Digital transformation often involves organisations enlisting digital partners to create and implement strategies and technology which transforms the way it communicates and operates.
The overriding objective in most cases is to increase business performance through driving efficiencies, improving customer experience and growing sales.
The scale of these types of business change programmes are significant and as such will often be initiated at C-Suite level and require company wide support to succeed. It’s therefore vital for a collaborative environment to be fostered within the organisation and between the business and partners involved. Without this - true transformation will not be achieved.
Clear communication is the single most important ingredient of a solid collaborative relationship and although it sounds obvious, it is often neglected. As George Bernard Shaw said ‘The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place’, and that’s particularly true in the context of digital transformation programs, when often multiple conversations amongst management, internal teams and partners are occurring.
With so many conversations underway simultaneously, it’s easy to assume that everyone has a shared knowledge level about both the business and the complexities of the project. It’s these misconceived assumptions that can often de-rail a project and cause confusion amongst the teams.
Businesses should never assume that their external agency partners are familiar with all the strategic decisions behind a digital transformation programme, and equally digital specialists also shouldn’t assume that the business stakeholders will fully understand all of the technical aspects and processes involved in delivering these complex solutions.
It’s imperative that each party invests time into the working relationship as well as the main project delivery.
Setting up clear communication processes correctly from the outset will ensure smoother running throughout the project lifecycle. Discovery programs are a must and will allow the facilitation of information exchange between the business and agencies. Businesses must be prepared to open up and provide detailed strategic, financial and operational information to paint a clear picture of the wider strategy in play, and agencies must invest time explaining their processes, timings, and terminology to build trust in their expertise. The sooner any mis-understanding can be flagged and addressed from either side, the better the relationship will be.
A more agile way of working can effectively be achieved if agencies invite clients into their studio space, particularly during the main production phase of the project. This helps ensure that agency and client teams are working as a collective unit and communicating and collaborating with one another as effectively as possible. The most effective digital transformation strategies rely on the expertise and knowledge of both teams, so if these are not working together cohesively the output will be impacted and not necessarily generate the level of value either sides expects.
If it isn’t possible for this face time between businesses and agencies to be established, which is often the case due to issues such as location, technology plays an important role! Often, work is submitted to businesses who then reply with ‘contextual communications’ – that is written comments at the bottom, or an email which addresses various points and leaves the agency to digest and translate back to the project. This isn’t effective when thinking back to the term ‘business change’.
Again, a dialogue needs to happen based on ideas sharing and brainstorming, in order to get the best outcome possible that utilises every expertise. Leaving a comment at the side of a document which doesn’t suggest any positive changes only that it needs to be changed isn’t productive or efficient. It’s much better to jump on a video conference and benefit from feedback straight from the client’s mouth!
Collaboration used to mean establishing a good working relationship between teams so that there was no misinterpretation and projects were delivered on time. Now, it’s much more than just this. Collaboration is now central at every part of the project and requires equal commitment from both parties and teams – it’s a shared responsibility that, when done correctly, produces far more effective results and has the ability to drive business change on every level, which improves the overall performance.
By Tom Dougherty, Partner & UK Director, Delete
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