Home office, online conferencing, digital document storage: with the Covid 19 pandemic, digitization has experienced an unprecedented boost – not only in large companies, but also in small and medium-sized enterprises. Even those who had previously been rather reluctant to embrace digitization trends were forced to act to overcome the crisis. The aftermath of the pandemic will be felt in companies for a long time to come. This applies above all to digitization. After all, digitalization remains one of the core drivers of corporate change – even far beyond the pandemic. According to a Bitkom study, 92% of respondents say that digitization has become more important in their company as a result of the Corona pandemic.

Digitization: Not threatening the existence of the company, but still associated with problems

In particular, video conferencing as a replacement for physical meetings and tools for digital collaboration are among the technologies that most have introduced in the wake of the pandemic. Home office and the digitalization of document management have also been introduced in the majority of the companies surveyed. And this does not only apply to the time of the pandemic. After all, many of the digitalisations introduced will be retained even beyond the pandemic. This is particularly true for the use of digital signatures and the replacement of paper with digital documents. The underlying challenge remains – because more than half of the companies still see a need to catch up when it comes to the topic of digitization. At the same time, 40% of companies see problems in coping with digitization. A full 6% even see it as a threat to their existence. Above all, data protection requirements and a shortage of skilled workers are making life difficult for companies. But what are the technologies that concern company managers the most?

Changes are happening faster and faster

In particular, complex topics such as big data and the Internet of Things (IoT) remain top of the agenda. But 3D printing, 5G and virtual & augmented reality are also driving companies – topics that are anything but self-explanatory for many employees and managers. It is therefore hardly surprising that over 60% of companies have introduced new training courses on digitalization topics or expanded existing programs. This makes it clear: companies recognize the fundamental importance of employee training for the success of digitization. The precarious thing about this is that changes are taking place ever faster – according to the results of a recent study by Adobe. According to this, 87% of executives believe that customer expectations will be shaped primarily by digitization in the future. As a result, competition is increasing and so is the pressure to innovate. Executives' technology priorities in 2022 will be data analytics, data management, and customer data platforms. According to a study by Deloitte, more than 70% of the responsible decision-makers are also expanding their capacities to use external data in this context – evidence of the continuing trend toward data sharing. Analysts predict that in the future, more organizations will collaborate on data sharing to address common challenges.

Change management as the key to success

All these trends are not without impact on operational business – it is the contrary: increasing digitization and the growing importance of data analysis are fundamentally changing the working environment in many companies. But how can companies meet the increasingly rapid changes and optimally prepare their employees and managers? – The key to success lies in professional change management. This is generally understood to mean concepts for planning and managing change within a company. Once the current situation and the need for change have been identified, goals and strategies for the planned change are developed and internal resources are mobilized. The planned changes are then implemented and, in the final step, anchored in the corporate culture. But what sounds like a textbook process is usually far more complex in practice. After all, not only processes and structures, but also employee behaviours must be adapted to the respective change objective. That's why people must be at the centre of the change management process. In the context of change management, employees are subject to a continuous learning process in which the support of the employer is required.

Lack of qualification as a pitfall

A frequent cause for the failure of change is a lack of qualification of those involved. This makes solid training and professional awareness measures all the more important. These can lay the foundation for change. The goal must be to impart concrete competencies that are necessary for the success of digitization or other change measures and to inspire and mobilize employees for this purpose. This includes not only technical knowledge, but also necessary soft skills. Digital solutions such as the e-learning format enable you to reach any number of participants – anywhere at any time. That's why Security-Island has developed its own Change Management Channel, which offers you comprehensive e-learning modules on a variety of topics: Whether entrepreneurial thinking, self-motivation, positive error culture or digital competencies – these and numerous other topics are covered in our change management seminars.

E-learning offers an innovative and flexible solution

In addition to change management training for employees, we also offer professional change management seminars for managers as well as cultural change training, which support the establishment of a new corporate culture. Do you want to actively support your employees and managers and thus help the success of upcoming changes? – Then Security-Island is the partner of your choice. Security-Island's change management courses offer an innovative solution for companies of all sizes and industries. Thanks to the modular structure, the content can be tailored to your specific needs and implemented flexibly. For the specific challenges of digitization, we are already working on a new channel: "Digital Skills" by Security-Island will thereby address concrete competencies that are required for the success of digitization projects.


Sources:
Bitkom: Digitalisierung der Wirtschaft: https://www.bitkom.org/Presse/Presseinformation/Digitalisierungsschub-in-Wirtschaft-wird-Pandemie-ueberdauern

Adobe: Digitale Trends 2022: https://business.adobe.com/de/resources/digital-trends-report.html?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIoISAwtP_9QIVwYxoCR3usA7QEAAYBCAAEgJU8fD_BwE&s_cid=7015Y000003A11qQAC&s_iid=7015Y0000039vQEQAY&sdid=LLVYT9HW&mv=search&ef_id=EAIaIQobChMIoISAwtP_9QIVwYxoCR3usA7QEAAYBCAAEgJU8fD_BwE:G:s&s_kwcid=AL!3085!3!580385175557!b!!g!!%2Bdigital%20%2Btrends!1733041163!70533792360

Deloitte: Tech Trends 2022: https://www2.deloitte.com/de/de/pages/enterprise-performance/articles/tech-trends-2022.html?id=de:2ps:3gl:4tech-trends-2022::6con:20220209:&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI69Owv5aB9gIVBrp3Ch2WggDuEAAYAyAAEgK1R_D_BwE