How a strong company culture can drive digital transformation

After all, how can anyone expect a dysfunctional, toxic culture to translate into a productive homeworking scenario that’s committed to pushing revenue into the black? Or provide a welcoming environment and seamless onboarding process – especially when it must take place remotely – for a new starter to remain loyal and eager to succeed? Staggeringly, breathHR’s ‘The Culture Economy’ 2018 report highlights how poor company culture costs £23.6bn per year – with 34% of people quitting their jobs because of a dire workplace atmosphere.

The figures continue to back up how a motivated team can drive commercial success. For example, research by financial economists showed companies that were listed as being among ‘the best places to work’ delivered nearly 20% higher returns to shareholders. Why? Because their teams were given the support to remain mentally-strong, the correct tools to be productive and the motivation to be trusted to do their jobs well – much to the benefit of the end user.

There are plenty more statistics which evidence how placing a huge emphasis on employee wellness and maintaining a healthy and happy workforce are powerful elements that every enterprise should strive towards. In addition, how installing the right kind of tech can enable employees to bolster business growth, embrace agility and set the benchmark for competitors to follow.

But how does digital transformation truly fit into all this?

Innovation, inspiration and reinvention

Encompassing new, fast – and frequently changing – technology to solve problems, this revolution has completely shifted how organisations are now managed.

Looking back to how firms may have operated decades ago, it’s likely that tech and IT teams would’ve worked in silo away from other departments, never directly communicating with the end user – leaving that to the customer-facing roles.

However, technological transformation has empowered modern-day processes. It’s enabled teams to converse with all members of the company and beyond, regardless of the office space they occupy. Now, the customer is very much able to get answers to their questions straight from the innovators themselves.

Not only that, remote working possibilities have empowered workforces, enabling people to work from anywhere – in any time zone. And the digital revolution continues to challenge business leaders to embrace a forward-thinking mindset – and possess a level of trust in their employees to do a good job even when they’re not in the same room.

But transformation isn’t just one act, it’s a continuation of developments highlighting exactly how agile companies really are when it comes to truly modernising their approaches – and realigning change management processes to stay ahead of the game and maintain an inspiring place for people to work.

Adopting a forward-thinking mindset

And without all this – namely the innovation and aspiration in which technology presents – company culture would suffer greatly. Enterprises that are crippled by a toxic environment become slow to react to the ever-evolving technological landscape because there is a distinct lack of care from employees – and their products and services would ultimately get left behind.

Digital transformation affects an entire team that’s built up from a wide range of personalities and characteristics – all of whom play a pivotal role in the company’s success. However, if those individuals didn’t have the right technology in place that is a driving force in bringing them together – and inspiring, upskilling and developing trust – an organisation will struggle to remain relevant.

Agility in the marketplace has never been more pertinent and it’s those firms that are able to utilise machines to their benefit as a productivity enabler – whether in an office space or working remotely – means they will complete projects more swiftly, and be able to pivot to market needs.

Taking labour-intensive jobs out of a time-strapped employees’ day – and plugging in automated systems to man the mundane work – allows individuals to truly shine and concentrate on their priorities. And with that comes a happy team member who instils pride and passion into the company’s culture, leading to enhanced productivity and positive end user experiences.

For a motivated workforce to continue, the balance between empowering employees and undergoing digital transformation must work side-by-side, and that means obtaining staff ‘buy-in’ from the get-go, and when any kind of change occurs. Giving workers the opportunity to enhance their skillsets via savvy machinery can create loyalty, trust and assurance that they’ll do the best possible job – and therefore develop a dynamic team that always places the end user and business growth at the forefront of their minds.