Leveraging Technology in the Social Sector. Reclaim your time and attention.
In this edition of our article series, we will discuss the true benefits of technology and digital transformations and how not to fail at them.
It works out, the benefits of technology are not technical at all. They are overwhelmingly human.
The adoption and implementations of digital platforms is, of course, nothing new in the business, social, and personal world. This can range from installing a local application to complete a university project all the way to transforming an organisation’s digital footprint.
With this in mind, these kind of implementations have focused greatly on technological benefits, including the following “standard” list:
- Simplification of Enterprise Architecture
- Automation of existing Business Processes
- Complementing an existing Solution Architecture
- Insourcing Business Functions
It’s important to note that, based on available research and industry knowledge, most digital implementations don’t actually achieve most of the above outcomes.
Historically, digital transformations have either been delivered over budget, under scope, or have not been delivered at all in the way initially envisaged.
So, the question is: why is this the case?
The reasons for these perceived failures with digital transformation are multiple of course but, to us, one stands out more than any other: the focus of the transformation was wrong from the beginning.
We believe that, overwhelmingly, the focus of any digital implementation needs to be people and their experience not just once the project has been delivered, but also throughout the implementation.
Any organisation introducing digital technology to their team needs to ultimately recognise that success (or failure) directly relates to the team’s willingness to adopt to the technology.
Given this, it is absolutely critical to understand what drives people, what motivates them to give you the knowledge you need along the way, as well as how they will work into the future.
What we have seen in our experience, certainly within the social sector, is that the a team wants to focus on engaging with stakeholders and supporters. People want to focus on being productive, useful, and enjoy their work by connecting with their “customers”.
With the above in mind, the question really is: what should a digital implementation deliver?
It is time! Time to focus on engagement, time to focus on valuable work.
Technology platforms, such as Salesforce, can deliver this in many ways of course, including by some of the mechanisms listed here:
- Centralising your organisational data
- Automating repeatable system processes
- Reducing complex digital footprint and technology debt
The above is by no means a complete list of all possible ways technology can give your team time back, but it’s important to note that the focus must be on how technology will ultimately impact people in your organisation and not the technology itself.
At Vertic, this is what we focus on, we concern ourselves with positive human impact, with time gained, with enjoyment brought to work, and with an overall sense of positivity.
Your technology selection, implementation, and adoption process should be driven by how well the above human factors can be achieved. This means, in many ways, that the coolest technology or the most powerful technology for any given function is not always the right choice.
The technology platform that allows your people to get their time back, focus on engaging with your stakeholders, and enjoy their work is the right set of systems is the right one for you.
We hope the above makes sense to you and we would welcome your feedback and connection. Please feel free to get in touch with us at www.vertic.com.au.
