How to develop digital fluency throughout operations teams

Digital fluency – the ability to select and apply digital tools contextually to solve problems and generate value – goes beyond basic digital literacy. Building this competency requires systematic approaches that integrate technical and adaptive learning.

The businesses that master a blend of human and digital components won’t just succeed in their transformations – they’ll define the future of operational excellence (OPEX).

Here are three approaches to developing digital fluency throughout operational teams as well as a case study example of how they play out.

1. Micro-learning ecosystems

Traditional training practices always fail in digital transformation because they:

• Remove employees from their work environment.
• Give too much information at once.
• Occur too far in advance of actual application.
• Highlight features rather than outcomes.

An improved approach is to create micro-learning environments that include:

• Just-in-time (bite size) learning: Brief (five to 10 minute) modules during the need time.
• Outcome-based content: Organized around real work tasks rather than tool features.
• Multi-format delivery: Video, text and interactive simulations for diverse learning styles.
• Peer-created content: Engaging employees to create and publish their own how-to content.
• Recommendation engines: Leverage artificial intelligence (AI) for recommending the right learning content based on role and behavior patterns.

We had a pharma company implement this solution to their manufacturing execution system (MES) modernization project, creating a searchable repository of over 200 micro-modules. The result was a 65 percent reduction in support calls and much higher system utilization than from other tech deployments.

2. Digital dojo model

Developed from the Japanese concept of a dedicated learning space, the digital dojo method creates immersive, experiential learning environments where teams can build digital skills by working on actual problems.

Implementation method:

1. Physical and virtual environments: Dedicated spaces where teams can experiment with new digital tools.
2. Challenge-based learning: From actual business challenges and not abstract exercises.
3. Coaching master: Access to technical and process masters who provide instructions and not the solutions.
4. Sprints timeboxed: Focused sessions (typically two to four weeks) where teams are sometimes partially or otherwise completely dedicated to the learning process.
5. Instant applicability: Unmediated connection between dojo learning and work implementation on the ground.

This model provides a safe mental space for growth while having clean lines of correspondence with business advantages.

3. Digital confidence index

What gets measured gets managed. The digital confidence index offers a systematic method of measuring and building digital fluency throughout the organization.

Components:

• Self-assessment tool: Employees assess their confidence in various digital areas applicable to their job.
• Manager assessment: Managers offer feedback on team members’ actual abilities.
• Objective skill verification: Hands-on tests to confirm skill levels.
• Individual digital development plans: Personalized roadmaps to build skills.
• Organizational heat map: Digital competency overview of teams and functions.

This approach provides insight into capability gaps, enables focused action and places responsibility for creating digital capability at individual and organizational levels.

Real-world Application: A manufacturing case study

Let me provide an example of how these theories play out. This is from my own experience recently applying digital transformation in a medical device factory environment.

Background

I was called in when a digital transformation had plateaued at a medical device manufacturer.

Their context:

• 150-person business spread across three factories in the Midwest.
• $500,0000 spent on internet of things (IoT) sensors, digital visual management and predictive quality analytics.
• Pilot during first three-month period at one site showed positive outcomes (22 percent improvement in overall equipment effectiveness (OEE)).
• Complete rollout had ground to a halt, with uptake flattened out at 40 percent after six months.
• Executive leadership on the verge of withholding funding unless adoption was improved within the quarter,

My first week on site was an eye-opener. The transition had encountered significant resistance, particularly from senior supervisors and quality professionals.

When I asked these key stakeholders what they thought, their response was one in the same: “The new system is slower than our old process. We can’t quickly find the information we need. Management just wants more ways to monitor us.” The most telling comment was from a veteran supervisor: “I used to be the go-to person for production issues. Now I’m struggling with basic tasks in the new system. It’s humiliating.”

Despite wide communications about the benefits of the new digital approach and standard change management efforts, uptake had peaked. The technical implementation team grew frustrated, labeling resistors as “dinosaurs” and “technology-averse” – cementing the divide.

