People Transformation In Digital Transformation

Covid-19 has forced many organisations worldwide to undergo digital transformation. However, failure to prepare, involve and hire the right people during such transformations could make the whole process unsuccessful.

In a panel discussion during the CIO Africa Cloud & Security Summit themed What About People Transformation In Digital Transformation? Isaac Mwangi, Leader, Technology Strategy, Miradi Capital, Robert Nyamu, Partner & Technology Consulting Leader at Ernst & Young and Imran Chaudhrey, Country Manager, EA at Fortinet shared strategies on how organisations can prepare their people for digital transformation. The session was moderated by Anita Chege, Head, Products, Digital & Marketing at Letshego.

Effective communication is a critical cog in digital transformation as it generates the synergy that promotes a better understanding of what an organisation is trying to achieve. According to Isaac, there is a higher risk of digital transformation failure when management fails to communicate effectively and prepare its people well for the change.

“Effective communication from management is very important. Management must share their vision, what they want to bring and the effect it will have on the organisation. Organisations should benchmark their employees with companies that have already undergone training to share experiences. This helps people to have a feel of what is expected,” he said.

Another issue standing in the way of a successful digital transformation in an organisation is people issues as highlighted by Imran. He said: “Digital transformation is a big driver for business. Many times, we find a disconnect between the vision and the actual implementation of the project on the ground because of people issues. Employees may fear that automation may cause job losses,”.

Imran noted that the shortage of IT talent that faces many African countries is a real impediment to digital transformation.

“As customers move to the cloud, the biggest challenge for organisations is having the right skillsets for digital transformation. Organisations are not investing in cyber-ready professionals There is a huge IT skill gap of talent in Africa and this problem is going to be on for a while” he stated.

Robert advised companies to hire the right people to come up with digital transformation strategies and implementation.

“The people element is very important in getting digital transformation right. You need the right people to help with the strategy. You need to democratise the process because most people sometimes resist change,” he stated.

Cybersecurity threats have increased in the last two years as organisations accelerated digital transformation due to the ongoing pandemic. The experts, therefore, urged governments to take cybersecurity seriously as they transition to digital platforms.

“Security is not an afterthought. It is a critical pillar in the digital transformation and should be incorporated right from the beginning of the design phase. You need to involve security experts whenever you roll out apps. You must train customers both on the applications and security endpoint,” Isaac said.