Be the Digital Change Agent for your organization

Businesses in the 21^st Century still straddle the great digital divide. Even before this pandemic, we had workers on one side of the line working 24/7 from virtual offices, while others were working in factories and offices in jobs that depended on having a human interfacing directly with other humans or with machines.  On one side, we have companies with processes that are highly automated, while on the other side of the divide we have manual processes.  The global pandemic has only exacerbated these digital divisions.

In this ever competitive job market, the ever growing use of digital tools and the internet-of-things to increase connectivity and productivity, Change Agents are driving transformation in how we do business.  Change Agents are often early adopters of digital trends.  Many will start as advocates for specific technologies and, over time, develop into experienced business transformers.  They recognize the impact of digital transformation and are driven to help their organizations adapt.  Digital Change Agents are naturally passionate about, and interested in, technology and how it can transform the way we work.

Are you a Digital Change Agent in your organization?  And if you are, how do you succeed in adapting your organization and business processes to leverage digital technologies?  One way of doing this is by building your Digital Change Agent Network.  When building your Digital Change Agent Network here are the characteristics to look for:

• Desire to help others as part of the team
• Capacity (time) to help
• Respected by peers
• Expertise in subject/functional area or system

Some nice-to-have characteristics: existing superuser; knows the organization/ industry well; seen as a go-to source for help; fast learner; strong communicator; and/or training/coaching/listening skills.

Where do Change Agents come from? Change agents should be members of the stakeholder groups who will be receiving or implementing the strategy, project, or change. Change leaders typically reside in the business (as opposed to IT for technical projects). Change agents can also be external to the company, such as advisors who have expertise in the business area or system.  These external change agents can also bring specific expertise in business transformation management techniques, tools and processes.

How do you achieve digital change?

1. Get executive support – This is pretty much a prerequisite to any transformation initiative. If you’re in IT, it will help to have allies from the business side. The C-Suite can add weight behind your strategies, and your peers in marketing, sales, finance, etc., can help you “sell” them to your internal customers.
2. Interact with people – Technology experts tend to be introverts. If you’re one of them, you’re going to have to break out of your comfort zone. There is no substitute for talking to the people who will be using the technologies you deploy. It’s the only way to gauge the level of their resistance and address the underlying causes.
3. Speak their language – Working across the digital / technical divide means that you need to adjust your communication style. Remember, Jane in finance may be brilliant in her area, but if you start speaking in acronyms and cryptic terminology you may lose her quickly – and maybe even permanently.
4. Have a plan – Share your vision for what digital transformation means to the organization and how it will help you achieve your collective goals.
5. Keep it doable – Help your internal customers understand how your path to digital transformation will affect them personally. How will they still be able to do their job faster with less hassle? Make fewer mistakes? Spend less time at the office?
6.  Address their concerns – If you start talking artificial intelligence and machine learning, people will think “layoffs.” Help them see that doing more with less is about helping everyone perform their role to the best of their abilities and not about scaling back.
7. Go slowly at first – You need to assess the organization’s openness to change and then create a plan that lets people set a comfortable pace. With system implementation projects, and Agile approach is recommended.
8. Choose a champion – There’ll be at least one end user in the business that shares your passion for change. They can be instrumental in helping others manage the transformation. Champions are typically natural teachers, other-oriented, and well-liked by their peers.

Companies need to value Change Agents and have solid retention plans for these individuals.  Agents can become targets for poaching, by internal groups and by other companies. Change Agents need to have a development plan that provides a plan for increasing responsibility to encourage change agents to remain in their role. This journey should lead the individual, post project, to a senior role in the organization or the company's permanent continuous-improvement group. This can be a much bigger incentive than cash for Change Agents. Having Change Agents in regular exposure to senior leadership for coaching and development is also a huge motivator for these types of individuals.

Finally, using an external Change Agent often helps solve problems by simply bringing in a new perspective and approach to organizational change. A Change Management consultant can help illuminate problems and find solutions before they begin affecting the workplace, and in the process help develop internal Change Agents and Champions that will drive sustainable performance improvement and efficiencies.