PILOT – The Human Side of Technology: Leading People Through Digital Transformation

Initiated: Spring 2022

Expected completion: Fall 2023

Launch session

Latest webinar

To learn more, contact Matt Dorocak.

Value proposition:

This research project will address the following IRI item from the list of “Hot Topics”: how can we plan for and guide cultural changes associated with digital transformation? 

Investment in digital transformation is accelerating at a time when employees are reporting change fatigue and burnout. This creates a need for leaders to balance digital progress and innovation with employee engagement.  

Our research project will address ways that IRI leaders can effectively lead employees through the speed of today’s technological change, with focus on change management in an agile environment, resistance management and capability building, and reinforcement.  We will research what’s working, and what isn’t, at IRI member organizations, as well as contribute insights on how to scale digital transformation from working with our own Fortune 100 and 500 firms (from non-IRI organizations). As a result, this research will provide specific recommendations for how to adopt an agile people-first approach to change management, and recommend best practices leaders can take to cultivate the acceptance and ability needed to guide employees through successful digital transformation across their company.  

Recent studies show that the COVID-19 pandemic propelled digitalization of products, services, and business models. In a recent McKinsey survey, executives reported that the pandemic accelerated use of advanced technologies in operations by 25 times. Other areas, like remote work, by 40 times. In just a few short months, digital projects that weren’t business priorities pre-pandemic suddenly became crucial to operations. Companies pivoted to make necessary changes, permanently adjusting processes and ways of working. 

Spending on digital transformation accelerated, as well. In 2020, it increased by over 10%. Going forward, it’s expected that investment in digital transformation will continue to rise. Market projections indicate that spending on digital transformation will reach $6.8 trillion by 2023. Along with this expansion in digital capabilities, companies will need to effectively manage organizational change to ensure success.  

Jessica Knight, a Vice President at Gartner who leads a team to address HR Executives biggest challenges, indicates that change fatigue is rising. People have a diminished capacity to adapt to organizational change. This, in part, leads to employee burnout, and now, employees are resigning at record numbers. 

John Brandt, CEO of The MPI Group and IndustryWeek columnist, recently stated in a webinar that: “Whenever you go through any technological change, you’re going to have resistance. It’s usually not resistance to the technology change; it’s resistance to how that is going to change someone’s relationship to work, to their co-workers, etc. [Digital transformation] is as much a cultural change as it is a technological change.” 

When digital transformation succeeds, employees adopt new processes, learn new systems, and adjust ways of working. This requires effective training, thoughtful communication, and focused employee engagement. As the collective workforce experiences weariness with change, it will be increasingly important to adopt an agile people-focused approach to digital transformation.  

Timeline:

Spring 2022	Begin literature review, research planning  Begin interviews and focus groups
Summer 2022	Project update presentation at IRI Annual Conference (early insights and next steps)  Call to IRI members who would like to participate in interviews/focus groups  Continue interviews and focus groups
Fall 2022	Analyze and thematize  interview and focus group insights
Winter 2023	Continue analysis Begin deliverable preparations
Spring 2023	Continue deliverable preparations Schedule workshop
IRI Annual Conference 2023	Report out findings
Fall 2023	RTM article submission

Anticipated deliverables:

The final deliverables will be: 

• a PowerPoint deck for presentations/conferences 
• an RTM paper  
• a TRACK Workshop  

The PowerPoint deck and RTM paper will contain a description of the challenge, data-driven evidence of key findings, and recommendations. Since the IRI audience are practitioners, a particular focus of the deliverables will be on sharing “best practices” to use as implementation guideposts at IRI member organizations.   

Naturally, we are open and welcome IRI members to build on and co-author the paper published in RTM, should there be interest from IRI member participants. 

The TRACK Workshop will help organizations overcome challenges associated with digital transformation. Developed by industry experts and university faculty, the workshop will use effective executive education techniques to help teams aptly scope the human side of digital transformation opportunities, align on next steps, and identify elements critical to success. The workshop will include: 

• Background content on Digital Transformation and Change Management 
• A planning exercise for workshop participants 
• A tailored, facilitated session (approx. 3 hours) 
• A follow-up plan of action 

Project leadership:

Project Contributors