Mediko Azwar, Chief Marketing Officer, Blue Bird Group, 0
In answer to inquiries from CEO Insights Asia magazine, Mediko spoke on "The Significance of Organizational Change." He also discussed the many approaches to accomplishing organizational change through digitalization as well as the difficulties and solutions associated with integrating new technology for organizational transformation.
What is the significance of organizational change?
Ans: Organizational change refers to any alteration that occurs in an organization's structure, processes, culture, or strategies. The significance of organizational change lies in its ability to improve an organization's performance, competitiveness, and sustainability. This is, for me, essential to make the organization stay relevant for now and the future. Here are some key benefits of organizational change:
●Improved Efficiency: Organizational change can help identify inefficiencies and redundancies in processes and structures. This allows organizations to streamline operations and reduce costs, resulting in increased efficiency and productivity.
●Enhanced Adaptability: With rapid changes in technology and the business environment, organizations must be able to adapt quickly to stay relevant. Organizational change can help companies to adapt to new situations, technologies, and market conditions, enabling them to remain competitive.
●Increased Innovation: Organizational change can foster innovation by encouraging new ideas, perspectives, and approaches to problem-solving. This can lead to new products, services, and business models that can generate new revenue streams.
Overall, organizational change is critical for organizations that want to remain competitive and sustainable in the long term hence maintaining their relevance. By embracing change and adapting to new circumstances, organizations can improve their performance, increase efficiency, and better serve their customers.
According to you, why is it crucial to give organizational transformation as a top priority?
Organizational transformation is crucial because it can help organizations to adapt and thrive in an ever-changing business environment. Here are some reasons why it should be a top priority:
●Competitive Advantage: Organizational transformation can help organizations to gain a competitive advantage by adapting to changes in the marketplace and staying ahead of their competitors.
●Sustainability: Organizational transformation can help organizations to become more sustainable by identifying inefficiencies, reducing waste, and implementing more environmentally friendly practices.
●Employee Engagement: Organizational transformation can improve employee engagement by creating a more positive work environment, providing opportunities for growth and development, and increasing employee morale.
●Customer Satisfaction: Organizational transformation can lead to better customer satisfaction by improving processes and communication, which can result in better products, services, and customer experiences.
●Future-proofing: Organizational transformation can help organizations to future-proof themselves by preparing for changes in the business environment and proactively adapting to new challenges and opportunities.
Overall, organizational transformation should be a top priority for organizations that want to remain competitive and sustainable in the long term hence maintaining their relevance.
What are some of the strategies to accelerate digital transformation for organizational growth?
Digital transformation has become increasingly important for organizations to remain competitive and grow in today's rapidly changing business environment. Here are some strategies that can accelerate digital transformation for organizational growth:
●Develop a clear digital transformation strategy: A clear strategy helps to align digital transformation initiatives with organizational goals, identify areas that need transformation, and prioritize the implementation of digital technologies.
●Create a culture of innovation: Developing a culture of innovation can help to encourage employees to identify and experiment with new ideas and technologies. This can foster creativity and collaboration and accelerate the pace of digital transformation.
●Invest in digital infrastructure: Investing in digital infrastructure such as cloud computing, data analytics, and cybersecurity can help to support digital transformation efforts and enable the organization to leverage the latest technologies.
●Embrace agile methodologies: Agile methodologies can help to accelerate digital transformation by enabling organizations to quickly test and iterate on new ideas and technologies. This can reduce the time and cost associated with traditional project development approaches.
Overall, these strategies can help organizations to accelerate digital transformation efforts and drive growth by leveraging the latest technologies, fostering innovation, and building digital capabilities.
How do you plan to measure the success of the change or transformation?
The metrics used to measure the success of organization transformation will depend on the specific goals and objectives of the transformation, as well as the industry and competitive landscape in which the organization operates. It is important to establish clear
and measurable goals before embarking on any transformation, and to track progress against those goals throughout the process.
However below are some metrics that can be used to measure the success of organization transformation:
●KPIs related to relevant financial, brand or customers metrics like revenue, share, customer satisfaction/engagement, brand recognition.
