Business Transformation is the process of changing the systems/technology, processes and people across a whole organisation or within departments. Its aim is to achieve measurable improvements in efficiency, effectiveness and stakeholder/customer satisfaction. A business transformation project is likely to include any number of change management projects/initiatives. These can be an individual system, technology, process, team or department.
So why would an organisation want to undertake business transformation? Organisations can become stagnant if they do not transform or evolve. They might not be able to keep up with competitors, demands from customers or creating additional value as a result. With transformation, organisations have the ability to unlock the potential of their employees. They can work with the latest and greatest technology to become more efficient.
Business transformation can be many things and is a large scale topic. Activities usually falling into these categories:
- Business process transformation
- Data/digital transformation
- Organisational transformation
- Management transformation
- Cultural transformation
Before organisations can move forwards on a business transformation journey there needs to be a strategy in place. Without a clear direction and set of objectives for the organisation any business transformation will likely fail. This is due to no measurements and direction from the organisation and leadership. The strategy must be clear and easy to follow, individuals in the organisation can then work towards the same set of goals.
Once a strategy has been defined its clear objectives are in place, it is time to look at the capabilities that are needed to be implemented in order to achieve them. It is important to ensure there are individuals who have full focus on the transformation activities rather than adding additional scope to an individuals day job. If someone’s role has transformational activities added to it then they will likely be unable to dedicate the time needed. Activities could slip as a result and may not be achieved when needed.
Once a strategy and objectives are in place, the organisation needs to understand what is required to achieve them. Planning can take place to break down activities for each objective. Activities can be planned so that the transformation work commences with regular measurement to show the success and progress against the objectives. Some activities could be quick to implement and others longer. Business transformation is not a quick fix, the majority of transformation programmes run for several years aligning to the longer term strategy.
With any change in an organisation there are always risks. Individuals or the organisation as a whole could fall back into old ways of working once the activities are completed or when the programme has come to an end. Organisations need to measure when they have achieved its objectives. They need to use the same/similar metrics to ensure they are maintaining that achievement long term. There is no reason for going through the whole transformation process and investing the time and money just for the organisation to revert back once the programme has completed. Transformation needs to be long term and embedded to ensure value is found and the organisation comes out stronger.
