Best Practices for Business Transformation

Implementing a business transformation assists enterprises to stay innovative and competitive in the industry. Earlier, Anand Jayapalan had spoken about how business technology and standards change with time, and hence companies also need to undergo changes to adapt to their markets to deliver positive business results. Here are a few of the best practices for implementing such high-level change:

Define goals and objectives: Prior to identifying the specific processes and initiatives, personnel changes, or digital technologies a company must consider implementing, it is vital to define the goals of the strategy. This would help better gauge the business transformation priorities and next steps. Goals for a business transformation can range from increasing revenue and expanding into a new market to automating manual internal processes and attracting skilled workers.

• Establish a clear roadmap and timeline: After the initial goals and objectives are defined, it will be time to develop a business transformation roadmap that outlines the necessary tactics and processes. A comprehensive, concise and clear roadmap can help in keeping the staff of a company accountable for staying on track with goals and objectives. It would be a good idea to work backwards from the overall three- or five-year business plan while establishing a roadmap, and include both short-term and long-term milestones along the way. Incremental milestones can help motivate staff members to celebrate small wins, while also working toward long-term strategic business transformation objectives in a collaborative manner.
• Engage and align stakeholders: It is common for one individual or a group of cross-functional leaders to be responsible for developing an initial business transformation plan. However, prior to implementing the plan, it is vital to gain approval and alignment from all relevant business stakeholders. A meeting should be set up to share the drafted business transformation plan with stakeholders, including the board members, team leaders and business executives.
• Build a cross-functional and diverse team: The people present in the business transformation team would have a major impact on how effectively one can achieve the business transformation goals. One should prioritize magnetizing and engaging a team of motivated workers who possess diverse skills and can capably support a culture of innovation at a company.
• Continually measure and evaluate progress: Strategies for business transformation may evolve continually, based on emerging, new critical drivers or disruptors. Not all business transformation processes do succeed. However, for business success, it is critical to encourage a culture of creativity and innovation. Over time, the business transformation strategy can be improved by evaluating progress and embracing data-based decision making.  By monitoring and tracking important metrics, the business transformation team of a company can prioritize replicating successful initiatives and learn from those that do not drive the best outcomes. Such an approach can help companies to achieve more of their discerning long-term business transformation goals.

Previously, Anand Jayapalan had spoken about how business transformation is not about occasional small adjustments or complete overhauls all at once; rather it is an ongoing process. This strategy allows businesses to sustain a competitive edge and increase revenue by optimizing financial resources and consistently enhancing how they provide value to customers.