Become The Company Your Customers Want It To Be

Successful organizations embrace change. They are constantly reevaluating systems, workflows and personnel skills for improvement to keep their business at the leading edge. But even the most forward-thinking companies face challenges when implementing technologies that change the status quo.

What Are The Major Challenges Facing CIOs In 2020?

There are cultural challenges that discourage stakeholders from taking risks and employees from getting out of their comfort zones. There are procedural and workflow challenges that lead employees to question the value of a project. There are technology adoption challenges and mindsets that must be changed from we can’t do this to why can’t we do this? In order to become the company your customers want it to be – one that engenders trust and loyalty to keep them satisfied and coming back – change must be embraced at all levels. The reward is continued prosperity for the organization and fulfilling careers for IT personnel. We hosted several workshops throughout the country speaking to CIOs about the challenges they face in 2020 when it comes to technology adoption. We also went one step further, asking them for some of the solutions they have tried. We share these findings with you in hopes their experiences can help you better navigate change in your organization.

For example, perhaps the biggest inhibitor of innovation and creativity in a corporate environment is fear of failure. Employees may worry they don’t have the skills needed to do the job, or that if they do it wrong they will get dinged on their performance review. Maybe they think their ideas will be ridiculed, or feel they are too low on the totem pole to be taken seriously. They are afraid of being embarrassed, so they clam up rather than speak up. All of these fears stifle change. As a team leader, what should you do?

How Can CIOs Overcome Challenges To Technology Adoption?

One recommendation is to build trust through regularly scheduled team workflow meetings. Develop a nurturing atmosphere in which all team members feel comfortable expressing new ideas and views without repercussions or ridicule. Enable employees to ask each other for help to master a new skill without embarrassment. Eliminate fear of failure by giving team members the confidence to speak up. Because you never know where the next great idea or process innovation is going to come from.

There are many other obstacles that could get in the way of a successful digital transformation depending upon the culture of your organization and the attitudes of stakeholders and employees toward technology, everything from a lack of trust to unconvincing ROI arguments to siloed thinking.

To learn more about pressing issues digital enterprises must overcome today, as well as action items you can take to meet these challenges head-on, we invite you to download our latest white paper, Overcoming Corporate Challenges To Technology Adoption. It’s a summation of topics covered during our series of workshops on technology adoption, moderated by a leading enterprise IT consultant. In it you’ll find tips and techniques from CIOs just like you to help smooth your company’s digital transformation journey.

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