Technology is advancing faster than ever before, and as a business leader, you want to ensure that your employees have the digital skills they need to drive the company's growth and success. Improving digital competencies is essentially about giving your employees the opportunity to acquire the knowledge, tools, and skills they need to thrive in a constantly evolving digital world.
The digital transformation can bring many benefits, but employers may encounter resistance from their employees when it comes to adopting new digital competencies. Let's look at why these barriers may arise and how businesses and leaders can overcome them.
Digital transformation can enhance the user experience and help you remain competitive in today's competitive market, all while minimizing your expenses. Although digitalization often involves high initial investments in terms of financial and labor costs as well as cultural changes, it can result in significant savings for your business over time. Even small family businesses are expected by customers to have digital solutions, so failing to digitize can affect your growth.
Many business leaders sometimes aren't aware that investing in digital solutions can also be a long-term benefit, resulting in significant cost savings in terms of expenses and operating costs for your company.
If the customer experience is a priority in your pursuit of digital transformation, your employees and the company as a whole can also benefit from digital transformation. Therefore, implementing digital solutions to improve the customer experience can also lead to lower operating costs.
Implementing digital solutions in your business can help automate tedious tasks and free you and your staff to focus on essential areas such as strategy, customer acquisition, marketing and improving the customer experience. These are crucial areas that will determine the success or failure of your business. This also allows employees to focus on valuable and more challenging tasks, which not only saves time and money, but also improves employee morale.
Digitisation can reduce the risk of human error by up to 90%. Those human made errors can occur in all areas of your business, from marketing to operations, and can cost you a lot of money. By using digital solutions to eliminate the human element in certain tasks, you can make significant savings by reducing the number of costly errors.
Digital solutions also provide a cost-effective way to develop and maintain expertise, as they can streamline the process of integration and training. Learning management systems and augmented reality solutions, for example, allow employees to access training from anywhere and reduce the cost of traditional training methods. Overall, investing in digital solutions can have a positive impact for both the company and the employees.
Employers may encounter resistance when attempting to enhance the abilities of their workers for various reasons. Some employees might argue that they are too old to learn a new skill, particularly a digital one. Others might worry about finding time in their already hectic schedules for additional training. Ultimately, this reluctance may stem from a single cause: people generally dislike change.
Many of us prefer stability and comfort in both our personal and professional lives. However, individuals often fear the unknown that changes bring and employees may be concerned that their job is at risk. This is especially true for employees who have been with a company for a long time.
As an employer, it's crucial to remember that retaining current employees is more cost-effective than hiring new ones. Moreover, employees are more likely to remain with a company that is dedicated to helping them acquire new skills rather than seeking out new talent. Loyal employees are a valuable asset to a business.
Digital education does not have to be a one-size-fits-all approach. It's important to consider the individual interests and needs of your employees when designing learning programs. Offer a variety of options, such as seminars, e-learning, or self-study, and allow employees to choose what they learn and how they learn it. By doing this, you'll foster a more engaged and motivated workforce, and you'll be better equipped to meet the future technological demands of your business.
Additionally, providing support for your employees to continuously learn and adapt will help them stay current in their roles and be more open to continuing education initiatives. Overall, investing in the digital education of your employees can help your company stay ahead of the curve and have a competitive advantage in terms of digital competence.
Implementing digitalization won't happen overnight. Rather, digital transformation is an ongoing process that requires a well thought-out strategy and a willingness to commit for the long haul. It's important to remember that the purpose of this transformation is not just to reduce expenses, but also to increase value for your business, your employees, and your customers. While digital transformation does come with its own set of challenges and costs at the beginning, the benefits it can bring to your company can last for many years.