Interested in implementing digital transformation in your business? Our digitalisation and process optimisation expert and software developer, Srbijanka Zurovac, has helpfully talked through the challenges, impacts, and best practices for bringing technology successfully into the workplace.

Implementing digital transformation? Here are three things you need to get right.

Tackle human fears head on

“While digital change can seem scary, in today’s landscape it’s a necessary process that can bring a whole host of benefits. People are often unsure during the initial stages of implementing change, and perhaps even fear using new technology, but once everything’s in place, they actually start to embrace it, and the positives it brings.

“Consulting your team before any major digital changes happen is important – you can’t expect people to just go with the flow, and accept change without question. If someone is comfortable in their own bubble, and suddenly you tell them you’re changing processes, they might start thinking ‘oh, am I going to lose my job now?’. To support a smooth transition, anything you implement should be there to help your employees, not replace them. If anything, digitalisation can free up time for people to start learning new skills and focus on value added tasks.

“But, while this is the ideal scenario,the reality is that fast-paced environments don’t always allow the time for people to be fully consulted before change is brought in. In this day and age, where everything is constantly moving, you need to ready your team to dive straight in and embrace technology. This means working to help people develop new mindsets and giving them the space to voice concerns, whilst showing all the benefits digitilisation can bring.”

Identify an internal, on-the-ground ‘champion’

"When change is being directed from the top, it isn’t always accepted at ground level. It usually starts at the management level, with the question ‘how can we increase our efficiency?’, before new solutions are then explored, like Digital Assembly Processing (DAP), which we’ve been starting to implement here at SEW UK. From here, we speak to the team on the factory floor, helping them adjust to a new way of working, and taking feedback on board as we go along.

“DAP involves using digital technologies to optimise the assembly process, improving efficiencies, and stepping away from potentially costly analogue methods.

“It’s important to have a few people on the ground level who are excited about new technology from the outset, as they can help others to accept and embrace new changes. We know that when we’re bringing in something like DAP, which removes a significant amount of paper from our manufacturing process, we’re actually making people’s jobs easier.

“If you have team members who are happy to champion digitalisation from the start, it’ll make it much easier to get other employees onboard and seeing the benefits that improved technology can bring.”

Introduce new tools in small steps

“Gradually exposing people to new tools and technology can be incredibly beneficial when introducing new technology. With DAP, we’ve been introducing tools step by step, starting with one thing, and moving onto the next and so on, once people have got the hang of each process. It can be a slow-moving process, but once people are trained up, and have adjusted to the new tools, the benefits start to show.

“For me, digital transformation is all about intelligently integrating digital tools into existing hardware, to modernise traditional industrial processes, and add more value to what you do. For the customers we work with, this means increasing efficiency, and optimising workflows.

“It all starts with a cultural buy-in though. Once you’ve got that, you’re flying.”