Consulting | Digital transformation

The digital challenge

  • Digitalisation is a major problem for many companies.
  • Are you feeling the impact of digital transformation on your organization?
  • Are you unsure of how well prepared your company is for this challenge?

Digitalisation has been changing society and the economy for a long time. However, many companies are still struggling with the changes, which go far beyond technical applications and encompass the entire organization.

We determine the digital maturity level

If you are unsure of the impact of digitalisation on your business, we will analyze the maturity of your organization with regard to digital transformation. This will give you a good overview of how far you have advanced on the way to a digital corporate culture, strategy, and structure, and where there is still some catching up to do. Based on this analysis, we will work with you to draw up a package of measures to eliminate existing obstacles and make your company digitally future-proof.

With our comprehensive understanding of digital transformation, our approach to maturity determination, our versatile cooperation partners and our experience of many years of transformation, we offer you the complete solution on the way to a digital company.

New forms of work, business processes, and leadership requirements

Digital transformation has its origins in technology, however it also affects the entire organization, especially outside the immediate technical field. New technology enables or requires new flexible forms of work and decentralized communication channels. New job profiles are emerging and additional requirements are arising in existing occupations. In both cases, new qualifications are needed. Cooperation between employees and managers is also changing – and with it the role and function of leadership. Existing business processes must be adapted to the changed framework conditions – or developed from scratch. These and many other changes encounter a culture in the company that can promote or hinder digital transformation.

fields of action in digitalization

Experimenting and learning in joint dialogue

Digital transformation usually involves a complex environment. A Change approach of ‘productive unrest’ should be chosen for this. This is best achieved with an iterative approach. Seeking joint dialogue becomes more important than the ‘clear announcement’. This includes frequent feedback loops and the recognition of opportunities. Change happens in this process not only for employees, or via a participation-oriented approach with employees, but above all through employees. The commitment of managers and employees to change is thus the focus.

Three cornerstones of digital transformation

Digital transformation does not reinvent everything. The moments of order of an organization continue to exist: Culture, strategy and structure. They are given a “digital touch” and change considerably as a result.

Digital strategy, structure and culture

A “digital strategy” requires the business model to be aligned with changing economic conditions. In fast-moving times it is advisable to be able to react immediately to new conditions. Projects planned for the foreseeable future are much more adaptable than multi-year plans. The business model should take up the technically opened possibilities to get in direct contact with customers, to work more closely with suppliers, or to be able to offer products and services in small quantities at a “mass production price”.

With a “digital structure”, the structural and procedural organization becomes more “agile”. In our understanding “agile” stands for “structured-flexible”. The more flexible the culture and strategy of the organization are, the clearer the structure must be. The aims, plans and resources are adapted, changed, thrown overboard, revised or newly created depending on the location of the work. This is flexibility within the structured framework.

Digital culture” is more than working with many new apps. The culture of a successful digital transformation requires the attitude of one’s own doing to constantly expand. The biggest challenge here is not the economic safeguarding of uncertainty, but rather the acceptance and endurance of mental uncertainty.

Making your organization future-proof

When determining the maturity level for “digital organization”, we clarify to what extent your organization has adjusted to the digitally changed world with regard to the following six topics:

  1. The power of persuasion of the organizational purpose serving as the guiding principle
  2. Taking up the opportunities opened up by digitalisation in the business model
  3. The degree of innovation of an appropriate digital infrastructure
  4. Form and adaptability of work coordination
  5. The attitude to digital transformation, its challenges and opportunities, chances and risks
  6. The role and function of leadership in the internal and external relationship of the organization.

This gives you an overview of the relevant construction sites. Furthermore, we will work with you to clarify the interrelationships and interactions of these construction sites. On the basis of this analysis, we will work with you to develop a package of measures that will help you to make your organisation future-proof. Typical contents of such bundles of measures are:

  • Adaptable personnel planning approaches
  • Working time models
  • Introduction of agile forms of work in defined organizational areas (Scrum, Holacracy, Sociocracy, etc.)
  • Introduction of quality levels at relevant interfaces
  • Remuneration principles including grading models
  • ERP systems
  • Forms of behaviour assessment and feedback concepts
  • Leadership competencies 4.0
  • Health promotion and management
  • Contents of data protection concepts
  • IT concepts
  • Moderation of different “value worlds” in the organization
  • New Work concepts including Activity Based Working
  • On-the-Job variants of personnel development (Rotation, Enlargement, Enrichment)
  • Process conversions to Kanban or other principles

As you can see, digital transformation is giving rise to a wide variety of themes. These are often topics that were already on the agenda before the 4.0 debates. But now such topics are coming around the corner with a different force (technology-driven), different speed (competitive) and in a different form (“agile”).

With our comprehensive understanding of “digital transformation”, with our approach to maturity assessment, with our cooperation partners (architecture, health management, law, time recording, etc.) and our strong experience in the transformation of organizations, we offer you orientation and practical implementation. So that you can be, remain or become structured and flexible.

We describe our change management approach on this page.