On June 23, 2022, we had a wonderful opportunity to host a webinar with Dan Rotolo from Valo Solutions.  We shared a bit about how an Assessment-driven Approach can lead to success with not only Employee Engagement but with overall digital transformation.

What is Digital Transformation?

Much has been said about digital transformation and what it means for businesses.  It can take on various forms or functions and you may have your own digital transformation plan in place/execution.  (ASIDE: If you don’t have a digital transformation plan, please get in touch with me so Ambient can help you get one in place!)

The bottom line is that how we communicate, how we operate, and just how business is done is changing rapidly and can change suddenly.  As the COVID-19 Pandemic taught us, we must be digitally enabled and ready to endure any and sudden changes in the economic and employment climates.  It allows us to stay ahead of the curve in sustaining and even evolving your business as the business landscapes change.

But what does a digital transformation journey look like?  Is there a blueprint to how it can be effectively executed?  We believe there is an approach that will help you achieve success with your transformational journey.

A Methodical Approach to the Digital Transformational Journey

Readiness Assessment

Your digital transformation journey begins with a readiness assessment.  This assessment considers all areas of engagement and infrastructure to determine the current state of and readiness (or not) to take on the transformational journey.  We here at Ambient believe that the readiness assessment is the key to transformational success. More on this later as this was the primary focus of the webinar.

Strategy & Planning

Any strong business plan will have a strong strategy which requires invested time to take the core business objectives and the results of the readiness assessment and align them together into priorities and action plans.

The greatest proponent (or opponent) for any program or project endeavor is executive sponsorship.  You must have a strong sponsor in your transformational journey for it to have any chance of success. 

To obtain and maintain sponsorship and key business stakeholder support your transformation journey approach must:

• Align with company objectives.  Have the same goals and speak the same language.
• Be clearly communicated. Communicate early and often.  No surprises.
• Win early and often. Early and regular successes (low-hanging fruit) build confidence.
• Supports the bottom-line. Technology is a ‘cost center’ and must show ROI.

Platforms & Solutions

Once you have a digital transformation plan in place, you need technology solutions that achieve the objectives and purpose. 

Microsoft Cloud Solutions provide infrastructure (Azure), productivity & applications (Microsoft 365) and the building blocks for applications, automations and experiences (Power Platform) to provide for even the most custom solutions for your business.

Microsoft Partners such as Valo Solutions or tyGraph have developed value-added service offerings that extend the capabilities of Microsoft 365 and provide for accelerated, industry-tested solutions that a systems integrator, like Ambient, can help to plan, build and customized for your needs.

There may be times where existing out-of-box and third-party solutions and tools may not fit your specific business needs.  Custom applications & solutions developed in Azure and Power Platforms provide you with the business functionality you need to achieve more in the cloud.

Governance & Intelligence

A sound governance plan ensures that your transformational journey follows a predictable and sustainable path.  Well-defined processes and policies provide the business on how the solutions are to be leveraged and how to get support.

Governance is often considered by the business as a “dirty word” when it comes to IT and solutions, but it is more than prescribing and governing how the business leverages technology solutions.  It’s also about having effective plan to communicate, train and manage adoption across the enterprise.

Often times, new technology is perceived as an inhibitor requiring a change in how things “were always done” (often times manually and inefficiently).  This is where an effective organizational change management plan is necessary to plan and drive adoption through the transformational journey.

Analytics provides insights and intelligence to help drive business decisions over the course of your transformational journey.  It is important to establish a baseline when setting your transformational objectives to measure progress and success throughout the journey.  Microsoft provides metrics and analytics for Azure and Microsoft 365 to measure the health and progress.

When we speak specifically of Employee Engagement, Microsoft Viva Insights provides a view into your employee productivity and well-being in order to enable your employees to thrive in the workplace.  Microsoft has invested in the employee experience with Microsoft Viva and should be enabled as part of your transformational journey.

Sustainment & Scalability

Microsoft recommends a Champions Program to help drive adoption and change. This is a key driving force that will enable sustainability, growth and overall transformational success for your business.

An Assessment-driven Approach for Success

In order to begin your transformational journey, you need to take the right first steps.  This ensures that you have the right foundation to your long journey.  We here at Ambient believe that your journey begins with a readiness assessment to:

• Understand. Create a common understanding of the current state & culture.
• Justify. Produce a common business case and reason for change.
• Strategize. Define the vision & measurable objectives for transformation.
• Transform. Plan & execute the transformation of your business.

What does a Readiness Assessment look like?

• Business Focused. No “one-size-fits-all”. Taking the time to understand the business, its unique culture, and needs.
• Discovery & Analysis. Learning about the current-state makeup, technical and process analysis to help define scope and opportunities.
• Stakeholder Engagement. Interviews, workshops, and requirements elicitations at all levels of the organization to ensure all needs are heard.
• Report & Review. Produce a detailed readiness report with current-state analysis, prioritized future-state opportunities and technology recommendations, and high-level plan to begin the transformational journey.

Watch the highlights from our webinar discussing the assessment-driven approach specifically related to the Readiness Assessment!

If you liked this blog, make sure to check out our previous blogs here.