Article: These are the most critical skills for Digital Transformation

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These are the most critical skills for Digital Transformation

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Do you understand the impending transformation that is necessary to survive? Are you prepared to balance human and machine intellect to derive the best from both? Lets find out.
These are the most critical skills for Digital Transformation

The way we live, work, and relate to one another is on the verge of a fundamental overhaul; this isn’t mere speculation anymore, but an impending eventuality. While many of these changes are well underway, there is a need for clarity amidst several important stakeholders. Do you, as an employee, feel confident that your current skill set will ensure your employability tomorrow? As an employer, do you understand the transformation that is necessary to survive? Do you comprehend the ways in which businesses are about to change? Are you prepared to balance human and machine intellect to derive the best from both? Let’s find out.

One way to define digital transformation is to undertake “the realignment of, or new investment in, technology, business models, and processes to drive new value and experiences for customers and employees and more effectively compete in an ever-changing digital economy.”

According to a Skillsoft study, only 50% of those who participated in a survey admitted to having a strategy in place, 24% admitted to no such policy, and more alarmingly, 26% said that they didn’t know, indicating confusion over what is actually needed for a sound digital transformational policy. 

Digital Transformation Strategy in Learning & Skilling

Nearly 70% of the respondents of the survey agree that their workforce needs to improve their skills to meet the digital transformation opportunities and challenges. Furthermore, 50% consider the requests to update and align skills sets to support the digital transformation is a big priority, 24% are beginning to witness such requests, 20% believe that despite the lack of requests, one needs to work in the direction nonetheless. 

Here are some of the most critical skills needed to manage a transformation:

New transformation technology skills:

  • The Basics of New Transformation Technologies

  • Designing a Design Mindset/Designing and Delivering New Digital Experiences

  • Adaptive Thinking and Agile Approaches

  • Digital Communication/Virtual Collaboration

  • Computational Thinking & Cognitive Load Management

Critical adaptive thinking and agile approaches skills needed:

  • Thinking Adaptively/Developing an Agile Mindset

  • Agile Management Technique

  • Agile Product Ownership: Role and Responsibilities

  • Lean Product Management

  • Automating Business Processes

Design mindset skills needed:

  • Design Thinking

  • Customer Journey Mapping

  • Data Modelling for Digital

  • Data Visualization

  • Exploring UI/UX Design

Merely upgrading technical skills will not be enough. To ensure that the core business values and culture sustains, communication, leadership, soft skills and operating models, all need to undergo an evolution. While the challenge is definitely complex and uniquely multifaceted, building a few foundational capabilities can ensure a smoother transition to a more robust transformation strategy. A few of such capabilities are:

  • Required understanding of new technologies (include AI, IoT, ML, etc.), existing and emerging technologies 

  • Designing new digital customer experiences

  • Developing new business models that capitalize on new technologies and experience

  • Leading and managing in the digital age

The transformation provides organizations with a unique opportunity to proactively help in bridging the skills gap in Digital Transformation. The reality and pace of change that is impacting business is no longer in a distant, unsure future. Rather, it is one which is well past its way from infancy, and one which we, as individuals, employers, industries societies, and governments, seem massively under-prepared for. The best, and most effective, way is to understand what going ‘digital’ means, find out what it means for you, list the areas you need to work at, design a strategy and get cracking! 

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Topics: Skilling, Technology, Learning & Development, #GetSetLearn

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