Digital adoption and change management

Digital adoption — the process by which organizations fully leverage digital tools and technologies to enhance productivity and optimize processes — is intrinsically linked to change management. Successful digital adoption projects require effective strategies to overcome challenges such as shifting from legacy systems and acquiring buy-in from stakeholders, as well as overcoming resistance.

Research shows that 70 percent of transformation projects fall short of their goals. In fact, McKinsey reports that only 16 percent of employees believe their company’s digital reforms improve productivity and are sustainable long-term, demonstrating how important it is to have a clearly defined change management strategy in place.

“Digital adoption and change management are almost two sides to the same coin,” says Jots Sehmbi, digital and technology change leader, CIO at City, University of London. “To deliver successful digital services in an organization and ensure these are fully adopted by staff, their customers and business processes, robust change management is needed.”

The main goals of a change management project are to ensure that staff understand the need for the change and that they are skilled to use the new tools and processes.

Adrienne Cohen, change management specialist at the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office and former digital transformation and change consultant at Lloyds Banking Group, explains this further: “The goal of digital adoption is to ensure your entire organization understands the why, what and how of the change. Change purpose, embedding an agile, learning, open mindset and a trusting culture are necessary to accept, adopt and embrace human experience enhanced by technology and the continuous change that digital evolution is bringing with it.”

Trends shaping digital adoption and change management

The acceleration of digital adoption post-pandemic and advances in artificial intelligence (AI) have hugely impacted workforce dynamics. Here are the key ways digital transformation is currently influencing organizational change:

Digital collaboration

The Covid-19 pandemic accelerated the adoption of remote work tools and digital collaboration platforms, making digital collaboration a vital part of business operations today. Effective strategies are crucial for implementing these types of software applications, not only to ensure they are used efficiently, but also to safeguard sensitive information and protect against cyber threats.

“Utilizing interactive walkthroughs, context-sensitive guidance and personalized training ensures users quickly understand functionalities, accelerating proficiency and boosting productivity,” says Manish Chand Thakur, senior analyst at Quadrant Knowledge Solutions.

AI and automation

AI tools and automation are increasingly being integrated into different aspects of business operations, from customer service chatbots to predictive analytics for decision-making. As such, a growing number of organizations are leveraging AI to streamline processes and enhance efficiency.

Effectively implementing these tools may require training or upskilling for employees to enable them to take on more value-added tasks that complement AI capabilities. Clear communication on the benefits of these technologies is also needed for staff members who may fear job displacement or have concerns about adopting new technology.

Process optimization

Digital adoption often involves process reengineering and optimization. Change management ensures that these changes are well-understood, accepted and integrated into existing workflows to maximize efficiency and productivity.

Data-driven decision-making

With the proliferation of data, organizations are prioritizing data-driven decision-making processes. Change management strategies now often involve leveraging data analytics tools and techniques to gain insights into customer behavior, market trends and internal operations, as well as ethical practices such as ensuring data is used responsibly and addressing privacy concerns.

Platformization and partner ecosystems

The use of platform-based business models is rising, as well as building ecosystems of partners, developers and users. Change management now involves orchestrating the adoption of these platforms and fostering collaboration within ecosystems.

Upgrading legacy systems

A central part of digital adoption involves modernizing outdated technologies. Thakur explains that to do this successfully, “users are introduced to the new interfaces through interactive simulations, and interruptions are kept to a minimum through automatic data transfer. This approach ensures a smooth phaseout of legacy systems and rapid adoption of modern replacements.”

The benefits of digital adoption in change management

PEX Network’s most recent report on the global state of operational excellence found that a third (33 percent) of survey respondents planned to invest in digital transformation projects this year, with 20 percent specifically naming digital adoption as a key area of investment. This significant focus on digitization demonstrates its perceived value in driving operational improvements.

Digital adoption facilitates the seamless integration of new technologies within an organization's processes, enabling more agile and responsive operations. Moreover, it supports change management by providing tools that facilitate smoother transitions and minimize disruptions.

“Digital adoption can drive the achievement of strategic change, such as moving from fragmented technology processes to unified processes,” says Sehmbi. “We are living in an ever-complex digital world, and embedding digital adoption into change management ensures that workforces are skilled for the future — for example, converting paper-based processes to digital processes requires a new set of skills.”

“We are living in an ever-complex digital world, and embedding digital adoption into change management ensures that workforces are skilled for the future." Jots Sehmbi, City, University of London.

Digital tools can streamline processes, reducing the time required for tasks like data analysis and reporting. AI-powered tools can automate repetitive tasks, analyze large datasets for insights and use predictive modelling to forecast potential roadblocks or opportunities for successful change implementation. These can enable organizations to adapt to change more effectively. They also allow organizations to respond quickly to changing market conditions, future-proofing them for competitive pressures and other changes to the business landscape.

Additionally, deploying a digital adoption platform (DAP) can provide centralized training and onboarding materials for new employees or existing staff who need to learn how to use new digital tools or systems. By offering a single platform for learning, organizations can ensure consistency and efficiency in training processes. In doing so, these support continuous learning and improvement by providing ongoing updates and resources to users.

The future of digital adoption in change management

According to Gartner, the average employee will experience 10 enterprise changes during their career. While statistics show these are often not successful, the rise of digital platforms for collaboration such as project management software, enterprise social networks and virtual meeting tools can facilitate communication and engagement among employees during times of change.

As technology advances, these platforms will become more integrated and user-friendly, supporting seamless collaboration across departments and geographical locations. “The digital adoption market currently is in a transformative state, where the focus extends beyond mere software adoption to ensuring that such adoption aligns harmoniously with the overarching goals of organizations,” Thakur explains.

“These advanced platforms are evolving to become strategic enablers that are emerging as intelligent companions, equipped with contextual awareness and a deep understanding of user behavior to provide real-time, in-the-flow guidance.”