‘Digital has a higher importance now’: Peter’s story of the Deloitte Digital Connect programme
“Before this we wouldn’t have seen digital as a key expertise. We would have prioritised investment in management training or clinical development. Now we can see the wider benefit of investing in digital.” — Peter
Peter Nesbitt is Volunteer Development Manager at St Catherine’s Hospice in Sussex. He’s just taken part in the Deloitte Digital Connect programme. He and his organisation have received free training, peer support, professional support, free hardware and a small grant.
Before this deeper step into digital, it wasn’t seen as a key area for investment at St Catherine’s. Now Peter is helping to lead their digital transformation and roadmapping a 5 year digital pathway for the organisation.
He’s using learning from the programme to help him do this. And he’s using his excellent connections across the organisation to share the principles and techniques he’s learned.
Here’s three things Peter has learnt.
1. I know enough about digital
Peter doesn’t come from a digital background or have digital in his job description. Before the programme he wondered “I’m not a digital person. Will that be ok?”. He wasn’t sure if the programme would be structured for people like him or what he would get from it.
But it was actually OK. The course structure made Peter realise he did know enough to take part. Through group sessions he realised there were those who knew less and those who knew more and organisations who were both ahead and behind St Catherine’s on their digital journey.
Most importantly Peter felt reassured that it was OK to be where he was on his own journey.
2. I learnt that digital is about people
Peter joined the programme’s digital strategy mini-course. He expected to learn about how to write a digital strategy for his organisation. Instead he was directed to think about the human element of implementing new ways of working. To think about how a strategy is likely to fail without enough consideration and support for the people you are asking to implement it.
Peter realised that there would be people in his organisation who wouldn’t have the capacity to act on or implement digital as part of the wider strategy. Some wouldn’t have the digital skills to follow it, and some would be resistant to change..
Peter realised that while developing a strategy would take time, planning for people’s needs would need both time and care.
3. I learnt that digital uses the same planning tools
While Peter was learning about planning for people’s needs, he realised that developing the strategy itself could actually be straightforward. He learnt that the tools and approaches he used in other pieces of work could be used on the strategy. The tools he already knew could help his organisation transform its approach to digital.
Sessions Peter found particularly insightful included:
- Human connection in Tech for Good
- Developing a digital and technology approach
- Embedding digital inclusion in your organisation
What I learnt reaches others in my organisation
It’s not enough just to learn about digital. You need your learning bounty to be welcomed back by others in your organisation. — David Scurr, Programme Lead, CAST
Peter came into the programme with a lot of support from his organisation and a two-way avenue for conversation and feedback. He felt empowered to use what he had learnt.
Being backed by people’s time and support in your organisation is key.
Peter is also comfortable speaking up to others in his organisation, being part of a business planning group of key stakeholders in the organisation and connected with the learning and development team. These people are able to help implementing change and new ways of working.
Now Peter is ready to plan ahead. He has the knowledge and skills to do it, and the people around him to share and support the work.
“It’s been a really good consolidation piece for me. I feel very grateful to have had the opportunity.“ — Peter
