Digital Transformation: More Than Just Digital

Arun Ramamurthy heads Digital Transformation at Andromeda. Over its 30-year-old history, Andromeda has built an extensive brick and mortar network spanning 1500+ employees, 3000+ partners, 100+ locations and 200+ branches. As the lending industry rapidly digitises, it has become imperative for loan distributors to align with these trends digitally and drive sales online. The elements of Andromeda's digital strategy comprised a re-branding exercise, building a central technology platform from scratch, using data and analytics extensively, developing a robust web-based front-end where partners and customers can interact seamlessly and also creating a strong communication strategy to convey these transformative elements to our stakeholders. This transformation has enabled Andromeda to become more digitally savvy, process-oriented, data-rich and is also value accretive for the company.

Introduction

The Covid-19 crisis has brought a tremendous change in not just the structure of organisations but also in the way we embrace digital technology in all segments of a business. Every organisation wants to embrace digital while others want to transform themselves digitally.

So, what is digital transformation?

Speaking in general terms, we can define digital transformation as incorporating digital technology into various business segments, thereby triggering fundamental changes in the operations and in the way we deliver value to the customers.

Although new transformative technologies have been rapidly making their way into workplaces way before the pandemic set it, many of them have happened in 2020. As per Dell's Digital Transformation Index, eight in ten organisations fast-tracked their digital transformation programs in 2020. This statistic is based on Dell's survey of over 4,000 global business leaders.

What took years to happen took place in only a few months or less when Covid-19 impacted all business segments. One thing is clear that in this new era ushered by the pandemic, technology is no more a choice. Thinking of creating new ways of customer engagement, boosting productivity and employee innovation, and more accurate data insights will help any business grow.

Digital Transformation: Best Practices for Organisations

Digital transformation has now become a matter of survival. Here are some of the digital transformation best practices that organisations can implement to smoothly embrace the change.

1. Get executive buy-in

Any transformation, let alone Digital Transformation, is likely to fail if we don't have C-level executives on board. Digital transformation is a top-down initiative and has to be led with a vision. The CIOs and CEOs need to be actively involved in the process. As the process demands a change at all levels of an organisation, it will demand effective leadership to be demonstrated.

2. Getting internal communication right

This is one of the most neglected steps in various organisations. Poor communication at the workplace can often result in employee dissatisfaction and frustration. Employees should not be left out in transformation projects. Most leaders cite that workforce conviction is crucial in supporting digital transformation strategies. If the leaders fail to align their employees with their new goals with appropriate communication, then their implementation is likely going to fail. Clear communication is crucial, and employees need to have an understanding of where their organisation is headed.

3. Creating a sense of urgency

Without a sense of urgency, it would be hard to motivate employees and stakeholders to jump into action. The senior leaders should foster a sense of urgency when it comes to implementing the changes. This is when good leadership communication becomes critical.

4. Improve organisational culture

Any resistance to change can tremendously impact the pace at which any organisation embraces digital transformation. Company culture and resistance to change from the employees are the biggest challenges that are encountered during any transformation process. There is a need to understand that the employees were conditioned for a different kind of work performed under specific circumstances. Therefore, employee experience and culture need to undergo a significant evolution to accept the transition from the inside out.

5. Bridge the skill gap

Lack of digital skills is a significant barrier to implementing digital transformation in any organisation. According to research done on Digital Skills Gap in Europe, it was found out that 44% of workers aged between 16 and 74 lacked basic digital skills. This is the reason why there is a need to invest in new skill development.

Digital Transformation in the Lending Industry

The pandemic has altered the perception of many traditional lenders, and they are now convinced that going digital is the only way forward. Digital transformation is impacting the nature of lending tremendously. A few years ago, a loan application would take anywhere between one to eight weeks to get approved.

The vision now is for loan approval to get done in a few clicks and touches that could take less than 5 minutes. Lenders are now encouraging digital acquisition models to lower their operational costs and boost the customer experience. Old-school methods are becoming obsolete with each passing day. Consumer data can be managed and optimised with great ease by going digital. It permits the collation of data at a central repository which in turn allows the vendors to assess and analyse data to make informed decisions.

Integrating digital processes permits revolutionary change, such as leveraging the power of Artificial Intelligence. The lending sector is susceptible to frauds that can result in massive losses. This issue can be eliminated by utilising AI tools for fraud elimination and detection.

The lending process can be quite an interactive one with digital transformation. It can ensure maximum consumer participation. Transparency allows consumers to have greater control of their activities and make conscious improvements in client interaction processes, and reducing operational costs.

Conclusion

Digital transformation is truly the need of the hour. Businesses are bound to fall behind if they fail to integrate it into their business model. Consumers are looking for a smooth experience that adds value to their interactions. Businesses need to keep up with the demand and invest in creating a culture that keeps digital transformation at the forefront. Leaders need to brainstorm innovations that provide value to the consumers and keep their services top-notch. Going digital is the only way forward. This is true in the lending industry in India, which is growing at a fast pace and where large banks are being challenged by technologically agile fintech. But irrespective of the industry, the main ingredient to successful digital transformation appears to be the digital skillsets and the cultural alignment that the leadership can forge within the organisation.