WHO POSSESS THE NECESSARY CAPABILITIES:
Even though you have skilled personnel in-house, it might be beneficial to hire outside employees to bolster the current team's restricted resources.
Organizations need to invest wisely in digital transformation to remain relevant and competitive. Digitalization can be difficult for companies to overcome, but it is possible with the right investment of time and resources.
Who Can You Hire To Help With Digital Transformation?
To help companies overcome the challenges of digital transformation, hiring individuals with the right skill set and experience is important.
The ideal candidate should have expertise in IT operations, data analysis, software engineering, project management, and marketing. They should also possess leadership qualities, such as motivating a team while inspiring innovation.
These professionals know digital tools and trends and understand digital transformation processes.
Technical lead: A technical lead oversees a team of engineers developing technical solutions as part of a greater digital transformation effort. This individual must have an advanced understanding of software engineering and experience developing technical solutions.
Data analyst: A data analyst is responsible for collecting, organizing, analyzing, and interpreting digital data to inform a company's decisions. They should be experienced with database structures and systems and have a solid understanding of analytics platforms.
Business analyst: A business analyst helps bridge the gap between business users and IT by analyzing existing systems, processes, and data within an organization to help develop new applications or procedures that meet business objectives more efficiently or effectively than before.
UX designer: UX designers create user-centered designs that focus on improving user experience with devices and applications tailored specifically for them based on their needs and preferences.
Project manager: A project manager supervises all aspects of a project's development life cycle from the beginning until its completion date, including budgeting, scheduling resources, overseeing tasks/milestones, tracking progress, etc. They should have experience in project management and software development.
Digital strategist: A digital strategist is responsible for helping companies identify, evaluate and implement new digital strategies. This individual should be knowledgeable about the current trends in digital marketing, social media, search engine optimization (SEO), and other areas related to digital transformation.
Digital transformation can present many challenges, such as understanding the scope of projects, inadequate support from senior leaders, lack of necessary skill sets among current employees, and finding people outside the organization with needed skill sets to carry out successful projects.
But there are professionals available who can help ease these concerns, like technical leads, business analysts, UX designers, and project managers, each providing their own set of specialized skills that will help ensure success in this area.
Therefore, when undertaking digital transformation projects, companies should strongly focus on hiring the right individuals to help them maximize their chances of success. This may require bringing in outside expertise or recruiting existing staff with relevant skills from other areas, but it will be well worth it in the long run.
Hiring the right people to help with digital transformation is a key step in the process and can make all the difference between success and failure. Doing it right will ensure the best possible outcome for any company that wants to embark on this journey.
Ultimately, it is an investment that will pay off for years.
At Ari Agency & Ari Executive, we work with digital leaders and disruptors who rely on us to find and attract some of the most competitive talent in the digital space. If you’re interested in the trends impacting workforces or looking to hiring game-changing talent, contact us today to learn more about how we can help.