●Regular performance tracking and reporting; this refers to the process of monitoring the progress and performance of employees and teams during and after a change or transformation initiative, and providing support and guidance to help them improve and achieve their goals.
●Surveys or feedback from employees, customers, or stakeholders.
As a professional business leader, what challenges do you face while adapting new technologies for organizational transformation and how do you overcome these problems?
In my experience as a business leader, I usually face various challenges while adapting new technologies for organizational transformation. Here are some of the most common challenges and how they can be overcome:
●Resistance to Change: Resistance to change is a common challenge that leaders face when introducing new technologies. Employees may be resistant to change due to fear of job loss or the unfamiliarity of new processes. Leaders can overcome this challenge by communicating the benefits of the new technology, addressing concerns, and providing adequate training to employees.
●Lack of Expertise: Leaders may lack the expertise needed to identify and implement new technologies. Leaders can overcome this challenge by engaging with technology vendors, consultants, or hiring staff with the necessary expertise.
●Cybersecurity Concerns: Implementing new technologies can create cybersecurity risks, and leaders must take steps to ensure that the organization's systems and data are secure. Leaders can overcome this challenge by implementing strong cybersecurity policies and procedures, conducting regular security audits, and investing in cybersecurity training for employees.
Overall, overcoming these challenges requires effective leadership, communication, and collaboration with stakeholders, including employees, vendors, and consultants. By addressing these challenges proactively, leaders can successfully implement new technologies for organizational transformation and drive growth and competitiveness.
The first key challenges for organizational transformation often begin with the transformation of leaders themselves. What motivates you to make these changes? Tell us about your past experiences that helped facilitate smooth transformation in an organization.
My mantra as a professional marketer is to have my brands relevant to their market or target audience as to remain competitive and sustainable in the long term. In ever changing conditions and situations. It is inevitable for us to embrace change and adapt to new circumstances that from time to time require organizational transformation.
From my experience as a business leader and as a professional coach, people are the most essential element in digital transformation neither technology, nor system. Transformation involves people or organizational transformation and almost always begins with the leader transformation. This refers to the process of personal and professional growth that leaders undergo in order to adapt to changing circumstances, improve their leadership skills, and lead their organizations through periods of transformational change. This may involve acquiring new knowledge and skills, adopting new leadership styles, and changing one's mindset and attitudes.
My leader transformation has taken many forms, depending on the specific needs and goals of the transformation journey and my state. It has involved developing new communication skills to better engage with my team members from understanding their motives and fears and storytelling about the new journey to them and engaging them in the process, learning new techniques for managing change, or adopting new technologies and approaches to stay competitive in the marketplace.
How will you ensure that the change or transformation is sustainable over the long-term?
Ensuring that a change or transformation is sustainable over the long-term is a critical factor in its success. Here are some strategies that organizations can use to ensure sustainability:
●Develop a clear vision and strategy: Having a clear vision and strategy is essential for ensuring that the change or transformation initiative has a clear direction and purpose. This helps to ensure that everyone in the organization is aligned and working towards the same goals.
●Engage stakeholders: Engaging stakeholders, including employees, customers, and partners, is important for ensuring that everyone is invested in the success of the change or transformation. This can be done through regular communication, feedback mechanisms, and involvement in the decision-making process.
●Build capabilities: Building capabilities, such as skills, processes, and systems, is important for ensuring that the organization is able to sustain the change or transformation over the long-term. This can be done through training, coaching, and the development of new processes and systems.
●Monitor and measure progress: Regularly monitoring and measuring progress against the goals and objectives of the change or transformation is important for ensuring that it is on track and sustainable over the long-term. This can be done through metrics and key performance indicators (KPIs) that track progress and provide early warning signs of potential issues.
Overall, ensuring the sustainability of a change or transformation requires a concerted effort and ongoing attention. By developing a clear vision and strategy, engaging stakeholders, building capabilities, monitoring progress, continuously improving, and embedding the change, organizations can help to ensure that the change or transformation is successful and sustainable over the long-term.
However below are some metrics that can be used to measure the success of organization transformation:
●KPIs related to relevant financial, brand or customers metrics like revenue, share, customer satisfaction/engagement, brand recognition.
