Digital transformation key to organizations’ survival

13 April, 2016 – The digital age is moving at a fast pace that it is fundamentally transforming the way organizations operate, be it in the private or the public sector, according to Deloitte’s latest report entitled “The changing role of people management in the digital age.” This trend is requiring organizations to develop new ways of thinking about service delivery that influences the way operating models are designed, hence the profound effects on the functions of the Human Resources (HR) departments in these organizations and their role in identifying new approaches to managing people.

“Digital has been a driving force of change across industries, and the transformation is accelerating. One can measure the pace of digital disruption in months while it takes years for an organization and its people to fully embrace such fundamental changes in the way they operate,” said Emmanuel Durou, Partner and Technology, Media & Telecommunications (TMT) Leader at Deloitte in the Middle East. “Change management is by far the most enduring bottleneck to digital transformation. While technology adoption continues to be top of mind in all matters digital, we advocate that fundamental changes in leadership and talent attributes are far more critical to successfully embarking on the digital journey.”

According to Deloitte’s research, 56% of organizations in the Middle East are still considering the shift towards digital, but they have not implemented any tangible initiatives and actions geared towards the actual shift. This includes designing mobile applications, end-to-end user experience and other new disciplines for HR combining design thinking with apps, video, social and mobile technologies. Digital HR represents a new platform for improving the employee and candidate experience.

HR management’s concerns will soon be revolving about the changing nature of the organization and employees becoming increasingly digital and influenced by several disruptive themes. HR needs to be more pre-emptive with regard to digital transformation as it plays an important role in shaping the organization’s digital identity. It is a challenge and a real complexity to plan future capabilities of a workforce in the digital economy. Another challenge is the ability to integrate the right people into a dynamic organizational context and help existing employees and leaders gain new digital competencies to be able to drive transformation.

The three main areas that HR management needs to acquire or strengthen its role in and that are directly related to the success of the digital transformation journey are:

-     Re-structuring the organization to enable the digital transformation

-     Embracing the digital talent life-cycle

-     Empowering digital leadership

“Evidently, digital is impacting every industry and every organization. That said, managing the digital transformation will affect which organizations will survive and which will not in the era of the digitization rush,” commented Joana Abou Jaoude, Senior manager in Human Capital Consulting, at Deloitte in the Middle East.

To view the full report please go to: http://bit.ly/1VLMTj0

About Deloitte:

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Deloitte provides audit, tax, consulting, and financial advisory services to public and private clients spanning multiple industries. With a globally connected network of member firms in more than 150 countries, Deloitte brings world-class capabilities and high-quality service to clients, delivering the insights they need to address their most complex business challenges. Deloitte has in the region of 200,000 professionals, all committed to becoming the standard of excellence.

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About Deloitte & Touche (M.E.):

Deloitte & Touche (M.E.) is a member firm of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited (DTTL) and is the first Arab professional services firm established in the Middle East region with uninterrupted presence since 1926.

Deloitte is among the region’s leading professional services firms, providing audit, tax, consulting, and financial advisory services through 26 offices in 15 countries with around 3,000 partners, directors and staff. It is a Tier 1 Tax advisor in the GCC region since 2010 (according to the International Tax Review World Tax Rankings). It has received numerous awards in the last few years which include Best Employer in the Middle East, best consulting firm, and the Middle East Training & Development Excellence Award by the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW).