Top 5 Tips for Successful Business Transformation

Business transformation doesn’t truly happen without the active participation of the people involved in the business. To be successful, you need a common understanding and appreciation of why your organization needs to transform, what exactly is involved in that transformation and, to put it bluntly, what’s in it for the people who will be impacted.

That may seem like a tall order, but here are five ways to achieve what you need:

1. Educate. What problem are you trying to fix? Why? Is this the most important issue affecting your business? If you don’t have the data to answer these questions, do your due diligence and get it. Research and run the numbers before developing a strategy that may be based more on gut feeling and politics than what’s best for your business.

2. Communicate. Once you’ve educated your management team, present findings to your workforce and any other relevant stakeholders. Be simple, precise and consistent to avoid confusion or mistrust. If people don’t understand why you’re moving toward a goal, they’re less likely to see their role in the process and want to contribute to something that may lead to their own discomfort or disruption.

3. Engage. When people feel their needs are being considered, they are more likely to invest in making transitions as quick and smooth as possible. Be sure to communicate expected work environment and organizational health improvements, not just business performance. Listen to your internal experts and establish a framework that still allows creativity, so people are excited about their role in shaping change. Employee wellbeing feeds customer satisfaction which ultimately drives your organization’s success.

4. Drive. To ease potential unrest, be sure you’re prepared to address additional questions and concerns as they arise. Make sure your plan is not just well-communicated, but well-coordinated. When you have a clear and unwavering vision and are confident enough to provide regular progress updates, stakeholders have confidence you know what it takes to lead everyone where they need to be.

5. Support. Don’t think of your transformation initiative as “one and done.” Change by its very nature is dynamic, so you should monitor improvements to ensure they are, in fact, meeting the needs of your business, employees and customers. Invest in the resources or training you need, take and celebrate small and large steps, and keep revisiting what you’ve done for sustainability.

All these things require you to know what’s happening, not just suppose. Only with proper insight–like that gained through process mining technology–are you able to dismantle silos, collaborate on goals and celebrate your organization’s transformation into a thriving business of the future.

As Charles Darwin once wrote, “It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is the most adaptable to change.”