Digital transformations not only help your enterprise scale up productivity but also can bring down productivity at times.

Wondering how both scenarios are possible? Yes, they are. The below paragraph will help you understand why digital advancements can impact productivity, provided you dont partner with reputed digital transformation services. 

If you presume the success of digital transformation (DX) is defined by CIOs, CEOs, CTOs, you are wrong – employee adoption makes a big difference when it comes to DX success. If employees don’t keep up, there are high chances of your DX program failing miserably. 

Mostly employees that have been using the legacy systems or technologies for years will resist changes. Introducing a new technology or solution to the existing ecosystem without any prior notice would impact the way they work and create aversion. 

Shared below are a few points that would force your employees to halt your digital transformation initiatives. 

• Feeling why the current system needs a change
• Finding the technology or solution not complex or difficult to use
• Lack of skills or limited training to utilize the new technology/solution implemented to the fullest
• Fearing productivity slips

The reason why CIOs play a critical role in the success of DX compared to CEOs or CTOs is because they understand the current ecosystem better than the latter. This helps the IT heads realize the challenges of the workforce and provide them with the right solutions when a change is planned. 

SEE ALSO: "DX & IT- Change Management Challenges"

Here are some of the ways CIOs can help enterprise workforce keep up with the changes the transformations would bring to the organization. 

Create a dialogue

Communication plays a critical role in the success of any digital transformation. Forcing new technologies or solutions would only improve their aversion towards the company, contributing to reduced productivity. As a CIO, it is a must to convince the CEOs and initiate open discussions with the employees to make them understand what the entire DX program is all about and how it benefits. 

Explain how it helps

Helping employees with how the transition will improve their routine simply boosts confidence. Most often your workforce would be wondering what is wrong with the current technology and why should they adopt something new. By answering their questions and explaining the complete benefits of new initiatives planned you can win their trust and confidence.

Address their concerns and build trust

Listening to the employees’ concerns and understanding their pain points is often recommended as this will help the CIOs suggest technology or solution that aligns with theirs and employees’ goals. Making the entire project transparent improves their trust on the company. This also leads to improved productivity post implementation of new digital push. 

Encourage training

Another common challenge most enterprise CIOs face while planning for a transition is bridging the skill gaps of the workforce. Not every company will possess the necessary skill set required for utilizing an advanced digital solution. This might annoy your employees impacts their productivity. Providing adequate training with the help of IT  will help your workforce use the solution efficiently and increase productivity. 

Build a change management strategy

Having a robust change management strategy in place is recommended for CIOs to make the digital transformation process seamless and successful. This includes assigning resources, budgeting, selecting vendors, training employees etc. and without involving IT in the program, these challenges easily derail your DX program. 

Keep on engaging with employees

Digital transformation is not a one-time process and may even take a few years to complete successfully. So, CIOs must stay tuned with the employees during every phase of the transit to ensure that the workforce understands what is planned and how the changes will help them. Continuous conversation with the employees will help your business accelerate the project completion without any impact on the productivity level.

In short, IT plays a meaty role in managing employees when it comes to making your digital transformation program successful.