FINAL WORD
Building the A-team for
digital transformation
The A-team of an enterprise is responsible for the
roll out of a digital transformation programme, but
its composition needs careful consideration.
P
at, a CIO of a large financial services
firm, gets an urgent message from
the CEO. Pat stares at the following
message, thrilled and nervous:
“Because of the board’s growing
interest in digital business, we have
decided to create a digital workplace
programme. I have selected you as the
digital workplace leader for our company.
The first thing I would like you to do is
recruit your digital workplace team. Let
us meet in a week so that we can discuss
how the team will achieve the company’s
digital workplace objectives. Good luck.
Your CEO.”
A number of questions cross Pat’s
mind: Where do I start when building a
digital workplace team? What capabilities
will I need? Where will I find the right
people? Where should I look within the
company? Will I need to recruit from
other organisations?
CIOs know how to build teams with
technical specialists; however, building the
A-Team requires thinking more broadly.
The role of the A-Team is to establish and
govern the digital workplace programme,
as well as to oversee the delivery of
individual projects.
To design and execute a successful
digital workplace programme, the CIO
needs to recruit individuals from multiple
diverse domains who can envision how
new technologies, processes and work
environments will enhance employee
engagement and effectiveness.
The CIO needs to recruit individuals
who combine the perspectives of the
digital workplace leader, HR and facilities
management. Together, they will form
the permanent core of the A-Team and
Human resources manager
This role will need an intimate
understanding of the talent needs across
the whole organisation as the digital
workplace programmes are coupled with
the employee experience. This individual
will need to identify the changes to
behaviour and leadership that are
pivotal when designing a digital
workplace strategy.
Facilities manager
Carol Rozwell, Vice President and
Distinguished Analyst, Gartner.
be responsible for crafting the vision
and strategy for the digital workplace
programme. The three core roles are:
Digital workplace leader
The CIO or the member of the IT
organisation who takes on this
responsibility will need a proven track
record of leading and working with
complex, multidisciplinary talent teams,
deep knowledge of employee-facing services
including Intranets, content services, social
networks and technology support, and
strategic technology planning experience.
Because the working environment has
an impact on employee engagement and
effectiveness, and to help employees
enjoy their work, the facilities manager
will need to focus on the physical design
of the workspace. This role should try to
match the needs of a modern workforce
by creating a more-flexible, smarter and
better-connected workspace.
The CIO will then need to select critical
members as well as casual members to
complete the A-Team:
Critical members: They are the
members of the A-Team who will:
Develop the business case for the
new digital workplace initiative and
establish the measures by which
success is determined.
Redesign work activities that
increase employees’ commitment and
engagement and subsequently improve
business results.
Ensure that employees are
provided with regular updates or
communications to keep them aware
and excited about the opportunity of a
better workplace.
Casual members: These members are
consulted on an ad hoc basis, depending
upon the specific digital workplace project
underway. Some will come from IT. For
example, enterprise architects could join
the A-Team to ensure that the architecture
supports the digital workplace vision.
Others coming from legal and compliance
or security and risk, for example, will
participate as needed to protect business
operations. Sufficient diligence by the CIO
in the beginning will ensure a satisfactory
A-Team is put into place.
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