Digital transformation has become a focal point for many UK businesses within the Hospitality, Leisure and Retail sectors. With technology advancing so rapidly, and businesses looking to stay competitive, it has become essential for businesses to capitalise on what is available.
But questions are now being asked as to whether digital transformation, as a business goal, is being slowed down by the very technologies that are available for businesses to use.
Now that is has become a focal point, many businesses have expressed that their requirements cannot be met, according to a new survey.
The survey, composed of 463 enterprises, was undertaken by Appian with the research from DevOps.com. The survey is titled “The 2018 Digital Transformation Readiness Survey.” It also poses the question that businesses are simply too busy for digital transformation.
At ShopWorks we’re often told by future partners that they haven’t got the resource currently to implement a digital transformation. However, it is a catch-22 situation, because by implementing a transformation, your business will improve time management and resource, making day to day tasks simpler and giving you more time to increase growth and profitability.
The survey finds that many businesses, undertaking a digital transformation journey, have goals that are hampered by the available technology. Many business leaders addressed that inefficient processes and technologies were slowing down the gains that could be realised from digital transformation.
One reason for this is because businesses have become weighed down by “technical debt” (that is software cannot match the business objectives). A second reason is the lack of progress in implementing software solutions, which is partly a factor of the vast number of software applications required to support the new business environment.
At ShopWorks, we understand the difficulty of relying on multiple systems to manage each aspect of your workforce. Our bespoke Workforce Management solution integrates your payroll, demand and budget management and staff scheduling into one central platform, which allows you to ensure that all your data is working together in synchronicity.
The ‘debt factor’ affected 91 percent of the 4653 respondents, while 74 percent agreed there was a ‘gap factor’ in terms of the slow implementation of software. A general theme was with many businesses attempting to deal with rising information technology costs together with the complexities of implementation.
The cost and complexity factors mean that medium-term and long-term strategies are often pushed back as the business battles the need to short-term fixes and overlays.
The ShopWorks answer is to offer each partner an extensive free trial period across a percentage of sites, in order to prove the efficiency of our software and its direct cost saving. On average our partners save 7% on their direct staffing costs, from lateness, time management and human error.
Compliance is a major factor in complexity and is often the reason that businesses make the jump to digital transformation. They are increasingly obligated to comply with more stringent regulations, in addition to the annual rise in the National Minimum Wage.
The General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) will be enforced as of 26th May, which will put further pressure on employers to change the way data is handled and used. ShopWorks offer compliance support for businesses required to adhere to the new regulations. The software also manages working time directive issues, considering international employees limited by a working Visa.
Other advice on developing a digital transformation strategy comes from Kelvin Claveria, who argues that disruption can come from anywhere, which means companies must have a wide scope when undertaking business intelligence gathering. A further point made by Claveria is the need to develop an internal culture – a business needs to take its workforce with it on its digital transformation journey.
To find out more about how a bespoke workforce management solution can help your business save as much as 12% on direct staff costs, please contact us.
