Help to Grow: Management Course | Kingston University

Why do SMEs resist Digital Adoption and how to overcome it?

There is a common theme of small and medium-sized businesses being reluctant to the idea of digitising their business processes and infrastructure especially if they have physical products.

But little did they know what they were actually uncomfortable with is their leadership mindsets that were not conducive to change and innovation. The survey conducted by Deloitte in 2016 highlights the reasons that only 44% of business leaders prepare for such disruption despite 87% of businesses knowing they are going to get the hit of digital disruption at some point yet no action gets taken. A self-induced catastrophe!

Some of the common barriers to digital adoptions are as following:

Resistance to Change

This resistance to change is reflected in all levels of an organisation such as IT department where a lack of digital processes slows down the entire workflow, leading to slower delivery of secured projects, and lesser capacity to take on new ones.

Digitally maturing companies stay ahead of the growth curve and their workforce by actively engaging in risk-taking agile collaborations, partnerships and projects. Statistics showed agile organisations achieve 30% higher profitability and 37% faster growth than non-agile businesses.

This can be achieved if the benefits of the digitised process are effectively communicated to the company hand in hand with continuous training to foster culture where innovation is valued and change is not considered a huge discomfort.

IT capacity

IT performance can easily be jeopardised if the right training is not provided to IT leaders which effectively leads to a tunnel vision towards both short-term tasks and long-term goals.

So if IT team leaders are provided adequate training and investments are made in the overall IT structure, this can help make the business scalable, resilient and flexible.

Investment in continuous Training and Education

Digital adoption training and learning opportunities for senior-level management is a key factor that further translates into creating and fostering an overall company’s culture. Therefore, it is crucial for senior management to keep their knowledge in check and look out for training focusing on future skills, digital adaptability.

In our 2nd Module of Digital Adoption of Help to Grow Management Programme, we peel the concept and practical frameworks of Digital Adoption such as the role of digital leadership, stages of digital adoption and recognising where your business is at and many more. The session will be conducted by our Expert Speaker, Eugene Fisher.

About the Speaker:

As a transformation consultant and product manager Eugene has worked with C-suite leaders in start-ups to Fortune 50s drive growth by enhancing leadership capabilities, building innovative teams and launching new products.

He takes a pragmatic and design-led approach to delivering growth; a few recent projects include testing new business propositions for a convenience foods chain with 1.2k locations, helping a new team generate £10m of business value within one year of formation, and developing the enterprise strategy for a £1b retailer.

You can find out more about the programme here: Small Business Leadership & Management Certificate Training Courses UK (kingstonuniversitybusinesstraining.com)

3 Technologies Transforming Businesses that are not AI

We have all been hearing a lot about how artificial intelligence is going to change not only how businesses operate but also how we go about our day to day lives, but what other technologies are businesses using to offer more to their customers? Here are our top 3.

Internet of things: Most of us will have heard of the idea of a ‘smart home’ or even ‘smart cities’, but the concept of the ‘Internet of things’ is more than that. The Internet of things refers to a network of connected physical items which have different sensors or software which allows them to connect with one another over the internet. This can be everyday household items and systems such as lighting or heating, but it is also a form of technology that can be used in a more industrial context. Examples of businesses that use the internet of things in their processes and products are John Deere, Siemans and Maersk Line.

Augmented and mixed reality: Augmented reality is something that has been around for a while now. This is the process of overlaying photos, videos or other data onto the real world to change a person’s real time perspective of their environment. Mixed reality is a step further and allows for real and virtual objects to ‘interact’- for instance allowing customers to see what an object would look like in their home. Businesses have been utilising both in training staff, sales and marketing, and in apps for their customers. Examples of businesses that use this technology include Ikea, L’Oreal, Ford and Zara.

Robotics: Robotics is the programmable machines and is something a number of businesses across different industries use to automate repetitive tasks, enhance precision, and improve operational efficiency. Robotics can help businesses with logistics, manufacturing, fulfilment and operations- everything from grocery fulfilment to car manufacturing to Surgical processes. Examples of businesses that use robotics include: Ocado, Amazon and Tesla.

New technologies are always emerging and existing technology is constantly improving! What  are you using in your business?

We explore Digital Adoption in our Module 2 of Help to Grow Management (Help to Grow: Management Course | Kingston University (kingstonuniversitybusinesstraining.com))