Over the next decade, technological advancements like artificial intelligence and natural language processing will have a significant day-to-day impact.

AI is already playing a massive role in the workplace, with ever faster innovation. At Moneypenny we believe the future is for AI to augment humans, not replace them, allowing them to have better conversations. Marrying tech and people is the gold standard, and I believe you should only use AI technologies that improve the customer experience, or create a more efficient service. 

AI and deep learning can be used to help a company scale. NLP enables better conversations, for example, by providing an understanding of intent and sentiment which can help propose best actions for maximum efficiency.

Digital transformation

It’s easy to get excited about tech innovations like AI, but coming back down to earth, every business has potential to improve. Whatever the goal, improved efficiency, cost savings, growth or improving customer experience, and making better, quicker decisions, are all beneficial – enter digital transformation.

Technologies have been advancing for years but then the pandemic hit and what was predicted to take years to implement, had to be completed in a mere matter of months. Digital transformation has been central to business’ response and survival, and it is here to stay, a necessary disruption in order to equip business with the skills required to thrive in the future. 

So how do you make it work for your business? The main challenge in any digital transformation is taking people on the journey by being clear on the desired outcomes and how you will measure success.  Most importantly you need to communicate the changes to your people and engage them through training. You need to be clear about how they fit into the future and say why you’re changing things, and support them through the journey.

Your people are key

In creating an innovative, digital culture, it all comes down to your people. This means encouraging collaboration, multi-dimensional teams, idea generation and experimentation. To succeed and thrive, innovation needs a safe environment for your people to think independently, solve problems and be creative – within clear boundaries – giving them ownership, being listened to and valued, and empowering them to make decisions and take action.

It is also about creating an environment where people are not afraid of failure – within reason, of course – and most importantly that they learn from their mistakes in looking to the future.

Having the right technology to power your digital transformation is fundamental. Understanding what you need, how to implement with current systems and the benefit to the organisation means that you are constantly on the lookout, always learning and always ready to react. A flexible, agile approach is the answer, not simply for digital transformation, but also for sustainable business success. 

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Highlight weaknesses

As digital transformation looks different for all businesses, there are no hard and fast metrics to understand how it is working. It is essential that you have a system however, not just to measure success, but also highlight weaknesses and correct them along the way. This could be measuring software licenses and how they are being ultilised, or analysing productivity indicators across the business. 

In measuring, don’t forget the goals of your digital transformation and don’t be afraid to amend along the way. The more adaptable and responsive the better the transformation will be.

Agility is key – and it requires constant evolution. Digital transformation should become part of your DNA, a state of mind, and a statement of ‘how we do things around here’, making your people and your business more resilient. 

The challenges of recent years have highlighted that we crave human interaction facilitated by technology in many different forms, and together these two elements will shape the way the world communicates in the future.

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