●Regular performance tracking and reporting; this refers to the process of monitoring the progress and performance of employees and teams during and after a change or transformation initiative, and providing support and guidance to help them improve and achieve their goals.
●Surveys or feedback from employees, customers, or stakeholders.
As a professional business leader, what challenges do you face while adapting new technologies for organizational transformation and how do you overcome these problems?
In my experience as a business leader, I usually face various challenges while adapting new technologies for organizational transformation. Here are some of the most common challenges and how they can be overcome:
●Resistance to Change: Resistance to change is a common challenge that leaders face when introducing new technologies. Employees may be resistant to change due to fear of job loss or the unfamiliarity of new processes. Leaders can overcome this challenge by communicating the benefits of the new technology, addressing concerns, and providing adequate training to employees.
●Lack of Expertise: Leaders may lack the expertise needed to identify and implement new technologies. Leaders can overcome this challenge by engaging with technology vendors, consultants, or hiring staff with the necessary expertise.
●Cybersecurity Concerns: Implementing new technologies can create cybersecurity risks, and leaders must take steps to ensure that the organization's systems and data are secure. Leaders can overcome this challenge by implementing strong cybersecurity policies and procedures, conducting regular security audits, and investing in cybersecurity training for employees.
Digital transformation has become increasingly important for organizations to remain competitive and grow in today's rapidly changing business environment.
Overall, overcoming these challenges requires effective leadership, communication, and collaboration with stakeholders, including employees, vendors, and consultants. By addressing these challenges proactively, leaders can successfully implement new technologies for organizational transformation and drive growth and competitiveness.
The first key challenges for organizational transformation often begin with the transformation of leaders themselves. What motivates you to make these changes? Tell us about your past experiences that helped facilitate smooth transformation in an organization.
My mantra as a professional marketer is to have my brands relevant to their market or target audience as to remain competitive and sustainable in the long term. In ever changing conditions and situations. It is inevitable for us to embrace change and adapt to new circumstances that from time to time require organizational transformation.
From my experience as a business leader and as a professional coach, people are the most essential element in digital transformation neither technology, nor system. Transformation involves people or organizational transformation and almost always begins with the leader transformation. This refers to the process of personal and professional growth that leaders undergo in order to adapt to changing circumstances, improve their leadership skills, and lead their organizations through periods of transformational change. This may involve acquiring new knowledge and skills, adopting new leadership styles, and changing one's mindset and attitudes.
My leader transformation has taken many forms, depending on the specific needs and goals of the transformation journey and my state. It has involved developing new communication skills to better engage with my team members from understanding their motives and fears and storytelling about the new journey to them and engaging them in the process, learning new techniques for managing change, or adopting new technologies and approaches to stay competitive in the marketplace.
How will you ensure that the change or transformation is sustainable over the long-term?
Ensuring that a change or transformation is sustainable over the long-term is a critical factor in its success. Here are some strategies that organizations can use to ensure sustainability:
●Develop a clear vision and strategy: Having a clear vision and strategy is essential for ensuring that the change or transformation initiative has a clear direction and purpose. This helps to ensure that everyone in the organization is aligned and working towards the same goals.
●Engage stakeholders: Engaging stakeholders, including employees, customers, and partners, is important for ensuring that everyone is invested in the success of the change or transformation. This can be done through regular communication, feedback mechanisms, and involvement in the decision-making process.
●Build capabilities: Building capabilities, such as skills, processes, and systems, is important for ensuring that the organization is able to sustain the change or transformation over the long-term. This can be done through training, coaching, and the development of new processes and systems.
●Monitor and measure progress: Regularly monitoring and measuring progress against the goals and objectives of the change or transformation is important for ensuring that it is on track and sustainable over the long-term. This can be done through metrics and key performance indicators (KPIs) that track progress and provide early warning signs of potential issues.
Overall, ensuring the sustainability of a change or transformation requires a concerted effort and ongoing attention. By developing a clear vision and strategy, engaging stakeholders, building capabilities, monitoring progress, continuously improving, and embedding the change, organizations can help to ensure that the change or transformation is successful and sustainable over the long-term.