Use a data-driven methodology

Business is in a state of perpetual change. So, you’d be forgiven for thinking the best approach is to adapt to each development as it comes – but this is a mistake.

Customer needs and habits. Legislation. Technology. They’re always evolving. It can feel like treading water just to keep up, dealing with the flow of progress one wave at a time.

The problem with this step-by-step approach is that your business will only be able to operate at the speed of its slowest moving part. And by the time you’ve transformed 90% of your organisation, you’ll find that the last 10% isn’t just a simple fix – and the bits you’ve already done should have been designed differently.

So, what’s the solution? Taking a holistic, data-driven approach that uses insight to inform decisions and transcend any one business area.

And never forget your people. Sometimes the most valuable insight you can gain is anecdotal. Run interviews and surveys to gain an understanding of your employees experiences, opinions, frustrations and perceptions.

It’s human nature to trust our gut instinct. But you must overcome this trait, and instead trust objective data and insight that truly shows the priorities within your business – and the solutions required to transform.

Glenn Griggs, Board Director, Ricoh UK & Ireland

Why starting with an assessment is key

Successful business transformation starts with the collection, collation and analysis of data and insight. Let’s take a look at how to carry out that process.

Business transformation enables you to ask yourself important questions:

How satisfied are your employees with the arrangements and resources supporting them for remote working?
When are you planning for more employees to return to the workplace?
Where could automated processes help reduce the workload over the next few months?
How well are your IT infrastructure and cloud services adapting to how you need to operate at the moment?

And an assessment allows you to find the answers. They identify where you are strong, where you are weak and what both your business and your people need to work to their best – it’s the crucial first stage of business transformation.

Identifying value

The first thing to ask yourself is: what do I want to achieve?

Your answer may well be vague, or it may be a long list of objectives. But it’s essential to understand where and how business transformation will add value to your organisation.

Here’s a checklist to help you get started:

Learn what’s working well, and not so well

Establish what you know, and in what areas you need more information

Research what’s going on in the market; what are your competitors and admired businesses in other sectors doing?

Agree on key strengths and weaknesses

Following this, you can begin to define a list of challenges, goals and objectives against a list of desired outcomes.

And make sure every step is taken using data for informed decisions.

Creating value

The next step in your assessment process is to build a business case for each outcome.

First, create a proof of concept for validation. This means identifying a solution to a specific need that you can easily measure. Carry out this solution as a pilot, collect the data and review how it went.

Make sure you practice continuous conscious learning throughout. And adapt and change the pilot if required.

Create a clear plan, share it with your people and get them onboard – because with 66% of remote managers and 50% of employees struggling with processes, it’s important you find a solution that’s right for them.

Once you’ve got sign-off it’s time to start implementing change.

Hopefully, we’ll never suffer a ransomware attack, but Ricoh’s RansomCare solution is an insurance policy. If we didn’t do this and had an attack, we’d have to justify why, for the cost of the solution, we could have prevented months of system lock down and millions spent repairing data.

Gary Griffiths
ICT Engagement Lead, Coventry City Council

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Realising value

When you’ve identified value and created the roadmaps for your business, it’s time to realise that value. This involves communication, implementation and measurement.

You need to be open with your people and the plan, make sure they’re on board, and use the results of your pilot to demonstrate the benefits.

Implementation involves carrying out the actual steps of your roadmap, working to milestones, continually testing and reviewing.

And continual measurement will provide you with the insight required to consciously make better business decisions.

We had been trying to change business processes for a while. But now, thanks to the features and capability of the Ricoh technology, we’re seeing a natural shift to more efficient business processes.

Brian Liang
Corporate Project Manager, Conwy County Borough Council

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