How to Communicate the Digital Transformation Roadmap for Your Organization

Digital transformation occurs in stages, and includes communicating your digital strategy to your team.

Digital transformation was initially just an opportunity some businesses saw, took advantage of, and thrived on. However, it's now a necessity that every organization should use to remain relevant and competitive.

The digital transformation roadmap plays a vital role in helping organizations:

• Provide better services

• Improve customer relations

• Maintain effective collaboration with other businesses and stakeholders

Companies that opted for digital transformation have enjoyed competitive advantages. However, many businesses are still lagging behind and unable to leverage this advantage.

Simply having a digital transformation roadmap isn't enough; you need to communicate your digital transformation strategy to your organization.

Successful digital transformation is dependent on effective communication and involvement.

Digital transformation is only possible through an open and collaborative culture that companies should actively strive to establish and support. This culture can be enhanced through effective communication, which is achieved in three stages.

3 stages of communicating your digital transformation roadmap to employees

Every organization that desires to experience digital transformation must employ practical communication strategies for success. Kurt Lewin, a German-American psychologist, developed a classical change model that outlines three different stages to embrace for success:

1. Unfreeze

Unfreeze is a critical stage where the organization embarks on communicating digital transformation.

At this stage, a management team recognizes and clearly outlines why it’s important for the company to embrace digital transformation for its employees.

Using examples from other businesses that have set the pace in digital transformation, leadership teams can then challenge employees’ old patterns, workflows, and operational methods while encouraging them to adopt digital change.

2. Change

Lewin describes change as the stage where new behaviors, perceptions, and attitudes begin to replace the old, limiting ones. Changes in this stage might involve migration to cloud computing, using artificial intelligence in business analytics, embracing digital marketing, and integrating new technologies in both employees and customer experiences.

Since the change stage is aggressive and robust, organizations must prioritize effective communication, especially from management/leadership to their teams.

This can be achieved by scheduling training for new technologies and data techniques with relevant IT experts, software reps, consulting firms, or digital trainers who act as guides to your employees.

3. Refreezing

Complete integration of new digital transformation values, culture, attitudes, and behaviors among employees takes place at the refreezing stage. Many changes from stage two have taken root, and there's a significant achievement of different milestones.

It’s crucial to incorporate employee monitoring and support by tracking key performance indicators (KPIs); this helps you keep a pulse on growth and development related to your new digital transformation goals.

Practical digital transformation tips

Successful digital transformation begins with creating a transformative vision encompassing every change you envision for your business' digital future.

Then, it's time to sell this vision to your employees and stakeholders, and motivate each to bring about transformative change. Embrace feedback from team members, ask for their opinion on different software and tools, consult their expertise while adopting new technologies, and encourage them to try out different digital approaches.

Ultimately, your digital transformation journey is only possible when business leaders and management take action that reinforces organizational goals and visions.

Offer employees opportunities to engage in real and meaningful dialogue on transformation through various platforms such as collaboration tools, in virtual meetings, or through employee surveys.