Approach

We knew that we needed to radically reassess our change management plan. Through a cross-functional project with major input from a group of some of the most stubborn supervisors, we adopted a multi-phased method which married ADKAR (awareness, desire, knowledge, ability and reinforcement) concepts to more current digital-focused practices.

1. ADKAR foundation: We first closed foundation-level awareness and want gaps:

• Brought in operators from a sister facility that had already adopted the system to gain from raw experiences.
• Created a “What’s in it for Me” session where each function charted tangible pain points that the digital solutions could address.

2. Velocity zoning: We grouped organizational processes with appropriate change velocities:

• Slowed down changes to core quality documentation processes (giving more time by teams).
• Maintained consistent moderate reporting rate of production.
• Allowed ramp-up of visual management instruments (which there was broad enthusiasm for).

This assisted in getting individuals adapted at viable rates in most critical areas without halting general momentum.

3. Activation of influence network: Through straightforward surveying, we were able to capture the true informal leaders (who oftentimes weren’t the loudest or highest-ranking):

• Built a “Digital Champions” program with formal recognition and dedicated time slots (10 percent of working time) for peer mentoring.
• Included several vocal former skeptics who had been converted to the cause.
• Empowered these champions with advanced training and direct line access to the implementation team.

4. Experience-Centered Design: Working directly with users, we:

• Designed persona-based adoption paths with customized support models for various adoption personas.
• Re-designed a number of primary interfaces based on user feedback to align with their mental models.
• Streamlined the most frequent workflows to need fewer clicks.

5. Micro-learning ecosystem: Rather than extensive training, we:

• Created a searchable library of two to three minute how-to videos created primarily by operators and supervisors (not the IT department).
• Installed QR codes across the facility that linked to relevant micro-learning modules.
• Implemented an easy system for submitting requests for new modules when gaps were felt.

6. Building confidence: To bridge the knowledge-ability gap we:

• Had weekly “digital dojo days” where teams could experiment with new tools in a contained environment.
• Applied the tools to actual production problems with master coaches available.
• Celebrated and honored small wins with daily huddle boards.

Results

The turnaround began looking amazing overall:

• 92 percent six-month adoption rate (from the previous plateau of 40 percent).
• 22 percent reduction in quality deviations as data-driven decision making took hold.
• 35 percent reduction in supervisor administrative time, freeing them up to focus on coaching and improvement work.
• Most notably: frontline-driven development of 17 new digital use cases that were not on the original implementation plan.

What surprised me most was watching former resistors become the most passionate advocates. One quality specialist who had initially threatened to quit rather than adopt the system ended up leading training sessions and presenting the results at a company-wide conference.

The great insight was not that we used novel tools but that we subjected change management to the same attention to systematic thought and user-first design with which we worked on the technical systems themselves. By using a combination of ADKAR principles and approaches with digital nuances, we filled the gap that answered both human basic needs as well as specific issues surrounding adoption in a digital environment.

I’ve reached the point where I believe that as digital technologies keep reshaping OPEX, our change management strategy must shift just as dramatically. The models and practices outlined here are a radical shift from conceptualizing change management as inherently a communications exercise to conceptualizing it as a disciplined capability-building process that integrates proven models like ADKAR and digital-specific methods.

In my own experience working with hundreds of transformations, I’ve found that terrific companies are not distinguishing themselves by which digital technologies they are adopting, but by how well they’re empowering their people to adopt and benefit from them. The technology itself is becoming commoditized at warp speed, but the human element is where sustained competitive differentiation is made.

I still remember the observation of a maintenance manager in one very challenging rollout: “I don’t fight this because I fear technology. I fight because I deeply want to keep this factory operating, and I am not yet persuaded that these new gadgets will benefit us.” His remark brings back the memory that resistance is commonly founded on dedication rather than stubbornness.

Finally, the most sophisticated AI algorithms, IoT networks and automation tools are only as effective as the individuals who work alongside them. By giving change management the same strategic attention as technology selection and adoption – and by integrating proven methods like ADKAR with newer digital-specific approaches – we can achieve the greatest potential of digital transformation in OPEX.

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