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- Training staff to support the SME digital transition
Sarah Clifft
2 min.
19 May 2022
The return to work in a post-pandemic world that needs to adapt to uncertainty is raising social and economic questions about digital integration in business.As we emerge from the pandemic, start-ups and larger companies are generally reaping the rewards of online business, but most small to mid-sized companies are still struggling to grasp the fundamentals underpinning successful digital transformation. According to a study published by Sage in 2021, these companies have four main obstacles built into their DNA:
- 50% of company directors asked said that they lacked adequate internal resources for implementing digital tools and solutions,
- 32% felt they needed support to help them manage changes in internal organization and working methods, and to define digital transformation strategy and objectives,
- 57% required financial support for digitalization,
- 57% wanted digital tools to be simplified.
A lack of internal resources (including time, human resources, and funding) seems to be an unavoidable stumbling block to SME digitalization. However, it is interesting to note that over half of the company directors asked identified simplifying available digital tools as their main priority.
Although digital culture within companies has remained a constant challenge, very little historical data is available for evaluating the advantages of digital transition and understanding what type of change it induces. While all, or most companies now understand that they need to adapt to the digital revolution, less than half are digitalizing client interfaces, with the remainder clinging to traditional human-based practices and modes of interaction.
Companies wanting to ensure their digital revolutions are successful, should, therefore, place their trust in employees from younger generations who may become catalysts for responsible digital transformation. Generation Z is perfectly placed to grasp the improvements in convenience and timesaving benefits that transformation may bring. Delegating the digital transformation to a younger generation of future managers would enable companies to take a huge leap forward.
