Digital transformation: management coordination necessary
How advanced are Swiss companies really in the digital sector? The results of a cross-industry survey conducted by PwC Switzerland and the University of St. Gallen among more than 100 managers and over 500 end clients show Only with an agile and flexible corporate culture are companies able to transform themselves successfully.
Corporate culture is the backbone of any digital transformation. Only with an agile and flexible culture are companies able to transform themselves successfully. If these values are also reflected in the structure and lived as one by the management, companies can benefit from digitalization.
Four implications could be derived from the study:
1. harmonisation
Across all industries, there is a lack of a common understanding of the increasingly rapid digital change. In order to arrive at the same denominator within the company, top management (strategy definition), middle management (strategy execution) and ultimately the customer - whose needs are to be satisfied - must all have the same idea of what is meant by digitalisation.
2. customer orientation
New digital products and services often fail to meet the ever faster developing needs of customers. In order to offer the customer added value, it is necessary to place this added value at the centre of the company's activities.
3. external perspectives
Being innovative with existing resources is one of the biggest challenges. Accordingly, it is crucial to bring fresh perspectives and new talents with new approaches into the company.
4. "self-disruption"
Companies must be willing to rethink and to accept a culture of error. Only those who learn from their own mistakes can succeed quickly. Pursuing new business models and questioning one's own success is not only a way of challenging oneself, but also a way of driving digital change.
Implement digital strategies and turn them into measurable initiatives
Never before has it been so relevant to convert the factors mentioned above into a digital strategy. "Only when management and customer expectations are aligned can companies generate added value in the digital arena. With client expectations of digital solutions increasing rapidly, the pressure to transform 'digital' into a successful strategy is growing all the more," explains Holger Greif, Head of Digital Transformation at PwC Switzerland.
