If there is one area of technology and innovation’s role in the Future of Work, it is the realm of digital transformation. The “digital enterprise” is one that leverages the power of both traditional and innovative systems while providing functional stakeholders with a real, digital experience in regard to process orientation, flow of data and intelligence, and access to resources (including talent). In order to achieve this state, businesses must execute a well-developed digital transformation plan that accounts for its technology, culture, and scope of specialized skillsets to adopt and implement new systems.
Ardent’s Future of Work research reveals several key facets of digital transformation that businesses expect to pursue over the next 24-to-36 months. Seventy-one percent (71%) of businesses expect to develop significant interconnectedness between enterprise systems over the next two years, proving that core systems linkage is the foundation of the digital enterprise environment. Data must free-flow through all enterprise systems (including ERP, HRIS, financial automation, VMS, etc.) for maximum visibility and actionability. Nearly 67% of businesses expect to transform their business model to reflect digitization; this is a significant marker of the real impact of digital transformation, as a shift in business strategy, its product development, marketing, and other innerworkings, represents the modern organizational headspace. Businesses crave the scalability, dynamic responses, and power of digitization.
Sixty-four percent (64%) of companies also expect, over the next two-to-three years, to develop an innovation-ready culture, which promote the adoption of new technology/solutions and embrace just how disruptive these systems will be over the course of the enterprise’s future. Innovation-adverse cultures, on the other hand, are not open to the change that comes with digitization.
The Talent Angle: Why Digital Transformation Should be a Skillset-Driven Strategy
Innovation is not just the bridge to the future, but also a pure reflection of how organizations must structure their workforces to account for work optimization advancements. This “skills factor” is one that cannot be overlooked: 73% of enterprises today, according to the upcoming State of Contingent Workforce Management 2020 research study, require higher-quality and deeper skills and expertise in order to get work done. There are very few businesses in 2020 that can safely state that they will always be prepared for new challenges/issues given the range of skillsets across its current talent pool. The truth is that all enterprises can and will eventually experience a sharp need for enhanced expertise: globalization, continued innovation, and uncertain economic times may force them to reevaluate their current skills hierarchy. Part of this discussion, as well, is the fact that over half (52%) of businesses will require new skills and competencies. This finding supports the idea that the non-employee workforce will not only continue to grow in the months and years ahead, but it will continue to have a critical impact on how work is done due to more and more businesses tapping into alternative sources of labor for as-of-yet-unknown expertise.
Digital transformation is a viable strategy linked to the survival of businesses now and well into the future. In order for enterprises to remain ahead of the competition, and, more importantly, to remain as trusted partners to its customers, today’s businesses must harness the power of digital solutions to enhance product development and deliver a positive user experience.
The realm of digitization, too, will always directly hinge on just how well the average business can structure its technological ecosystems, processes, and operations. However, an even bigger attribute of digital transformation’s ultimate success is related to how it implements, connects, and leverages new technology; in most organizations, the level of expertise required to execute a digital transformation strategy isn’t always found in-house.
Digital transformation strategies should always account for skills/expertise, no matter how comfortable and confident an organization is in regard to its across-the-enterprise execution. As technology evolves and intelligent automation becomes a necessity, and as newer solutions become bigger pieces of the corporate technological architecture, it will be critical for businesses to have access to the specialized skillsets that are necessary in implementing and utilizing these solutions. Strategies such as direct sourcing are actively proving to help businesses build skillset-specific talent pools for such a transformation, while digital and on-demand staffing outlets remain an incredible source of top-tier talent for technological endeavors.
To learn more about the talent perspectives of digital transformation, be sure to tune into the Contingent Workforce Weekly podcast.
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